Oct 20, 2021
Dear Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi,
I’m not an elected official, and I’m not a politician. I am, like many, an engaged citizen and a parent. And because you and your congressional colleagues have a role in shaping family outcomes for generations to come, that’s why I’m writing to you at this deeply important time—as a mom—to advocate for paid leave.
Over the past 20 months, the pandemic has exposed long-existing fault lines in our communities. At an alarming rate, millions of women dropped out of the workforce, staying home with their kids as schools and daycares were closed, and looking after loved ones full-time. The working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost.
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 20, 2021
The Duchess of Sussex has published an open letter to members of the United States Congress in support of a comprehensive paid leave program for new parents.
Meghan, a mom-of-two, welcomed her daughter Lili in June and she revealed how "overwhelmed" she and husband Prince Harry were in the first few weeks.
She also shared her concerns that the country does not yet have comprehensive paid leave for all parents, calling on Congress to agree that "if we are to continue to be exceptional, then we can’t be the exception".
The former actress wrote: "In June, my husband and I welcomed our second child. Like any parents, we were overjoyed. Like many parents, we were overwhelmed. Like fewer parents, we weren't confronted with the harsh reality of either spending those first few critical months with our baby or going back to work.
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 20, 2021
Meghan Markle is writing to Washington.
Today, the Duchess of Sussex published an open letter to Senator Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi advocating for paid leave—a federal guarantee that parents can take compensated time off after welcoming a child. Currently, the Duchess wrote, America is facing an invisible crisis concerning women and childcare: “Over the past 20 months, the pandemic has exposed long-existing fault lines in our communities. At an alarming rate, millions of women dropped out of the workforce, staying home with their kids as schools and daycares were closed, and looking after loved ones full-time,” she wrote. “The working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost.”
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 19, 2021
Faced with the possibility that a paid family and medical leave proposal could be cut from spending legislation, allies of the White House are trying to salvage it by offering a compromise that would initially give workers four or six weeks off. The plan that is under discussion would scale up over 10 years to the 12 weeks that President Joe Biden originally proposed and advocates of the policy continue to support.
Read more at: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article255108057.html#storylink=cpy
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 18, 2021
Christina Hayes, 34, stopped going to the doctor for treatment of her lupus when she was pregnant and working at a cable company in Michigan in 2013. She had used up her vacation days, and without paid sick leave, she worried about paying her rent and electricity bill if she took more time off.
But after her blood pressure spiked, her doctors induced labor two months early, fearing that she might have a seizure. She and her baby ended up being fine, but Ms. Hayes, now an airline gate agent in Inkster, Mich., said that having paid leave would have allowed her to prioritize her health over her paycheck.
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 18, 2021
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has spoken out about his decision to take paternity leave after the birth of his twins, calling it "important work."
The comments from Buttigieg come after Fox News' Tucker Carlson and other prominent conservatives mocked Buttigieg's decision to take time off to care for his newborn twins.
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 18, 2021
In September 2020, 863,000 women left or were forced to leave the workforce. Since then, much attention has been focused on how the paid leave proposal in Biden’s Build Back Better plan—which is currently being debated in Congress—could help keep women in the workforce when they’re welcoming a new child into their family, caring for a loved one or even recovering from a serious illness like cancer.
But one truly world-leading element of the paid leave plan hasn’t gotten the notice it should, especially right now, during National Domestic Violence Awareness month: The paid leave proposal in the Build Back Better plan would specifically provide paid leave for people who need to “find safety from assault, stalking and sexual violence.”
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 15, 2021
"With less than 10 minutes' notice, I had to drop everything to stay home with two scared kids," Los Angeles mother Mandy Kent told us after a Covid-19 scare forced her family into quarantine. Her kids tested negative, but the episode put her on edge. "The stress is intense."
It's ironic that a pandemic that has made us hyper-cautious about our families' physical health has also taken a more insidious health toll on our stress. Many caregivers are feeling increased anxiety, depression, and burn-out. While the pandemic may have pushed more individuals to the brink, none of the structural failures are new -- caregivers have long faced inadequate family and sick leave and a patchy, expensive childcare system.
