Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
FAMILY Act Supports Low-WageWorkers and Their Families
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides unpaid,job-protected leave to certain employees.
Every day we go without a federal paid leave law, economic inequalitybecomes more entrenched.
What is the FAMILY Act?
How would the FAMILYAct work?
Create an insurance program fundedby modest contributions from employers and employees (0.2% of wages).1
Pay up to 66 percent of employees’ monthly wages, capped at $4,000 per
Require participation from all employers—regardless of their industry or how many people they employ.
discriminating against employees who use or intend to use leave.
The FAMILY Act would coverchildren, grandchildren, spouses, domestic partners, parents,parents of spouses or partners, siblings, and grandparents.
Policy solutions that work for low-income people
The FAMILY Act acknowledgesdiverse families by includingelders and LGBTQ families.
1clasp.org
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act (S. 337/H.R. 947) would establish a federalprogram giving almost every worker up to 12 weeks of paid leave to bond with a new child, carefor a seriously ill family member, or treat their own serious illness.
Why do we need a federal paid leave law?
Seven states have paid family andmedical leave laws in the absenceof federal action. Additional statesare considering similar policies.
The FAMILY Act would bene�t everyone
WORKERS EMPLOYERSSMALL
BUSINESSES
The FAMILY Act would helpfamilies meet their needs athome while protectingworkers, sustaining wages,and keeping more womenin the workforce. The lawwould also prevent middle-and low-income familiesfrom sliding into poverty.2
The FAMILY Act wouldpromote retention, decreasetraining costs, and increaseemployee satisfaction andproductivity. It would alsolevel the playing �eld forbusinesses.
The FAMILY Act would allowsmall businesses that couldn’totherwise a�ord it to o�erpaid leave and compete forthe best workers. Businessesalready o�ering paid leavewill see helpful cost savings.
CA D.C. MA NYNJ RI WA
85 percent ofpeople supportpaid leave to dealwith a serioushealth condition
82 percent ofpeople supportpaid maternityleave
69 percent ofpeople supportpaid paternityleave
67 percent ofpeople supportpaid family careleave
2clasp.org
Source: Pew Research Center poll of national workers3
Paid family and medical leave has strong public support
With overwhelming support for paid leave, now is the time to make the FAMILY Actfederal law.
To learn more, contact [email protected].
Fact Sheet Citations
3clasp.org
1 Je� Hayes and Heidi Hartmann, Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance: Modest Costs are a Good Investmentin America’s Economy, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2018,https://iwpr.org/publications/paid-family-medical-leave-insurance-time-come.
2 Pamela Joshi, Maura Baldiga, Alison Earle, Theresa Osypuk and Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, “Paid Family andMedical Leave Social Protection in the U.S.: Lessons Learned About Targeting Low-Income Workers,“5th Conference of the Regulating for Decent Work Network, July 2017.
3 Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Kim Parker, Nikki Graf, and Gretchen Livingston, Americans Widely Support PaidFamily and Medical Leave, but Di�er Over Speci�c Policies, Pew Research Center, 2017,http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-di�er-over-speci�c-policies.
