Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander helped introduce the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. The FAMILY Act would guarantee up to 12 weeks of partial income for workers who have to take leave for serious medical and family events. Paid medical and family leave is especially helpful for new parents and older Americans, who are more likely to have health issues or caregiving obligations for older relatives.
“Life comes at you fast. And it’s not right that working people across New Hampshire are living one medical emergency away from bankruptcy, homelessness, or worse,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “In Congress, I’m working to build an economy that works for hardworking people, and this commonsense legislation, guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, is a critical step in the effort.”
“For many New Hampshire workers, missing a single paycheck can drastically impact their family’s economic security, and so the decision to take unpaid time away from work to care for themselves or an ill family member is as much a financial decision as it is a health and caregiving one,” said Amanda Sears, NH State Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy. “We applaud Congresswoman Goodlander’s co-sponsorship of the FAMILY Act to ensure working people have access to paid family and medical leave so they can make ends meet while being there for their families when they need to be.”
The FAMILY Act delivers a key solution to the country’s public health and economic challenges and is modeled on successful state programs. Currently, 73 percent of American workers do not have access to paid leave despite a large body of research showing that paid leave improves workers’ mental health, boosts employee retention and productivity, and helps businesses. Additionally, working families lose $22.5 billion per year in wages due to a lack of paid family and medical leave.
The FAMILY Act would provide workers with paid leave for a range of major life events, including:
- Recovering from their own serious health condition;
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition;
- Bonding with a new child—whether newborn, adopted, or placed through foster care;
- Handling responsibilities related to a family member’s military deployment;
- Taking “safe leave” to respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
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