    [Senate Hearing 118-735]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 118-735

                    EXPLORING PAID LEAVE: POLICY, PRACTICE,
                          AND IMPACT ON THE WORKFORCE
    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                OCTOBER 25, 2023

                                   __________

                Printed for the use of the Committee on Finance

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                    __________

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    61-896-PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2025

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

                          RON WYDEN, Oregon, Chairman

    DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
    MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
    ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey          JOHN CORNYN, Texas
    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
    BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
    SHERROD BROWN, Ohio                  BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
    MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado          JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
    ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania   STEVE DAINES, Montana
    MARK R. WARNER, Virginia             TODD YOUNG, Indiana
    SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island     JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
    MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
    CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada       THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
    ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts      MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee

                        Joshua Sheinkman, Staff Director

                    Gregg Richard, Republican Staff Director

                                      (II)

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                       Page
    Wyden, Hon. Ron, a U.S. Senator from Oregon, chairman, Committee
      on Finance.....................................................     1
    Crapo, Hon. Mike, a U.S. Senator from Idaho......................     3

                                   WITNESSES

    Frye, Jocelyn, president, National Partnership for Women and
      Families, Washington, DC.......................................     5
    Verhoeven, Ben, president, Peoria Gardens, Inc., Albany, OR......     6
    Milito, Elizabeth, executive director, Small Business Legal
      Center, National Federation of Independent Business,
      Washington, DC.................................................     8
    Greszler, Rachel U., senior research fellow, Grover M. Hermann
      Center for the Federal Budget, The Heritage Foundation,
      Washington, DC.................................................     9

                   ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL

    Crapo, Hon. Mike:
        Opening statement............................................     3
        Prepared statement...........................................    35
    Frye, Jocelyn:
        Testimony....................................................     5
        Prepared statement...........................................    36
        Responses to questions from committee members................    53
    Greszler, Rachel U.:
        Testimony....................................................     9
        Prepared statement...........................................    55
        Responses to questions from committee members................    69
    Milito, Elizabeth:
        Testimony....................................................     8
        Prepared statement...........................................    71
        Responses to questions from committee members................    75
    Verhoeven, Ben:
        Testimony....................................................     6
        Prepared statement...........................................    76
        Responses to questions from committee members................    77
    Wyden, Hon. Ron:
        Opening statement............................................     1
        Prepared statement...........................................    79

                                 Communications

    A Better Balance.................................................    81
    A Better Balance et al...........................................    91
    American Benefits Council........................................    98
    Caring Across Generations........................................   103
    Center for American Progress.....................................   105
    Center for Law and Social Policy.................................   107
    Center for Public Justice, National Association of Evangelicals,
      and Mormon Women for Ethical Government........................   112
    Count on Mothers.................................................   114
    Democrats for Life of America....................................   117
    The ERISA Industry Committee.....................................   118
    Etsy, Inc........................................................   121
    Family Values @ Work et al.......................................   122
    HR Policy Association............................................   126
    IBM Corporation..................................................   128
    Martinez, Jackie.................................................   130
    MomsRising.......................................................   130
    National Council of Jewish Women.................................   131
    National Organization for Women..................................   133
    National Partnership for Women and Families......................   136
    National Women's Law Center......................................   142
    New America, Better Life Lab.....................................   146
    1,000 Days.......................................................   152
    Oxfam America....................................................   153
    PHI..............................................................   155
    Reproductive Freedom for All.....................................   157
    Small Business Majority..........................................   159
    Third Way........................................................   161
    UnidosUS.........................................................   163
    U.S. Breastfeeding Committee.....................................   166
    United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.....................   168
    Valle-Gutierrez, Laura...........................................   170
    ZERO TO THREE....................................................   171

      EXPLORING PAID LEAVE: POLICY, PRACTICE, AND IMPACT ON THE WORKFORCE

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023

                                           U.S. Senate,
                                          Committee on Finance,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The hearing was convened, pursuant to notice, at 10:07
    a.m., in Room SD-215, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Ron
    Wyden (chairman of the committee) presiding.
        Present: Senators Stabenow, Menendez, Casey, Whitehouse,
    Hassan, Cortez Masto, Warren, Crapo, Thune, Cassidy, Johnson,
    Tillis, and Blackburn.
        Also present: Democratic staff: Drew Crouch, Senior Tax and
    ERISA Counsel; Sam Conchuratt, Professional Staff Member;
    Rebecca Nathanson, Senior Domestic Policy Advisor; and Joshua
    Sheinkman, Staff Director. Republican staff: Jamie Cummins,
    Senior Tax Counsel; John Kashuba, Counsel; Lara Rosner, Social
    Security Policy Advisor; Becky Cole, Chief Economist; and Gregg
    Richard, Staff Director.

       OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
                 OREGON, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

        The Chairman. The Finance Committee meets this morning to
    talk about a pressing issue: paid leave. And I am sure as we
    begin, people want to know, so why are you holding this
    hearing? The reason we are is because low- and middle-income
    workers are falling through the cracks in our economy, and
    these are hardworking Americans--construction workers, nurses,
    cashiers--and they are all trying to juggle work obligations
    and still be there for families who need them.
        The American people understand this and know what is needed
    to make sure that everybody in our economic system has a chance
    to get ahead. According to poll after poll, 70 percent of
    Americans want national paid leave. They know that too often
    without it, workers are forced to make the impossible choice of
    a paycheck or caring for a loved one in need.
        Paid leave is so crucial to many American workers that a
    recent poll from the Bipartisan Policy Center showed that paid
    family and medical leave benefits are as important as pay when
    considering starting or returning to work. Americans want to
    work--let me emphasize this. And our colleague from Ohio,
    Senator Brown, if you are friends with him, he says that a
    couple of times a day, and he is absolutely right.
        Americans want to pay their bills, they want to provide for
    their families, but we all know sometimes life intervenes, and
    sometimes you've got to be there for your family. In fact, that
    same Bipartisan Policy Center poll shows that 72 percent of
    Americans who are not currently working say that it is because
    these family personal challenges intervene--health, caregiving.
        Congress talks an awful lot about how to deal with the
    worker shortage crisis. Today, we are going to talk about an
    opportunity to do something about it. If a nation as powerful
    and prosperous as ours sits on this issue, we are going to have
    to have an answer to the fact that somehow the United States is
    the only developed nation in the world without a national paid
    leave program.
        Today, only one out of four workers in America have access
    to paid leave. There has been progress, but 14 States and the
    District of Columbia are really about it. So, there is a lot
    more to do, and I believe America has an opportunity to better
    support workers and better support our economy.
        If I were to sum up our challenge--and I am looking at Mr.
    Verhoeven from Albany, OR, because they kind of embody this
    thinking. We ought to be doing what my mom always said: take
    out your sharpest pencil and get to work on solving an issue
    like this, where you bring together people on both sides of the
    aisle, businesses of various sizes, and communities. And by the
    way, Oregon can give you some pretty good tips, which is why we
    are so thrilled to have Ben Verhoeven here today.
        Ben owns a small farm in Albany, OR, and if you are looking
    for a place on the planet where residents are good at taking
    out a sharp pencil and solving problems, making things work,
    all you have to do is look at Albany, OR.
        So today, you are going to hear Mr. Verhoeven say that
    providing paid leave has helped him hang on to extraordinary
    workers and helped his business grow and thrive. He is going to
    tell us how back home the government began to work in this
    area, and he was able to do even more to help his employees,
    and it was straightforward and affordable.
        His story to me is an illustration of what we can do if we,
    as a committee--and my colleagues here have all been part of
    this--sit down and represent how to solve a problem in a
    bipartisan way. Too many workers are falling between the
    cracks, and paid leave is a missing piece of our agenda.
        The last point I am going to make as I am looking at the
    dais is, our colleagues of both political parties are
    constantly saying our biggest job--our biggest job--is to
    compete against China. Well, I want to close by saying smart
    paid leave policies can add vast sums of economic growth to the
    American economy. And we can do it if we come together, say our
    focus is to out-compete China, and put in place policies that
    leverage our economy at all levels, which is to give workers
    the chance, when they have to be with family, to take that time
    and be there for their communities and their jobs at other
    points in their life.
        So, we are really pleased that we are going to have a great
    panel. I appreciate my colleagues. We've got both sides
    represented here, and that is what you need to come up with
    some solutions. And I recognize my friend, Senator Crapo.
        [The prepared statement of Chairman Wyden appears in the
    appendix.]

                 OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE CRAPO,
                       A U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

