February 12, 2021

After 28 Years, Pandemic Makes Federal Paid Family Leave a Possibility

As a recent story in the Washington Post reminded us, the last time family leave provisions were expanded in the US was mere weeks after Bill Clinton was inaugurated in 1993. The Family and Medical Leave Act provided unpaid leave for certain employees for family and medical reasons. And then, nothing. For 28 years. 

As we’ve pointed out often during the pandemic, the US remains the only OECD country without federal paid family and medical leave legislation, leaving employees to the caprice of employers and state laws for any job protection and ability to take time off to care for oneself or one’s family. The FFCRA provided temporary relief, but it has since expired, leaving parents and those caring for families out in the cold again. According to PL+US, strong federal paid leave laws would strengthen the economy while protecting employees from job loss during unexpected events, such as a global pandemic.

So, in early February Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York reintroduced Gillibrand’s legislation, long overdue, to strengthen the false dawn of the Clinton-era FMLA. In addition to Gillibrand’s FAMILY Act, DeLauro, no stranger to putting issues of social reproduction at the forefront, is also pushing for an expansion to the child tax credit.

Under the FAMILY Act’s language, paid leave would provide 66% of a worker’s monthly salary, ranging from a minimum $250 to a maximum of $4,000, to be covered by a small, 0.2% wage tax. Such job protections would go a long way to ensuring workforce stability and reducing unemployment during periods of uncertainty. It would also contribute to protecting expectant and new mothers, who are often unfairly pushed out of the workforce because they need to care for their children.

We will be eagerly following along to see how Congress addresses this critical issue.

Expansion to Child Credit Slated for Inclusion in New Round of Stimulus

February 10, 2021
No items found.
If Congress’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan becomes law, one important addition to its language will be the expansion of the child tax credit, thanks to Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.

A Personal Account of Workplace Harassment Highlights How Common the Behavior Is

February 5, 2021
Gender Discrimination
Race Discrimination
Pregnancy Discrimination
Disability Discrimination
Sexual Harassment
In fact, many of the discrimination cases we take on follow very similar outlines. An employee, even a very senior one, is intimidated, berated, and subjected to mistreatment at the hands of a manager or executive, and has trouble sorting through the proper legal response to the situation.

New Report Shows Paid Family and Sick Leave Essential for Women Remaining in the Workforce

February 1, 2021
Paid Family Leave
Pregnancy Discrimination
A recent report from the Paid Leave for the US (PL+US), one of the leading campaigns to deliver federal-level paid family and medical leave has important findings about issues near to our hearts and our practice.

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