Almost 27 million Americans in the private sector do not have access to annual paid vacation leave, and members of Congress have the solution. U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Greg Casar (TX-35), and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) introduced the Protected Time Off (PTO) Act to guarantee all workers have access to paid days off from work. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) is introducing similar legislation in the Senate.
During a press conference to introduce the bill, Ruth Martin, Senior Vice President at MomsRising spoke alongside Representative. Magaziner, Budzinski (IL-13), Casar, and Crockett in calling for passage of the PTO Act. “Moms need and deserve time off to care for a sick child or parent, go to the doctor, or simply take a break,”
The PTO Act would ensure all American employees who work full time will earn no less than two weeks of annual leave per year and it can be used for any reason. This would be in addition to sick leave or family and medical leave. It also ensures that employees are protected against discrimination for trying to take their annual paid time off [1].
“Most moms are caring for their families while holding the jobs they need to pay the bills.” If this bill passes, it means moms and families don’t have to make impossible choices when a child gets sick or a parent needs care. Every worker deserves time off and that’s why MomsRising strongly supports the Protected Time Off Act, which would guarantee full-time working people two weeks of paid annual leave each year.
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