May 18th, 2023 7:00am PDT
(PenniesToSave.com) – Many employees may need to take time off work for personal health reasons or to care for their family members. However, whether these benefits are available often relies on the employer or state regulations.
In recent developments, Democrats in Washington are making renewed efforts to implement a nationwide initiative that would provide all workers with the opportunity to take paid leave for family and medical reasons.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, stressed the significance of this program by stating that despite a ten-year effort to implement paid leave, our country is still the only developed nation without this essential program.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) recently marked its 30th anniversary. This legislation permits workers to take unpaid leave for caregiving responsibilities or personal health reasons.
Now, Democratic Senator Gillibrand and Representative Rosa DeLauro are introducing a revised version of the FMLA known as the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. This act seeks to provide eligible individuals with paid leave options.
“In the past three decades, we made progress by enacting the Family and Medical Leave Act, which granted unpaid leave for American workers,” stated DeLauro, acknowledging the law’s passage during President Bill Clinton’s administration.
“Let’s take another step forward by ensuring that this leave is paid,” DeLauro emphasized.
The Scope of the Latest Paid Family Leave Proposal
After making previous revisions, Democrats have introduced a new version of the proposal with the aim of incorporating it into a comprehensive package.
According to the revised bill, individuals would be entitled to 12 weeks of leave with partial income. Full-time workers can expect to receive about two-thirds of their regular wages, while low-wage workers would be compensated for approximately 85% of their earnings.
The plan includes provisions for employees to take time off in cases of serious health conditions, the birth or adoption of a child, and dealing with the consequences of domestic violence or sexual assault. This leave is also available for family members of the workers.
In addition, the revised bill aims to update the definition of family by broadening the range of caregiving relationships. This would involve acknowledging spouses, partners in domestic or civil unions, children of any age and their spouses, parents and their spouses, siblings and their spouses, grandparents and their spouses, grandchildren and their spouses, as well as other individuals connected through blood or kinship.
The bill being proposed would provide coverage to all workers who have earned at least $2,000 in the past two years, regardless of whether their earnings were subject to Social Security taxes. It also seeks to eliminate the unpaid waiting period that previously prevented individuals from accessing benefits during the first five days of caregiving.
To fund the program, a 0.4% payroll tax would begin based on the Medicare taxable wage base.
Workers can still choose to receive paid leave through state programs, as long as those programs meet or exceed the level of generosity offered by the federal program. The states will determine this based on specific criteria.
Substantial Progress Made on Paid Leave Initiatives
Numerous positive outcomes have been indicated by extensive research on the establishment of a federal paid family leave program.
In the span of March 2020 to February 2022, workers faced an enormous wage loss of $28 billion when compared to the two years before, as reported by the Urban Institute’s research.
However, the main challenge is reaching a bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive plan. According to Kathleen Romig, the director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, past support for the FAMILY Act has been mainly from Democrats.
To achieve progress in the current Congress, it is essential to gain support from both Republicans and Democrats, as emphasized by Romig.
While Republicans have shown interest in implementing paid leave policies, the two parties differ on how to fund these plans. Democrats suggest financing through payroll taxes, while Republicans explore alternative options like borrowing against existing benefits such as Social Security or child tax credits.
Despite the uncertain outlook for passing the specific bill this year, Romig remains optimistic about paid leave. The momentum and support for the concept are steadily growing.