Paid Leave for the U.S. (PL+US) Legislative Director Corinne Roller released the following statement in response to the incoming Biden-Harris administration's announcement of a $1.9 trillion COVID rescue package that features an expansion of emergency paid leave to nearly 106 million working people:
“Tonight, President-elect Biden took a critical step towards delivering for working families by committing to reinstate and improve emergency paid leave to reduce the spread of the virus. The urgent need to prioritize paid leave policy has never been more clear as we continue to confront this dire pandemic and an economic recession that has left millions of families reeling from acute health, caregiving, and financial challenges.
“The expansion and passage of emergency paid leave is critically important for women, particularly women of color. As the most recent jobs report made clear, women accounted for nearly every single one of the 140,000 jobs lost last month, and in the course of the pandemic women have lost over 1 million more jobs than men. Women of color have faced even greater challenges as they are more likely to be employed in frontline jobs in retail, hospitality, and education with few work-from-home options and extremely limited paid family and medical leave policies.
“Amid the darkest, most deadly stretch of the coronavirus crisis, there could not be a more critical time for Congress to work with the incoming administration to take decisive action to keep working people safe now and ensure that we emerge from this pandemic with long-term policy solutions that leave us better equipped to care for ourselves and our loved ones. Passing paid leave will provide economic security to families and businesses, protect public health, and support our nation’s economic recovery.
“Working families need emergency paid leave now, and permanent paid leave is a critical component of any real plan for robust, long-term economic recovery. We urge Democrats and Republicans to work together, take action, and get paid leave to President-elect Biden’s desk. We’re committed to doing everything we can in the weeks ahead to get them there” -- Corinne Roller, Paid Leave for the US (PL+US) Legislative Director