        Senator Crapo. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is an
    important hearing, as nearly every working American will need
    to take leave from work at some point in their career. The
    Finance Committee has previously explored this topic, including
    holding a subcommittee hearing in 2018 and convening a paid
    leave working group organized by then-Chairman Grassley and
    Chairman Wyden.
        I was a member of that bipartisan working group, which
    sought to find the most sustainable path forward on paid leave
    policies. As I noted at that time, I am committed to addressing
    the needs of working Americans, both inside and outside the
    home, while also ensuring that businesses have the flexibility
    they need to succeed, particularly in today's challenging
    economy.
        As we will hear today, paid leave can greatly benefit
    workers and their families, from improving employee morale to
    helping families meet caregiving responsibilities. However,
    there are many approaches to expanding paid leave, and the
    details matter.
        Employers across the country are struggling to fill vital
    roles in their organizations, with nearly 9.6 million jobs
    remaining unfilled nationally. In a recent survey from the
    National Federation of Independent Business, 43 percent of
    small business owners reported job openings they could not fill
    in the current period. In light of these workforce challenges,
    Congress must be careful not to interfere with employers'
    existing paid leave offerings, which play an important part in
    their efforts to recruit and retain workers.
        According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, 78
    percent of private-sector workers have access to paid sick
    leave and 79 percent have access to paid vacation.
    Additionally, 73 percent of small employers offer paid time off
    to the majority of their full-time employees, and 67 percent
    offer 2 weeks or more of leave.
        Imposing a one-size-fits-all paid leave program could
    actually limit employers' ability to offer paid leave policies
    that meet the unique needs of their workforce--or significantly
    diminish existing employer-provided paid leave altogether.
        Creating a new Federal paid leave program also raises
    questions about implementation challenges and costs to
    taxpayers. States' experiences standing up paid leave programs
    illustrate some of the challenges that a new Federal program
    could face. Several States that have enacted paid leave
    programs have had difficulty setting up even the most basic
    components of the program, leading to implementation delays.
        For example, applicants in multiple States have experienced
    delays with getting their claims approved, with processing
    times in one State expected to increase from about 5 weeks to 4
    months by 2025, absent additional staffing.
        One State has had to repeatedly increase the revenue going
    to the program to avoid a funding deficit. And in another
    State, analysts have raised concerns that revenues may be too
    low to pay future benefits.
        Even though there are many challenges on this topic, the
    bipartisan work that continues from members on and off this
    committee shows the importance of the issue.
        I appreciate our witnesses being here today, and I look
    forward to your testimony to help us thread this needle.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        [The prepared statement of Senator Crapo appears in the
    appendix.]
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague, and you know, my
    colleague raises a number of questions that I think there is an
    opportunity to find some common ground on. And that is what we
    ought to do today. I mean, the issue of flexibility, that is
    indisputable. We want to recognize that different parts of the
    country are different, and we want to work to make sure we
    wring out every dollar that we have for this important cause
    and be efficient.
        So, I will look forward to hearing the ideas of colleagues
    here in a moment. Let's introduce our witnesses.
        Jocelyn Frye has been a special friend of the Finance
    Committee and given us good counsel for so long. She is
    president of the National Partnership for Women and Families,
    the first Black woman to head the National Partnership. She is
    a recognized expert in this field, and if ever there was a
    Wonder Woman prepared to kind of bring people together around
    good ideas, it is our friend Jocelyn Frye, JD. She is also a
    native of Washington, DC, raised by two parents who also worked
    in government, and we appreciate her leadership.
        Next, Ben Verhoeven, my constituent, father of three, and
    an important voice in Oregon as a small business owner. He is a
    second-generation farmer and president of Peoria Gardens, a
    family-owned wholesale greenhouse in Albany. They specialize in
    flowers and vegetable starts. He has 26 year-round employees,
    24 seasonal employees, and he has made it a priority--a
    priority--for this small business in Albany, OR, colleagues, to
    have access to paid leave. He is going to tell us how he is
    making it pencil out, and that is, I think, a big part of why
    his contribution is so important.
        Then we will have Elizabeth Milito. She is with the
    National Federation of Independent Businesses. Ms. Milito,
    great to have you. We have worked with you all often on many
    issues.
        Then we will have Rachel Greszler. She is a senior research
    fellow in economics at the Heritage Foundation. She focuses
    there on labor and retirement issues including employment
    opportunities, and she was a senior economist at the Joint
    Economic Committee. She resides in Bethesda with her husband
    and six children.
        We are glad you are here, all of you. Let us begin then
    with Ms. Frye. Welcome. And for all of you, we will make your
    prepared statements a part of the record, so, if you want to
    just summarize and kind of highlight some things that are
    particularly important to you. It is not only kind of more
    useful, it is also more fun, because we can kind of give back
    and forth.
        Ms. Frye, welcome.

    STATEMENT OF JOCELYN FRYE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR
                   WOMEN AND FAMILIES, WASHINGTON, DC

