SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Connecticut is poised to pass the country's most generous paid family and medical leave, after the state House approved a bill on Friday. (Photo: Eye DJ/Flickr/cc)
Connecticut's Democratic governor is poised to sign the nation's most generous paid family and medical leave bill into law as pressure on policymakers builds to prioritize paid leave as a labor issue.
Following a six-year campaign by women's and workers' rights advocacy groups in Connecticut, the state House passed a bill last Friday guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents and workers who need to take time off to attend to family members' or their own health.
Advocates applauded state lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont, who says he plans to sign the bill, but noted that Connecticut's step forward highlights how far behind the U.S. is compared to family leave laws in other developed countries.
"Paid leave is a critical step forward for women's economic security, especially for low-wage workers and women of color who are an increasing number of primary breadwinners for their families," Catherine Bailey of the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund told the Connecticut Mirror. "We are proud to join the rest of the world and become just the seventh state in the U.S. to create a system of paid leave."
Under the new law, minimum wage employees could have up to 95 percent of their pay covered, capped at $900 per week. New York's recently-passed paid leave policy offers only a 55 percent wage replacement, which will increase to 67 percent when the law is fully implemented.
Connecticut's law, Huffington Post reporter Emily Peck tweeted, is "generous by U.S. standards, which are far below basically anywhere else in the world."
\u201cConnecticut is about to pass the most generous* paid family leave bill in the country.\n\n*generous by US standards, which are far below basically anywhere else in the world.\n\nhttps://t.co/SG4ESXcFZc\u201d— Emily Peck (@Emily Peck) 1559585660
The law is expected to go into effect in July 2021 and would be funded by a 0.5 percent payroll tax. The legislation would allow workers to take paid time off to care for a wide array of loved ones, including grandparents, siblings, and anyone who is "equivalent of a family member"--the most inclusive language in a paid leave bill in the United States.
As in all states, workers in Connecticut have been permitted to take unpaid leave since 1993. State Democrats denounced Republicans during the debate over the new law for suggesting that offering unpaid leave to new parents, people with sick or injured relatives or with health challenges themselves, was sufficient.
"When the Republican Party opposes Paid Family and Medical Leave, what they're really saying is the only people who deserve to take advantage of it are the people who can afford to," tweeted the state Democrats.
\u201cUnpaid Family and Medical Leave has been the law nationwide since 1993. \n\nSo when the @CTGOP opposes \u26a0\ufe0fPaid\u26a0\ufe0f Family and Medical Leave, what they're really saying is the only people who deserve to take advantage of it are the people who can afford to.\u201d— Connecticut Dems (@Connecticut Dems) 1559587811
"Our humanity should not come down to how much we make for a living," House Majority Leader Matt Ritter told the Mirror.
Momentum began building across the country after the 2016 election to pass paid leave laws. Washington, D.C., Washington state, New York, and Massachusetts have also passed laws in the last three years, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has strived to make family and medical leave a key issue in the 2020 presidential election, as part of the Family Bill of Rights she introduced last month.
The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights tweeted that a national family and medical paid leave program must be passed by Congress to ensure all American workers can care for their families without worrying about jeopardizing their income.
\u201cConnecticut is about to become the 7th state to provide paid family leave.\n\nAt the federal level, we're still calling on Congress to pass the #FAMILYAct, which would create a national family & medical leave insurance program. It's time for #PaidLeave4All. https://t.co/fJEsdBJwGf\u201d— The Leadership Conference (@The Leadership Conference) 1559589592
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Connecticut's Democratic governor is poised to sign the nation's most generous paid family and medical leave bill into law as pressure on policymakers builds to prioritize paid leave as a labor issue.
Following a six-year campaign by women's and workers' rights advocacy groups in Connecticut, the state House passed a bill last Friday guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents and workers who need to take time off to attend to family members' or their own health.
Advocates applauded state lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont, who says he plans to sign the bill, but noted that Connecticut's step forward highlights how far behind the U.S. is compared to family leave laws in other developed countries.
"Paid leave is a critical step forward for women's economic security, especially for low-wage workers and women of color who are an increasing number of primary breadwinners for their families," Catherine Bailey of the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund told the Connecticut Mirror. "We are proud to join the rest of the world and become just the seventh state in the U.S. to create a system of paid leave."
Under the new law, minimum wage employees could have up to 95 percent of their pay covered, capped at $900 per week. New York's recently-passed paid leave policy offers only a 55 percent wage replacement, which will increase to 67 percent when the law is fully implemented.
Connecticut's law, Huffington Post reporter Emily Peck tweeted, is "generous by U.S. standards, which are far below basically anywhere else in the world."
\u201cConnecticut is about to pass the most generous* paid family leave bill in the country.\n\n*generous by US standards, which are far below basically anywhere else in the world.\n\nhttps://t.co/SG4ESXcFZc\u201d— Emily Peck (@Emily Peck) 1559585660
The law is expected to go into effect in July 2021 and would be funded by a 0.5 percent payroll tax. The legislation would allow workers to take paid time off to care for a wide array of loved ones, including grandparents, siblings, and anyone who is "equivalent of a family member"--the most inclusive language in a paid leave bill in the United States.
