I was interviewed the other day for an article that was scheduled to be published on Mother’s Day. After its publication, I was in utter disbelief by the sheer number of individuals who are completely unaware of the leave policies in the United States, and even more so, their own state’s leave policies.
Approximately 71% of all private companies in the state of PA do not offer any paid family leave. This means you have to take personal paid time or unpaid leave for any family medical needs, including maternity leave.
Our neighboring state to the north, New York, passed a Paid Family Leave Policy in 2016. This policy works much like an insurance premium with a small out of pocket expense, around $350/yr, which gives workers access of up to 12 weeks of paid leave. Also, did you know federal workers were also already provided this leave policy in October 2020?
This does not just cover maternity and paternity leave. This leave policy goes deeper to cover any family medical leave. In states that do not have leave policies, you can get FMLA (Family Medical Leave of Absence) which covers the security of your job. However, it is almost always unpaid.
With the United States being one of the most wealthy countries in the world, we are dead last in providing leave for families. The workforce gives no reprieve to any medical needs that may arise without warning.
I was a healthy 26 year old who out of no where was diagnosed with cancer. I had to quit working so our income suffered greatly. My husband had to miss days of work or miss appointments because he could not afford to take off of work. To this day, there are still appointments he has been unable to make due to the fact he can’t miss a day of work.
Most people are not in support of a bill because they state it would raise taxes, it doesn’t pertain to them because they’re not going to have a child, etc. The problem with that mentality is that just like my family was, you will be blindsided almost guaranteed at some point in your life and having a leave policy in place would be of immense help.
I have been an advocate of this bill for over four years. This is something I am extremely psssionate about. I never want to see another family go through what mine has. I never want another cancer warrior to sit in doctors appointments or treatments alone due to the fact their support could not afford to take off work to be at their side. It’s an extremely trying time, mentally and physically and to have to sit there alone is even more taxing.
Do you support Paid Family Leave?
0%Yes
0%No
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