To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Pass the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act!
Please pass the FAMILY Act, which would create a national family and medical leave insurance program to provide workers with a portion of their salaries for 12 weeks to recover from an illness, to bond with new children, or to care for ailing family members. Workers should never be forced to choose between a paycheck and their own or their family's health.
Why is this important?
Every birth, every adoption, and every serious illness presents the average American worker with an agonizing choice between financial security and their families’ health. The FAMILY Act would create a national family and medical leave insurance program to provide workers with a portion of their wages for up to 12 weeks in a year to recover from a serious health condition; to care for ailing parents, spouses, domestic partners, and children; to care for a new child; or for specific military caregiving and leave purposes.
Successful paid leave programs in New Jersey, California, and around the world have shown the benefits of paid leave. It improves newborn and maternal health. It helps patients avoid complications and hospital readmissions. It keeps workers in the workforce and financially stable. And businesses benefit from decreased turnover and increased employee engagement.
The FAMILY Act would be funded through employee and employer contributions. The benefits would amount to 66 percent of a worker’s wages (with a maximum of $4000 per month in the first year), and the cost for a typical worker would be about $1.50 per week.
American workers deserve better. It’s time for Congress to improve the lives of every working family. Pass the FAMILY Act today.
Successful paid leave programs in New Jersey, California, and around the world have shown the benefits of paid leave. It improves newborn and maternal health. It helps patients avoid complications and hospital readmissions. It keeps workers in the workforce and financially stable. And businesses benefit from decreased turnover and increased employee engagement.
The FAMILY Act would be funded through employee and employer contributions. The benefits would amount to 66 percent of a worker’s wages (with a maximum of $4000 per month in the first year), and the cost for a typical worker would be about $1.50 per week.
American workers deserve better. It’s time for Congress to improve the lives of every working family. Pass the FAMILY Act today.