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Senate Bill Would Provide Paid Family Leave |
Yesterday we reported on the thousands and thousands of workers who told the U.S. Department of Labor that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has made significant differences in their lives by allowing them unpaid time off during illnesses and birth or adoption of children.
But they also told the Labor Department—as part of a solicitation of comments from workers and employers about their experience with regulations that implement FMLA—the act could be improved, especially by providing paid leave.
A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the Senate would do just that. The Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 (bill number not yet assigned) would provide up to eight weeks of paid leave for workers needing time off for the birth or adoption of a child, or for their own or a family member’s serious illness.
Introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), chief sponsor of the FMLA when it was enacted in 1993, and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the new bill would establish an insurance fund where employers, employees and the federal government would share the costs.
Nearly half of private-sector workers and 79 percent of low-income workers have no paid sick leave. Dodd says the orginal FMLA
was a major milestone in our nation’s dialogue that acknowledged that families, workforce production and competitiveness are not mutually exclusive. It was a critically important first step, but the elimination of needed income during times of crisis in family life is something no hard-working American should experience….[This] is the next step in the fight for more comprehensive employee supports.…This legislation will provide workers the income needed to care for their families so that they may transition back to their jobs as seamlessly as possible.
Says Stevens:
As the father of six children, I deeply understand the challenges families face following childbirth, in times of sickness and when loved ones fall ill.…Those of us in the Senate must do everything we can to help hard-working American families, and this bill represents a significant first step in those efforts.
No hearings have been scheduled on the legislation.
Read how working families won paid sick leave in San Francisco and family leave in Washington State.
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1. by David Hurlburt
June 28th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
One Sick Kin Away From Being Fired
A Poem by David G. Hurlburt©2007 CWA local 9410
It is hard for a family to make both ends meet,
Both of us working so we are not on the street.
Minimum wage workers need every single dime;
They also need some emergency kin care time.
We work hard, and at night and we’re so tired,
Just one sick child away from being fired.
Why can’t we use sick leave to care for our kin,
When the Bosses fires us for that is a just a sin.
Not any time off, with pay, for short time family care;
When the roll is called up yonder will these managers be there?
We work hard and at night and we’re so tired.
Just one sick spouse away from being fired.
Companies protect and defend at all costs their mighty corporate rights
So when you take time off for your family, be prepared to join the fights.
Working families, we need to lobby congress and the legislatures too.
We need a law so are jobs are protected when our child gets the flu..
We work hard and at night and we’re so tired,
Just one sick parent away from being fired.
Providing time for families doesn’t cost it will pay.
It reduces turnover because more employees stay.
It, increases loyalty, dedication and it is caring and kind.
A benefit employees value and it’s one that’s hard to find.
We work hard and at night and we’re so tired.
Just one sick self away from being fired.
Too many times we’re fired and end up in the street.
Loss of jobs or pay and our bills we can’t meet.
Bankruptcy from medical bills or the loss of a job,
We loose heart and hope and our kids learn to rob
You can pay to build families or tear them apart.
The dollars spent on sick leave are just a start;
Childcare, after school programs to care for our kids
And medical care for every one even those on the skids.
If you don’t do these things you will still pay the price.
In court costs and prisons and that is not very nice.
A nations economy must serve all the people in the land;
Not greed or the wealthy, government must take a stand.
The social safety net is not just for the poor,
It protects us all from the thief at our door.
One Sick Kin Away From Being Fired was published by AFL-CIO
This was also one of the comments submitted to the U.S. Labor department last December.
San Francisco is still leading the way for the rest of the country with its sick leave law.
There are bills in California sb836, Sb 727 and Ab537 to improve Califoirnia’ version of FMLA. to improve Paid Family Leave and amendments to discrimination law to prohibit discrimination against those with Family concerns. The U.S. Senate and congress have several bills on this same subject submitted by Senator Kennedy and Congress Woman Woolsey of California.
This is not a woman’s issue Men get discriminated against for family issues; as was recently testified by a firefighter, a single parent who was denied a promotion because of his care of his children.