Proposed Family Leave Laws

2 minute read

According to The New York Times, the United States is the only industrialized country that does not guarantee paid family leave. Many employees must take unpaid leave when it comes to caring for a new baby, adoption, or taking care of a sick family member. And although the government seems to agree that providing some type of paid leave is important, no one can agree how to fund it. Here’s a brief look at a few of the bills being proposed.

Family Act

Sponsored By: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut

Key Points:

• Builds on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (12 weeks of unpaid family and medical leave)
• Proposes to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave (at 66% of an employee’s monthly wages)
• Funding provided through employer and employee payroll taxes

Status: Currently in the House Committee of Finance

Working Parents Flexibility Act

Sponsored By: Representative John Katko of New York

Key Points:

• Create a tax-exempt parental leave savings account to be used for childcare
  • Employees could contribute up to $6,750 a year
• Possibility of employers contributing to these accounts as part of their benefits package (optional)

Status: Currently in the House Committee on Ways and Means

Child Rearing and Development Leave Empowerment (CRADLE)

Sponsored By: Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mike Lee of Utah

Key Points:

• Voluntary program for new parents
• Must take leave from work
• Parents eligible to receive up to 3 months paid leave benefit by accessing their Social Security benefits early
• In exchange, they would postpone collecting benefits for double the time they took off for leave (example, take off 3 months, delay 6 months)

Status: Currently in the House Subcommittee on Health

Economic Security for New Parents Act (New Parents Act)

Sponsored By: Senator Marco Rubio of Florida

Key Points:

• New parents could draw benefits from Social Security
• Parents could continue to work and use the funds for childcare expenses
• Payment would be recouped by parents delaying or reducing future Social Security benefits

Status: Currently in the House Committee on Finance

Trump’s Proposed Family Leave Program

And lastly, the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget includes a proposal for a federal state parental leave program. It would provide 6 weeks of paid benefits for parents and funded by the unemployment insurance program. At the time of this writing, there is no proposed legislation introduced yet.

Stay tuned to our blog for further information on this topic and other late-breaking news.