        Ms. Frye. Thank you so much, Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member
    Crapo, and members of the committee. It is really a privilege
    to be here with you this morning to chat about one of my
    favorite topics: paid leave. The National Partnership for Women
    and Families is a policymaking and legal advocacy group that
    strives to break down gender-based barriers which prevent
    women, but indeed all people, from reaching their full
    potential.
        The National Partnership has a long history of working to
    advance paid leave, and we have a deep understanding of what
    works and what does not work in designing paid leave policies.
    We believe paid family and medical leave is a core labor
    standard that is necessary. It is long overdue and essential to
    creating stronger workplaces in an economy of the future.
        Even before the pandemic, our Nation's lack of
    comprehensive care policies undermined the full participation
    of women in our economy. It forced too many to choose between
    caring for their family and their financial security. The
    economic disruptions caused by the pandemic only exacerbated
    these problems.
        The lack of paid leave has negative consequences for people
    of all backgrounds, but its effects are most pronounced for
    workers who face multiple barriers and biases. Women workers,
    especially women of color, who are more likely to provide care,
    are less likely to work in jobs with paid leave.
        They also must navigate assumptions that the care they
    perform is not worthy of support or investment, and that they
    will just make things work on their own. Major disparities in
    paid leave access also exist for workers in the lowest income
    brackets, for workers of color, and for workers with
    disabilities, many of whom need medical leave to attend to
    ongoing health conditions. And they also need caregiving leave
    because they also care for family.
        Due to a lack of paid leave, American households miss out
    on $22.5 billion in wages each year. Our economy loses $650
    billion a year because we have fewer women in the workforce
    compared to other industrialized nations. This occurs at a time
    when families increasingly rely on mothers, especially mothers
    of color, as breadwinners.
        There is ample evidence of paid leave's benefits. Thirteen
    States, along with the District of Columbia, have already
    enacted paid leave. Research in communities where paid leave
    has been implemented shows significant gains in the health and
    financial stability of workers. Businesses do report that their
    workforces are more productive and experience less turnover,
    saving employers the cost of hiring new employees and training
    new staff.
        These State-level successes offer vital lessons about some
    of the qualities needed in a paid-leave law. An effective law
    must offer meaningful sufficient benefits, which are universal
    and guaranteed to as many workers as possible in as many
    employment settings as possible, so no one is left behind. It
    must provide enough weeks of leave and enough income to
    actually meet the needs of workers, and enable them to afford
    to take time off. An effective law must be comprehensive enough
    to meet the full breadth of caregiving needs, not only for
    newborn children, but also loved ones such as aging parents and
    ailing spouses. And it should guarantee that paid medical leave
    is available for workers themselves when they face a serious
    health condition.
        Expanding care investments is not a luxury. It is an urgent
    need in every corner of the country. Take for example Tracy
    Wood, a speech pathologist raising six children in West
    Virginia. She is a member of one of our partners, MomsRising.
    Tracy has a son with disabilities and also cares for a
    homebound grandparent. She used to work full-time but was
    forced to quit that job because it lacked paid leave. Her
    current contracting role does not offer it either. So every
    time she takes her son or grandparent to the doctor, she
    endures the added stress of knowing she is bringing home less
    money to feed her family.
        There are millions of Americans in the same position as
    Tracy Wood, and they worry about whether or not they will have
    the ability to care for themselves and their family members and
    secure the financial health of their families. It is a worry
    that springs to mind when they are awake, and it keeps them up
    at night. And it is no wonder that 80 percent of voters from
    across the political spectrum want Congress to pass paid
    leave--and we do too at the National Partnership.
        So the time to act is now, and I appreciate the opportunity
    to speak with you today, and I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Frye appears in the
    appendix.]
        The Chairman. Thanks; thanks very much, Ms. Frye. Every
    time I hear you speak, I always wait for the part where you
    say, ``Look, this is not a luxury.'' Here are the real-life
    examples, and it says it so well, and we appreciate it.
        Mr. Verhoeven?

                STATEMENT OF BEN VERHOEVEN, PRESIDENT,
                    PEORIA GARDENS, INC., ALBANY, OR

        Mr. Verhoeven. Good morning, Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member
    Crapo, and members of the Senate Committee on Finance. Hello
    there. I am Ben Verhoeven. I am a second-generation farmer and
    nursery owner. I run a family-owned greenhouse in rural Albany,
    OR.
        I am proud to say my 26 year-round and 24 seasonal
    employees receive great benefits, which in the big picture do
    not cost me much, but mean a lot to everyone, and they are good
    for business.
        My workers can get paid family leave, which covers parental
    leave, medical leave, and leave to care for a loved one. In
    addition to paid family leave, my workers can get health care,
    paid vacation, paid sick time, and a pension. Many industry
    groups claim that policies like ours will hurt business. That
    is just not true.
        Paid family leave costs me less per year than truck repairs
    and has a much greater effect on the lives of the people I work
    with. Our farm began offering 12 weeks of full paid parental
    leave in 2016. We have since worked to help pass paid family
    leave for all Oregonians. Together, we can expand these
    benefits to all Americans.
        Before my workers had paid family leave, they told me
    stories of draining their retirement savings to care for a
    dying brother. This is now a thing of the past. I know a mother
    who no longer must rely on donated sick time to plan for a
    second child. I have seen a young man raised by a single mother
    grow into a loving and strong father of two. These are real
    stories from my workers, made possible by paid family leave.
        In Oregon, under our State's new Paid Leave Oregon program,
    my farm can now provide paid family leave for my workers.
    Opponents of paid leave will tell you that only workers
    benefit, and therefore all the financial costs should fall on
    workers' shoulders. This is not true.
        As an independent business owner, I benefit when my
    employees do not have to choose between their loved ones and a
    paycheck. As a farmer, I benefit when my workers have a stable
    home life, which begets a stable work life. Since offering paid
    parental leave in 2016, we have seen a return on our
    investment, as valuable employees, including many fathers,
    return to work and future promotions. This helps my business to
    prosper and grow.
        As a business owner, I also benefit from stronger,
    healthier, more resilient markets. Lessening the financial
    hardship of an illness, a birth, or a family crisis leaves more
    savings in people's pockets, savings they can put toward homes
    and gardens.
        As any farmer will tell you, we are subject to the forces
    of Mother Nature. A crop failure affects our business the same
    way a sudden illness affects the family. This is why I feel
    strongly that coverage should be expanded to include all
    businesses and workers. Life events like birth, illness, and
    ailing parents happen to all of us regardless of the size of
    the company we work for.
        I would also add that as a farmer and a small business
    owner, national paid family leave is a good bargain. I cannot
    afford comprehensive paid family leave on my own, which is why
    a program like the one we have in Oregon is the best way
    forward.
        Our State's program costs businesses like mine less than
    offering stand-alone plans, and I know that my workers are also
    contributing. As a small business owner, I am the H.R.
    department. Our State program has been much easier to set up
    than the private insurance options also allowed under Oregon's
    new law that we explored.
        Working with our State has been as simple as a software
    update to our payroll, and a preprinted poster in the break
    room. Oregon's program manages the process, confirms if a
    worker qualifies, and of course pays for the leave itself out
    of the fund. This is a real service, both for me and for my
    workers.
        A comprehensive and permanent paid family leave program is
    good for workers, benefits employers, and secures our economy
    for generations. It is the right thing to do for business; it
    is the right thing to do for workers. Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Verhoeven appears in the
    appendix.]
        The Chairman. Ben, thanks very much, and you were really on
    message. I was struck where you said, ``Look, this really makes
    sense economically, and it frees up money for people to invest
    in gardens and homes.'' I say Ben's got a good message. Good
    work; thanks.
        Let us go next with Ms. Milito.

       STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH MILITO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SMALL
       BUSINESS LEGAL CENTER, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT
                        BUSINESS, WASHINGTON, DC

        Ms. Milito. Thank you, Chair Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo,
    for inviting me to speak today. My name is Beth Milito, and I
    am delighted to speak on behalf of the National Federation of
    Independent Business. NFIB is a member-driven organization that
    represents about 300,000 small and independent businesses
    across the country.
        Small businesses employ nearly half the country's private-
    sector workforce, and when small businesses succeed,
    communities and local economies succeed. Consider the very
    types of small businesses you frequent: pizza parlor, auto
    shop, dry cleaner, nail salon. Some have employees who are
    strictly hourly, some are salaried, some are part-time, some
    are full-time.
        These are the typical NFIB members, who on average have 5
    to 10 employees. Only about 12 percent have a human resource
    professional. About 50 percent of NFIB members do payroll in-
    house. I describe NFIB's membership to illustrate one of the
    key points of my written testimony.
        There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all policy that
    works for every business or every industry. I understand the
    good intentions behind various proposals that mandate leave.
    But NFIB and its members have long opposed leave requirements
    for two reasons: inflexibility and cost.
        First, innovation and flexibility are critical to small
    business survival. The COVID-19 pandemic showcased small firms
    that thrived by innovating, pivoting, and adapting to their new
    circumstances. Small firms depend on flexibility, not only to
    boost sales and manage business operations, but to establish
    employee benefits, which includes paid time off.
        The majority of small businesses provide flexible, mutually
    beneficial arrangements that allow employees time off when
    necessary in a fiscally responsible way for that business.
    Small business owners recognize the value of providing paid
    leave to employees, since after all, small businesses need to
    bid for and retain talent like all other firms, big and small.
    And to the extent they can, small businesses provide paid leave
    voluntarily to remain competitive and to attract top talent.
        To the extent that small firms do not offer paid leave,
    this reflects the reality that some small firms simply cannot
    financially afford to offer this benefit. If you can only
    afford to give your workers 10 days of paid time off and the
    government mandates 5 days of paid sick leave, then your
    employees have only 5 days left for vacation.
        This leads me to my second concern with leave mandates.
    Leave, paid or unpaid, is not a free benefit. The unanswered
    question with a leave mandate is, who is going to pay? There is
    a cost for these proposals, and not all business owners can
    absorb the cost.
        In a small business with a finite amount of resources, this
    means less money available for wage increases, it means less
    money for health insurance, and it means less money for hiring
    additional employees. It also means more time and money devoted
    to complying with workforce policies.
        I mentioned earlier that the small business owners
    typically have few administrative staff and little human
    resource experience. Nearly all leave mandates, paid or unpaid,
    impose recordkeeping requirements, including leave tracking,
    notification, documentation, and reporting. When one State
    considered and adopted a paid sick leave proposal a few years
    ago, the legislative record was replete with opposition from
    small business owners.
        Consider this submission: ``We compete in the world market,
    and everything the State or the Federal Government does burdens
    us with more and more unfunded mandates that make us less
    competitive in world markets. So now I have fewer employees,
    and since there is not enough income after all my employment
    costs are met, I end up not getting paid anything for my family
    for all the work that I do. I could go on and on, but the
    bottom line is that we farmers don't make enough to subsidize
    all the wonderful benefits that you would like to see employees
    entitled to. I have workers asking for work and there is plenty
    for them to do, but at the high cost that the State requires me
    to pay, I have to limit the number that I can hire. It may seem
    great to mandate more benefits to employees, but the hidden
    costs are fewer jobs.''
        Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy.
    They create two-thirds of new jobs in this country, and they
    account for 44 percent of U.S. economic activity. The
    government must pay more attention to supporting the health of
    small businesses and not viewing them as a source of tax
    revenue and the implementer of misdirected policies.
        Mandated leave laws represent a significant challenge for
    small business, since mandates are generally not flexible nor
    affordable. Making it more expensive to operate a small
    business will hamper the ability of small business survival.
        On behalf of the small business owners of NFIB, thank you
    very much for the invitation to appear today.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Milito appears in the
    appendix.]
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Milito. And I am
    almost tempted at this point to say we are going to send you
    four off on your own to work this out. We will supply the
    pizza. There is one point that you raised, Ms. Milito, that
    just caught my ear, when you said paid leave should not be just
    a source of government revenue.
        I think what I want to do is be part of a bipartisan
    effort, with all of my colleagues, to make sure that paid leave
    is a source of economic growth in America and a source of help
    for families. That is what I hope we can do, and I am glad you
    are here, and we will continue this conversation.
        Ms. Greszler, welcome.

