The following op-ed originally appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune
By Wendy Doyle
Just before the holidays, something truly amazing happened: Republicans and Democrats in Washington took a break from partisan infighting and gridlock to pass legislation that will make a life-changing difference for millions of families across the country.
With the stroke of a pen, President Trump signed into law a bipartisan agreement to provide paid parental leave for federal employees, which includes more than 50,000 federal employees here in Missouri and Kansas. Starting in October 2020, all federal workers will have 12 weeks of paid parental leave after birthing, adopting or fostering a child.
The new law is a significant improvement over the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which guarantees all eligible workers 12 weeks of “unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons.” Employees covered by FMLA can take time off to care for a family member or get treatment for an illness without getting fired, but it can mean going without a paycheck. While FMLA was a groundbreaking policy for working families 27 years ago, its lack of paid family and medical leave has left countless Americans financially insecure or even bankrupt.
Thanks to this recent bipartisan milestone — supported by every member of the Missouri and Kansas congressional delegation — federal employees will no longer have to choose between caring for a child or maintaining their household’s financial security. Though the new law falls short of full paid family and medical leave, since it doesn’t include paid time off for a serious medical condition or to care for a close relative, it is without question a good first step toward providing paid family and medical leave to all working families at all stages of life.
Business leaders and policymakers in Missouri and Kansas should take note.
In many ways, paid family and medical leave is the ultimate pocketbook issue for Americans of all ages, and current public opinion strongly supports a national paid family and medical leave program.
In nearly half of all two-parent households, both parents work full-time, according to the Pew Research Center. Many of these working parents in the so-called “sandwich generation” are also caring for aging family members. And in spite of the low unemployment rate, many wages are not rising with the cost of living, and the lack of workplace flexibility has left many families struggling and stressed. In fact, workers and their families lose an estimated $22.5 billion in wages each year due to a lack of paid family and medical leave.
It’s no wonder our research found that Missouri families were struggling to meet the demands of family and work.
Paid family and medical leave is also good for business by improving productivity, boosting employee recruitment and retention and reducing turnover. In short, this is a workforce development policy.
But the hard truth is that currently, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 18 percent of private sector workers and 25 percent of state and local workers have access to paid family leave. We know from our own research and many other studies, access to paid family and medical leave is vital for the strength of our families and our economy.
The good news is paid family and medical leave initiatives are increasing across the country, and employers — both public and private — are realizing these policies benefit workers and their bottom lines. The Women’s Foundation was proud to work with state officials to provide paid parental leave to nearly every state employee in Missouri and Kansas, benefiting an estimated 100,000 workers in both states.
Our country is slowly moving toward losing its dubious distinction as the only industrialized country in the world without a national paid family leave law.
Company by company, city by city, and state by state — and now with the latest policy from the federal government, we are inching closer to the day when all families can take the necessary time to care for themselves and one another without sacrificing their livelihoods.
Maybe this could be the bipartisan milestone of 2020.