Today marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, a landmark law that has helped millions of Americans take the time they need for their health and their families. But since then, federal law has been mostly stagnant while states and cities have been moving forward with stronger protections. Our new report, A Foundation and a Blueprint, lifts up the leadership of these innovative states and cities to light the way toward the workplace leave laws we need now.
States and cities have provided a blueprint for 21st century workplace leave laws, by
- Providing paid leave benefits, ensuring that workers, including those who are self-employed or part-time, won’t have to choose between caring for themselves or their families and paying the bills,
- Increasing access to job-protected leave for those left out of the FMLA by reducing barriers that disproportionately exclude the most vulnerable workers,
- Expanding the meaning of family to better reflect and protect the diversity of modern families, and
- Securing paid sick days to improve economic security and public health.
Find out more in the full report here. At A Better Balance, we won’t stop fighting until all workers have a real right to the leave they need when they need it the most.
