DeLauro Applauds Grassroots Effort to Achieve Paid Family and Medical Leave in Connecticut

NEW HAVEN, CT (February 17, 2016) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) lauded today's announcement of the launch of the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Medical Leave.

"Paid leave is essential for working families. On both the state and the national level, policies that support working people are the only way to move our economy, and our society, forward," said Rosa DeLauro. "Paid leave will help all workers, but it is especially crucial for women, who still bear the brunt of the responsibility for caring for their families in a time of need.

"We cannot afford to ignore public policy that would reverse the discriminatory status quo: taking unpaid time off sets women back professionally, in terms of earnings; as well as personally, because time off from work results in fewer assets in retirement," continued DeLauro. "My Connecticut colleagues and I are doing what we can in Washington, and I applaud the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave – and its co-chairs PCSW and CWEALF – for helping our state become a leader on this legislation."

During this session of Congress, DeLauro introduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would establish a national paid family and medical leave insurance program, ensuring that American workers would no longer have to choose between a paycheck and caring for themselves or a family member.

Current Family and Medical Leave law provides unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health related events, but only about half of the workforce qualifies for this unpaid leave, and many more simply cannot afford to take it because it is unpaid.

The FAMILY Act would create an independent trust fund within the Social Security Administration to collect fees and provide benefits. This trust would be funded by employee and employer contributions of 0.2 percent of wages each – amounting to about $1.30 per month, creating a self-sufficient program that would not add to the federal budget. The proposal makes leave available to every individual regardless of the size of their current employer and regardless of whether such individual is currently employed by an employer, self-employed or currently unemployed, as long as the person has sufficient earnings and work history.