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DeLauro Statement on White House "Paid Leave" Summit

Statement

Date: Dec. 12, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Employment and Affirmative Action Family

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released the following statement on the White House's so-called "Paid Leave" summit.

"Working families in America need comprehensive paid family and medical leave now. Too many people are being forced to lose weeks' worth of pay in order to care for an ill loved one or a newborn child. That is a false choice, and we can fix it with bipartisan legislation: the FAMILY Act. In the absence of federal action, states and businesses are leading the way through generous paid leave programs modeled on the FAMILY Act. Other proposals--which disregard medical leave even as 75% of all workers who take unpaid leave do so to address health concerns for themselves or a loved one--would rob people of critical benefits like Social Security, the Child Tax Credit, and state unemployment insurance. That is the wrong path. The FAMILY Act is comprehensive, bipartisan, and has over 200 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. The choice is clear. All that remains is the willingness to take action for working people."

The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY) Act would create a universal, gender-neutral, national paid family and medical leave program. The FAMILY Act is the gold standard for paid leave legislation in Congress and would ensure that workers can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for a pregnancy, the birth or adoption of a child, recovery from a serious illness, or to care for a seriously ill family member. Specifically, the FAMILY Act would:

Provide up to 12 weeks of partial wages to working people who need to take time away from their jobs to address a serious personal or family health issue, to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or for circumstances arising from a loved one's military deployment or serious injury;
Be self-funded through payroll contributions from employers and employees of just two-tenths of 1% each (two cents per $10 in wages), or about $4 a week total, split between employers and employees;
Guarantee portable coverage so that workers who have multiple jobs, change jobs, or are self-employed are provided with the same security as traditional employees; and
Provide 66% wage replacement, capped at $4,000 a month.


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