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SUPPORT THE FAMILY

 Paid Family and Medical Sick Leave; as in every other developed country

●  Pennsylvanians’ scarce sick and medical leave days are provided by the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA provides certain Pennsylvanians with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to care for a newborn, adopted, or foster child;, or to care for a family member;, or to attend to the employee’s own serious medical health condition. However, family leave under the FMLA only applies to companies with 50 or more employees, leaving about half of all employees without any legal protection. The FMLA allows states to expand the rules of the federal law and many states have chosen to do so, but not Pennsylvania. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have some form of paid or unpaid leave laws. The US as a whole is too far behind the rest of the developed world, as it is one of only eight countries that do not have paid maternity leave, and is the only high-income country (according to the World Bank) with that standard. Most European countries, Australia, and even Turkmenistan and Tajikistan offer at least 14 weeks of fatherhood leave, while the US offers no such leave. Eleven states have school-related parental leave hours;, PA is not one of them. Paid family and medical sick leave is critically important for many families, especially families that cannot afford the time off work to care for family members due to poor healthcare. The DCDC supports paid family and medical sick leave for Pennsylvanians, and the entire nation, for the following reasons as found by the US Senate’s Joint Economic Committee.

●  Research has found that, out of families that file for bankruptcy, 25% of dual-income families and 13% of single-parent families file after missing two or more weeks of work  due to nursing a personal illness or a family member’s illness, these situations should be covered by a federal paid family and medical leave policy.

●  Research shows that children are positively impacted by mothers’ access to leave. Time spent with a mother correlates to long-term educational and earnings outcomes for children. Family leave should not only be accessible to the wealthy, and paid leave would make parent-child time more accessible to people of all levels of financial stability.

● A survey of employers affected by California’s Paid Family Leave Initiative found that fewer than 10% of employers reported adverse effects on profitability, turnover and morale.

●  Paid leave can help to close the gender pay gap by increasing a woman’s likelihood of returning to work after having a child, as well as raising a woman’s long-term earnings. In 2013, nearly two-thirds of families relied entirely or in part on a mother’s income, and 45 million children lived with a mother who was in the labor force. Supporting working mothers is increasingly essential for Pennsylvanian families.

● Lower-wage workers are less likely to be able to afford a day without pay and are often in danger of losing their jobs if they take time off for personal or family illness. Working mothers, who are more likely to be responsible for their family’s health and well-being, benefit greatly from having paid sick leave.

●  Parenting expenses for low-income families are already incredibly high in America, from a lack of low-income housing in Pennsylvania, to a lack of high-quality preschool. Being able to spend time with a newborn child should not be a luxury only affordable for the wealthy.   Invest in Child Care, thereby ensuring access to safe and quality care for children of working parents

● The DCDC supports congress’ funding increase to the Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) made in 2018, which included a $2.4 billion increase, the largest in history. The trend in funding public child care prior to the pre-Kk through secondary school needs to continue, and accelerate.

● Pennsylvania has a history of relying entirely on federal funds for child care and development funding, and in 2016, put $0 towards the state’s allocated federal Child Care and Development Fund. This trend must be changed.  Paid Family and Medical Sick Leave; as in every other developed country

●  Pennsylvanians’ scarce sick and medical leave days are provided by the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA provides certain Pennsylvanians with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to care for a newborn, adopted, or foster child;, or to care for a family member;, or to attend to the employee’s own serious medical health condition. However, family leave under the FMLA only applies to companies with 50 or more employees, leaving about half of all employees without any legal protection. The FMLA allows states to expand the rules of the federal law and many states have chosen to do so, but not Pennsylvania. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have some form of paid or unpaid leave laws. The US as a whole is too far behind the rest of the developed world, as it is one of only eight countries that do not have paid maternity leave, and is the only high-income country (according to the World Bank) with that standard. Most European countries, Australia, and even Turkmenistan and Tajikistan offer at least 14 weeks of fatherhood leave, while the US offers no such leave. Eleven states have school-related parental leave hours;, PA is not one of them. Paid family and medical sick leave is critically important for many families, especially families that cannot afford the time off work to care for family members due to poor healthcare. The DCDC supports paid family and medical sick leave for Pennsylvanians, and the entire nation, for the following reasons as found by the US Senate’s Joint Economic Committee.

●  Research has found that, out of families that file for bankruptcy, 25% of dual-income families and 13% of single-parent families file after missing two or more weeks of work  due to nursing a personal illness or a family member’s illness, these situations should be covered by a federal paid family and medical leave policy.

●  Research shows that children are positively impacted by mothers’ access to leave. Time spent with a mother correlates to long-term educational and earnings outcomes for children. Family leave should not only be accessible to the wealthy, and paid leave would make parent-child time more accessible to people of all levels of financial stability.

● A survey of employers affected by California’s Paid Family Leave Initiative found that fewer than 10% of employers reported adverse effects on profitability, turnover and morale.

●  Paid leave can help to close the gender pay gap by increasing a woman’s likelihood of returning to work after having a child, as well as raising a woman’s long-term earnings. In 2013, nearly two-thirds of families relied entirely or in part on a mother’s income, and 45 million children lived with a mother who was in the labor force. Supporting working mothers is increasingly essential for Pennsylvanian families.

● Lower-wage workers are less likely to be able to afford a day without pay and are often in danger of losing their jobs if they take time off for personal or family illness. Working mothers, who are more likely to be responsible for their family’s health and well-being, benefit greatly from having paid sick leave.

●  Parenting expenses for low-income families are already incredibly high in America, from a lack of low-income housing in Pennsylvania, to a lack of high-quality preschool. Being able to spend time with a newborn child should not be a luxury only affordable for the wealthy.   Invest in Child Care, thereby ensuring access to safe and quality care for children of working parents

● The DCDC supports congress’ funding increase to the Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) made in 2018, which included a $2.4 billion increase, the largest in history. The trend in funding public child care prior to the pre-Kk through secondary school needs to continue, and accelerate.

● Pennsylvania has a history of relying entirely on federal funds for child care and development funding, and in 2016, put $0 towards the state’s allocated federal Child Care and Development Fund. This trend must be changed. 

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