    STATEMENT OF RACHEL U. GRESZLER, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, GROVER
        M. HERMANN CENTER FOR THE FEDERAL BUDGET, THE HERITAGE
                       FOUNDATION, WASHINGTON, DC

        Ms. Greszler. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for the
    opportunity to be here today. As the mother of six young
    children and having had multiple family members battle cancer
    in recent years, I understand the need for leave, but not all
    paid family leave policies are equally helpful. The best ones
    are flexible policies that maximize access to leave, while
    minimizing disruptions.
        Today, I would like to discuss the current state of paid
    family leave, explore the differences between government and
    employer-provided leave, and then discuss policies that could
    help expand paid family leave and workplace flexibility.
        So first, the good news is that paid family leave has shot
    up over the past 6 years. Surveys show that three out of four
    workers have access to some type of paid family leave at work.
    Contrary to common belief, only one in four leaves is for the
    birth or adoption of a new child. Half of leaves are for a
    worker's own medical condition, and the other quarter are to
    care for a family member.
        While newborn and family care are particularly important,
    parents actually prefer workplace flexibility by a margin of 10
    to 1 over more paid parental leave. And so, the importance of
    flexibility leads to my second point, which is that employer-
    provided leave is inherently more accommodating than one-size-
    fits-all government programs.
        My niece was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when she was 18
    months old. Like many medical conditions, my niece's cancer did
    not give advance warning, and it did not follow a predictable
    schedule. She endured 9 months of intensive treatments,
    multiple ER visits, and spent more than 60 nights in the
    hospital over an hour away from her home.
        A government program with 12 weeks of partially paid leave,
    a bureaucratic administrative process, which required my sister
    to specify the precise days of leave that she would take in
    advance, did not work well for her and her husband.
        It was only through working directly with their employers
    that they were able to keep their jobs and care for their now
    healthy and adorable 3-year-old little girl. Some might argue
    that even a bureaucratic and flawed government program is
    better than none, but a Federal Government program would take
    away many existing programs and hinder new ones from starting.
    And government programs have a terrible track record at helping
    low-income families.
        In California, five times as many mothers in the highest
    income bracket filed paid family leave claims as those in the
    lowest income bracket. Canada's program is said to ``aid the
    social reproduction of higher-income families.'' In the UK,
    ``too little support is directed to the families who need it
    most, and too much to those who do not.''
        Moreover, while government paid family leave programs aim
    to help women, they can have the unintended effects of reducing
    women's prospects of promotion, diminishing relative wage
    gains, and reducing employment.
        The latest version of the FAMILY Act, which grants job-
    protected paid family leave to workers who have been employed
    for as few as 3 months, would impose huge burdens on small
    employers who are already struggling with labor shortages. And
    when a business suffers, so will its employees and the people
    they serve.
        Denmark had implemented a generous paid family leave
    program. Studies found that it led to a 12-percent reduction in
    nursing employment, and that had huge consequences for
    patients, which included an 89-percent increase in newborn
    readmissions, and a 13-percent increase in nursing home
    mortality.
        It is important to note that the Congressional Budget
    Office said that the FAMILY Act would be yet another unfunded
    entitlement program. Most Americans would rather have bigger
    paychecks to spend on what they need than smaller paychecks and
    a bureaucratic government maze to navigate.
        And that leads to my third point, which is that
    policymakers can help expand access to paid family leave
    without expanding the government's control over people's lives.
    The Working Families Flexibility Act would give lower-income
    workers the opportunity to choose between accumulating paid
    leave or overtime for their work.
        Universal savings accounts would enable Americans to save
    in one simple account that they could use for any life need
    without incurring a penalty, and this would be particularly
    helpful to lower-income part-time workers and independent
    workers. And making it easier for workers to get private
    disability insurance could help workers meet their own needs
    for leave.
        Minimizing taxes on workers and employers would leave them
    with more to spend on paid family leave. The Tax Cuts and Jobs
    Act put an additional $1,400 per year into the average
    household, and it led to a fourfold increase in employer-
    provided paid family leave in the 6 years since it passed.
        And finally, policymakers can pass laws to prevent harmful
    labor regulations from taking away flexible work options and
    making it harder for employers to offer paid family leave.
    Unlike a one-size-fits-all Federal entitlement program, these
    policies would help to meet workers' and employers' unique
    needs at a cost they can afford.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Greszler appears in the
    appendix.]
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, and we will just get on
    to the discussion.
        Mr. Verhoeven, it is almost jaw-dropping to hear you
    mention that offering paid leave costs less than truck repairs.
    Is that right?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Yes, Mr. Chairman, that is correct.
