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Statement

30 Years After the Family and Medical Leave Act Became Law, America’s Moms Want Congress to Expand and Strengthen It, and Guarantee Paid Leave for All.

February 1, 2023
Paid Family & Medical Leave, Reproductive Justice

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Statement of leaders of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the package of badly needed improvements and updates to the FMLA being announced by lawmakers today, as well as upcoming actions to advance paid family and medical leave:

Moms in Groundhog Costumes Will Deliver the Message to Congress Tomorrow Morning: Groundhog Day or Not, We’re Tired of Being in the Shadow

“For 30 years since the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) became law, America’s moms, families, and business leaders have been asking lawmakers to take the next step and guarantee paid leave for all working people in this country, which will support families, boost businesses, improve the public health, and strengthen our economy. And like a groundhog that sees its shadow, Republicans in Congress have scurried back underground, blocking the progress the country needs.

“With the pandemic continuing, millions of moms forced out of the workforce, and businesses struggling without the workers they need, the absurd excuses and intolerable delays must finally end. The country needs the Job Protection Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN); the Caring for All Families Act, being sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); the ESP and School Support Staff Family Leave Act, sponsored by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); and the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act, sponsored by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) to become law immediately, to strengthen the FMLA and extend its reach. And we need a comprehensive federal paid leave program that covers us all now. Every day we wait, families, businesses, and our economy suffer.”

-Statement of Ruth Martin, Senior Vice President and Chief Workplace Justice Officer, MomsRising

“The 30-year-old FMLA was a landmark achievement but it guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to less than 60% of the country’s working people to care for a newborn, newly adopted child or a seriously ill family member, or to recover from their own serious health condition, including pregnancy. And many people who are covered by the FMLA cannot afford to take the unpaid leave it provides.

 “As we wait for lawmakers to pass comprehensive paid leave, like most other industrialized nations have already done, we need Congress to extend the FMLA’s reach by passing the Job Protection Act, the Caring for All Families Act, the ESP and School Support Staff Family Leave Act, and the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act. America’s moms thank Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and all the cosponsors of these four essential bills, for introducing and championing them.

 “There is broad, unshakable public support in this country for paid family and medical leave for all. There should be broad support for it in Congress, too.”

-Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.