Issue Position: Supporting Equal Pay for Women and Expanded Family Leave

Issue Position

On average, full-time working women earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. It's unfair to women and illegal. And it's unfair to families, who in many cases depend on a woman's salary to make ends meet.

That's why I strongly support the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform equal work.

I also support expanding family and medical leave.

The United States is the only industrialized country that does not guarantee paid time off to care for a new child, and one of very few industrialized nations not to guarantee paid time off for other types of family care. The unpaid family and medical leave act that passed 21 years ago only covers about half of all employees, given various exemptions such as the employee's status and the size of the business. It is past time to give American workers the ability to care for their loved ones without economic hardship. And this isn't just political rhetoric. In my family-owned business, we provide paid maternity leave and treat our employees with the respect they deserve.

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