        The Chairman. So, give me the comparison, because it really
    is just kind of a ``slap yourself in the forehead'' kind of an
    example.
        Mr. Verhoeven. Chairman Wyden, thank you for the question,
    and yes, it does cost me less than truck repairs. It has a much
    greater effect on the lives of the people I work with. It is a
    very, very small part of our payroll and the costs that we have
    to do business. And for that, especially with our new
    government program, now not only do I have access, and my
    workers have access to paid parental leave, they also now have
    access to paid medical leave, paid leave to care for a loved
    one, paid safe leave if someone is experiencing domestic abuse,
    and that is all for literally less than the cost to run my five
    trucks.
        The Chairman. So I am looking at the dais here, and I am
    quite certain that all of my colleagues--and certainly I will
    speak for myself--support write-offs for machinery, for matters
    like equipment and tractors. And you know, helping small
    businesses like yours in Albany, OR make these investments is
    just common sense, and particularly in our State where, after
    you cover Intel and Nike and a few others, you are done with
    the big businesses. We are overwhelmingly a small business
    State.
        It seems to me what you are basically saying--and I have
    heard some of my colleagues on both sides of this dais agree
    with it--is those investments in machinery are important, and
    equally important is to make some investments in people, in
    sort of human capital as well as machinery and business
    investments. Is that really kind of where you're going?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Chairman Wyden, thank you for the question.
    Absolutely, I agree. I would actually add that in my
    experience, an investment in our human capital at my farm and
    small business pays bigger dividends than an investment in
    equipment, you know? For the cost of our government-paid leave
    program, I could go out and buy a 12-foot-long conveyor, right?
    But instead, I can support my workers in a moment of need. I
    will know that I will see a tremendous return on that
    investment in the form of retention, promotion, and business
    growth.
        The Chairman. And in Albany, I gather that you are seeing
    some of your other farmers experiencing the same sort of thing
    when they take it up?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Absolutely, yes. I am not alone as a farmer
    and as a small business owner, seeing the positive effects of
    our State and government program that offers, again, very
    affordable benefits to our workers and helps us retain,
    promote, and grow our businesses.
        The Chairman. Well, I think the fact--and I want to just
    move on--that you have said investing in people, from an
    economic standpoint--so we are not hearing discussion about we
    are doing it to get government revenue and all this kind of
    stuff.
        What Ben of Albany is saying is investing in people is
    going to pay greater dividends than any purchase of equipment,
    and if people take that out of here, I think that will be a
    chance to start bringing our foursome together.
        One last question if I might, because I know colleagues
    have questions as well. Ms. Frye, you have been making some
    good points with respect to how critical this is to economic
    competition and growth, particularly with China. It seems to me
    your organization has really been trying to drill down into
    that area, has some projections, for example, about the
    additional economic growth that would come about through paid
    leave.
        Why don't, for the remainder of my time, we give you a
    chance to address this issue, because every member up here,
    every single one of us--and sometimes multiple times a day--
    says we have got to out-compete China, and you are trying to
    bring the receipt, so to speak, and talk about how it generates
    that kind of growth.
        Ms. Frye. Absolutely, Senator. I think the way we do that
    is we make sure that women can participate in the workforce,
    and the way we do that is to ensure that they have access to
    paid leave.
        What we know is that if you had prime-age women in the
    workforce equal to that of some of our counterparts
    internationally, you could boost our economy by $650 billion,
    which is just under 3 percent in additional GDP. So we are
    definitely in support of that strategy for strengthening our
    economy.
        The Chairman. More impressive numbers for the cause. I
    thank you all. I look forward to the questions.
        Senator Crapo?
        Senator Crapo. Thank you very much.
        I will start with you, Ms. Milito. In your testimony, you
    indicated that there is a cost to a number of these proposals.
    There are actually a lot of proposals out there. Some have more
    costs than others, and some are more based on tax policy. But
    could you follow up or just explore a little bit more what you
    mean when you say there is a cost to all these proposals--or
    many of them--but that not all businesses can pay that cost?
        Ms. Milito. Yes, thank you, Senator, for that question. So
    the costs--you are right. There are a lot of proposals out
    there, a lot of proposals at the States and a lot of proposals
    at the Federal level there, and I think we are here today
    because there is not a Federal requirement for paid leave.
        But before I get to your question, I just want to again
    point out that nearly 80 percent of small businesses do offer
    paid leave to their workers, and they do it because that is the
    way they retain talent, that is the way they recruit employees
    there.
        But a paid leave mandate--there is a cost, because it would
    hinder the business owners' ability to maybe offer other
    benefits that are more desirable by the employees it is trying
    to recruit. So for instance, a lot of small business owners I
    talk with--you know, tight labor market right now. And I hear
