DeLauro Marks 25th Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act
NEW HAVEN, CT (February 5, 2018) – Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) was joined by local leaders and advocates to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) being signed into law by President Clinton. Workers have used the unpaid leave provided by the FMLA over 200 million times to care for their children, to care for sick or injured family members, or just to get better themselves. This bipartisan law transformed American workplaces to be more family-friendly, more productive, and more efficient.
DeLauro also urged lawmakers in Congress and Connecticut to take action on paid family and medical leave legislation. DeLauro's bill in Congress, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, would establish national paid family and medical leave so that all workers in America would have access to paid family and medical leave. Eight out of ten eligible workers cannot afford to take FMLA leave, making the FAMILY Act a necessity for millions of Americans.
"As we commemorate 25 years of FMLA, we must continue pushing forward to enact a meaningful paid family and medical leave policy," said Congresswoman DeLauro. "Paid leave fundamentally changes people's lives. At some point in our working lives, nearly all of us will need time off to deal with a serious illness or care for a newborn child. Losing weeks' worth of wages in order to care for an ill loved one is not an option—it would push many families over the financial edge, some past the point of no return. That is why we need to pass the FAMILY Act now to ensure workers have a safety net in their time of need."
"FMLA was landmark federal legislation that finally acknowledged the human side of workers," said Maddie Granato from the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund. "Since its passage, it's given millions of people the ability to return to their jobs after needing to take time to off to care for themselves of a loved one. But we can all agree that after 25 years, progress is past due. The positive effects of paid leave at this point seem endless. It's time for lawmakers in Connecticut to pass policies that have been proven to attract and retain millennial employees."
"Today marks the 25th anniversary of FMLA, landmark legislation that saved the jobs of many millions of workers, but also left many more millions either uncovered or unable to afford the unpaid time. As the needs of our families and economy change, the time is now for the CT legislature to pass Paid Family and Medical Leave," said Carlos Moreno, State Director for Connecticut Working Families Organization. "Without PFML, our public health crisis will continue to grow, as parents are unable to spend time with their children, workers lack necessary time to recover, and our families struggle to pay their bills when injury and illness happen. It is also important to remember that PFML would be a boon for our economy. The lack of PFML forces workers out of their jobs and onto state assistance, lands families in debt, makes small businesses less competitive, and increases healthcare costs to the state. Right now, Connecticut is losing millennial workers and young families to neighboring states that offer PFML, including New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Connecticut cannot afford to be left behind."
"New York, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island... New York jumped on this ship January 1, their [paid leave] went into effect. Connecticut is supposed to be progressive. We're supposed to be a leader. Why aren't we leading on this?" said State Representative Robyn Porter. "If you work for McDonald's in Europe, not only do you get paid leave...You can get maternity, paternity, sick...And if you're out on vacation and you happen to get hurt, guess what? You get to take that vacation over, and you get to bank it as what it is: sick time. If it's good enough for Europeans, isn't it good for Americans?"
"You can't take someone who's built your business, who you work with every single day, who you love...You can't just love them when they're working and able to work. Otherwise you're just sucking the life out of them," said Claire Criscuolo, Owner of Claire's Corner Copia. "We really need to have a paid family leave act that would help all of us, not just the people who work for companies that can write grants, or companies that can get money from taxpayers. They tell [small businesses] that we're the backbone of America, that we're the largest employer... Show us, please!"