As in all states, workers in Connecticut have been permitted to take unpaid leave since 1993. State Democrats denounced Republicans during the debate over the new law for suggesting that offering unpaid leave to new parents, people with sick or injured relatives or with health challenges themselves, was sufficient.
"When the Republican Party opposes Paid Family and Medical Leave, what they're really saying is the only people who deserve to take advantage of it are the people who can afford to," tweeted the state Democrats.
\u201cUnpaid Family and Medical Leave has been the law nationwide since 1993. \n\nSo when the @CTGOP opposes \u26a0\ufe0fPaid\u26a0\ufe0f Family and Medical Leave, what they're really saying is the only people who deserve to take advantage of it are the people who can afford to.\u201d— Connecticut Dems (@Connecticut Dems) 1559587811
"Our humanity should not come down to how much we make for a living," House Majority Leader Matt Ritter told the Mirror.
Momentum began building across the country after the 2016 election to pass paid leave laws. Washington, D.C., Washington state, New York, and Massachusetts have also passed laws in the last three years, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has strived to make family and medical leave a key issue in the 2020 presidential election, as part of the Family Bill of Rights she introduced last month.
The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights tweeted that a national family and medical paid leave program must be passed by Congress to ensure all American workers can care for their families without worrying about jeopardizing their income.
\u201cConnecticut is about to become the 7th state to provide paid family leave.\n\nAt the federal level, we're still calling on Congress to pass the #FAMILYAct, which would create a national family & medical leave insurance program. It's time for #PaidLeave4All. https://t.co/fJEsdBJwGf\u201d— The Leadership Conference (@The Leadership Conference) 1559589592
Connecticut's Democratic governor is poised to sign the nation's most generous paid family and medical leave bill into law as pressure on policymakers builds to prioritize paid leave as a labor issue.
Following a six-year campaign by women's and workers' rights advocacy groups in Connecticut, the state House passed a bill last Friday guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents and workers who need to take time off to attend to family members' or their own health.
Advocates applauded state lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont, who says he plans to sign the bill, but noted that Connecticut's step forward highlights how far behind the U.S. is compared to family leave laws in other developed countries.
"Paid leave is a critical step forward for women's economic security, especially for low-wage workers and women of color who are an increasing number of primary breadwinners for their families," Catherine Bailey of the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund told the Connecticut Mirror. "We are proud to join the rest of the world and become just the seventh state in the U.S. to create a system of paid leave."
Under the new law, minimum wage employees could have up to 95 percent of their pay covered, capped at $900 per week. New York's recently-passed paid leave policy offers only a 55 percent wage replacement, which will increase to 67 percent when the law is fully implemented.
Connecticut's law, Huffington Post reporter Emily Peck tweeted, is "generous by U.S. standards, which are far below basically anywhere else in the world."
\u201cConnecticut is about to pass the most generous* paid family leave bill in the country.\n\n*generous by US standards, which are far below basically anywhere else in the world.\n\nhttps://t.co/SG4ESXcFZc\u201d— Emily Peck (@Emily Peck) 1559585660
The law is expected to go into effect in July 2021 and would be funded by a 0.5 percent payroll tax. The legislation would allow workers to take paid time off to care for a wide array of loved ones, including grandparents, siblings, and anyone who is "equivalent of a family member"--the most inclusive language in a paid leave bill in the United States.
As in all states, workers in Connecticut have been permitted to take unpaid leave since 1993. State Democrats denounced Republicans during the debate over the new law for suggesting that offering unpaid leave to new parents, people with sick or injured relatives or with health challenges themselves, was sufficient.
"When the Republican Party opposes Paid Family and Medical Leave, what they're really saying is the only people who deserve to take advantage of it are the people who can afford to," tweeted the state Democrats.
\u201cUnpaid Family and Medical Leave has been the law nationwide since 1993. \n\nSo when the @CTGOP opposes \u26a0\ufe0fPaid\u26a0\ufe0f Family and Medical Leave, what they're really saying is the only people who deserve to take advantage of it are the people who can afford to.\u201d— Connecticut Dems (@Connecticut Dems) 1559587811
"Our humanity should not come down to how much we make for a living," House Majority Leader Matt Ritter told the Mirror.
Momentum began building across the country after the 2016 election to pass paid leave laws. Washington, D.C., Washington state, New York, and Massachusetts have also passed laws in the last three years, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has strived to make family and medical leave a key issue in the 2020 presidential election, as part of the Family Bill of Rights she introduced last month.
The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights tweeted that a national family and medical paid leave program must be passed by Congress to ensure all American workers can care for their families without worrying about jeopardizing their income.
\u201cConnecticut is about to become the 7th state to provide paid family leave.\n\nAt the federal level, we're still calling on Congress to pass the #FAMILYAct, which would create a national family & medical leave insurance program. It's time for #PaidLeave4All. https://t.co/fJEsdBJwGf\u201d— The Leadership Conference (@The Leadership Conference) 1559589592