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 15, 2021
Neil Sroka, a spokesman for the advocacy group PL+US: Paid Leave for the United States, said it's significant that he was permitted to take leave and that he actually chose to take it, especially with such a high-profile position. "We need to see more high level-executive leaders like Sec. Buttigieg make similar choices if we're going to break harmful, gendered stereotypes about who provides care and foster workplaces that respect genuine work-life balance."
READ MORE HERE >>
Oct 2, 2021
A sweeping new legislative proposal on Capitol Hill could give Congress a rare opportunity to address an issue that has long been on the backburner – paid family leave.
Today, only some workers have access to paid time off to care for their loved ones or their own medical needs.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed a national paid leave policy so that all workers can take time out of work.
READ MORE HERE >>
Sept 28, 2021
Investors with assets worth over $1.6 trillion urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a federal paid family and medical leave policy as part of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion spending plan, according to a letter viewed by Reuters.
The more than 100 investors, which include public pension funds, state treasurers and asset managers, said a paid leave policy would help to improve the U.S. economy and make the companies in which they hold shares perform better.
READ MORE HERE >>
Sept 21, 2021
As the Delta variant surges, kids return to school, and businesses bring employees back to the workplace, it seems like the world is ready to move on without a second thought. Except for moms.
But as much as some might be tired from hearing about the struggles mothers are facing, I can promise you that mothers are more tired. It’s deja vu for parents in America, as schools are re-opening in person. Between wondering what this means for their kids, their careers and their lives in general, moms across America have had enough.
READ MORE HERE >>
Sept 03, 2021
As the country continues to fight its way through the COVID-19 pandemic and a rapidly changing economy, Congress is debating priorities to include in the upcoming legislative package. While Americans have heard the most about the “hard infrastructure” components such as job-creating roads, bridges and broadband, the Biden administration’s proposal includes robust “soft infrastructure” such as caregiving and paid family and medical leave. Despite the media and political labels, the truth is there’s nothing soft about the caregiving crisis in which America finds itself, and there’s nothing harder for working and retired Americans, and those people caring for older parents, spouses and other loved ones, than balancing caregiving needs with basic financial stability.
READ MORE HERE >>
Sept 02, 2021
My wife Danielle and I are expecting our first child this fall. We couldn’t be more excited or grateful to grow our family and welcome our son to the world. The way we’ve started stockpiling diapers, onesies, and gadgets I don’t even understand probably makes us look straight out of a sitcom. And as we prepare for a fundamental change to our world, we recognize with a great deal of humility our privilege to afford the basic necessities (and plenty of non-necessities) that seem to arrive at our apartment every day.
We also recognize the privilege that both of us will be able to take ample time away when our son is born and maximize our bonding time with him.
READ MORE HERE >>
Aug 04, 2021
Parents and caretakers are at a crossroads. As the country begins to reopen, many are being forced to choose between returning to a work environment that does not provide paid leave or potentially risk financial ruin to care for loved ones, themselves, or their children.
It's a lose-lose situation and many are opting to stay home, which weakens our economy and hurts our small businesses. That is why paid leave is front and center in Washington right now as Congress works to pass a massive reconciliation bill that includes paid leave.
Here are the basics families need to know.
READ MORE HERE >>
July 15, 2021
Federal lawmakers have been grappling for years with proposals to reform rules around when employers must give workers time off to care for themselves and their loved ones.
READ MORE HERE >>
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.
READ MORE >>
June 24, 2021
On this week's episode of Inside the Hive, Emily Jane Fox talked to White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the administration's plans to pass paid leave and support working families, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian about paternity leave and the stigma around fathers taking time off (if they even get it, that is), and Rent the Runway C.E.O. Jenn Hyman about how offering fair and robust leave to employees makes economic and moral sense for employers.
LISTEN HERE >>
