June 25, 2021
After decades of opposing federal paid leave mandates like the one Biden is pushing, many employer groups are giving ground.
Businesses and GOP lawmakers, typically aligned on policies that affect employers, aren't marching in lockstep when it comes to a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan: paid leave.
After decades of opposing federal paid leave mandates like the one Biden is pushing, many employer groups — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — are giving ground, even as top congressional Republicans push alternatives like tax credits.
The groups say they could accept some form of national policy as long as it preempts state and local leave regulations, making it easier for employers with workers in multiple states to comply with a single standard and leveling the playing field for businesses when it comes to a benefit that consistently polls well.