    from my members, ``The number one way that I recruit and retain
    employees is they want higher wages. That is what they want.
    They want higher wages.''
        The second benefit employees are looking for is health
    insurance there. So if you add on something else, another
    required benefit from the government, then there is going to be
    strain, and they are going to have to retract on one of those,
    either wages or potentially the health insurance there.
        And again, I just want to go back, that most small business
    owners are offering paid leave right now.
        Senator Crapo. Or they could--one of the other options they
    would have is to hire fewer employees?
        Ms. Milito. That's correct too; yes, exactly.
        Senator Crapo. Thank you.
        Let me go to you, Ms. Greszler. Paid leave can benefit
    workers, as you have indicated as a mother of six that you
    personally understand. At the same time, you rightly pointed
    out how critical it is that these paid leave policies be
    flexible. Please elaborate a little bit on what flexible means
    in this context and how some of the national paid leave
    proposals would be inherently inflexible?
        Ms. Greszler. Yes. So, flexibility is so important, because
    parental leave for the birth of a new child, that is one thing
    that is relatively predictable. But most leaves are not
    predictable, and you need access to those benefits quickly. It
    is something like emailing a boss directly and saying, ``I am
    going to be out for this.''
        There is a difference between that and having to go through
    a bureaucratic application process, get medical approval, and
    then have somebody who does not know who you are, does not know
    the work you do, does not know the workplace, be in charge of
    deciding when you are eligible for benefits, how much you are
    going to get, and to just have a strict 12 weeks or you must
    specify this day, and if you do work on a day that you specify,
    now you have to repay it.
        It is just the reality of a government program not working
    well to meet individuals' needs, versus the flexibility of an
    individual being able to work directly with their employer, to
    work out what works best for each of them, and also being able
    to keep the business running.
        Senator Crapo. Well, thank you. And the chairman and I have
    both indicated we believe in flexibility, and if there is a way
    to find that bipartisan solution here, it will involve
    flexibility.
        At the end of your testimony, you went over a number of
    options that would be workable, and I would assume that you
    feel that those options would have the flexibility to help
    build a meaningful policy. Could you just go back--even if you
    just go back over what you told us in your testimony--but could
    you go over some of the options that you believe we ought to be
    considering?
        Ms. Greszler. Yes. So each of these are an array of
    options. Nobody would be forced to take them, but they are
    something that workers could choose from based on what works
    best for them. I think the most important are the ones that get
    at the lower-income workforce.
        So the Working Families Flexibility Act, that is something
    that applies to workers who are paid hourly wages. Currently,
    if you are paid hourly, you are entitled to overtime pay. So,
    if you work 45 hours in 1 week, then you actually get paid for
    those 5 hours at a rate of time and a half, 7\1/2\ hours' worth
    of pay.
        So, for that worker who worked an extra 5 hours, they could
    choose between the overtime or accumulating 7.5 hours of paid
    time off. It is a pure choice; nobody has to take it, and the
    employer cannot force them to. Also, universal savings
    accounts, just having that access to one account that you are
    not fearful about putting money in because if your car breaks
    down tomorrow, you might not be able to access it.
        But if you have one account that can be used for all of
    life's purposes, people would be more likely to save; that has
    been shown in other countries that have implemented these. And
    then you have that safety net there, whether it is for paid
    family leave or child care or whatever expense comes up.
        Also, private disability insurance. About half of workers
    have that now. You could allow employers to auto-enroll their
    workers into private disability insurance. Just specify that
    that is something they can do like they do for 401(k)s, and
    that could increase their access to that workplace benefit.
        Senator Crapo. Thank you; I appreciate that.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Crapo.
        Senator Stabenow?
        Senator Stabenow. Well, thank you so much, Mr. Chairman and
    Ranking Member Crapo. This is such an important discussion, and
    we have talked about it for years but never seem to actually do
    what needs to be done for families and for women, who are the
    primary ones, juggling what is happening for themselves and
    their families, both children and parents and everything in
    between, and at the same time we need them in the workforce.
    And so there are many challenges.
        I wanted to start with Mr. Verhoeven, but I did want to say
    that in listening to your options, my concern is that, for
    instance with low-income workers, you said, well, you can work
    overtime and then choose to get paid for overtime, or you can
    work overtime and choose not to get paid for overtime, and get
    family leave.
        It seems to me they ought to, if they work overtime, get
    their overtime and also have family leave. So those do not
    sound like great choices for low-income people as I am
    listening, but I certainly support flexibility. There is no
    question.
        But, Mr. Verhoeven, as chair of the Agriculture Committee,
    I have to say I smile in thinking about you as a family farmer,
    running a family-owned greenhouse in Albany, OR, and the way
    you are approaching this for your workers.
        All the time we hear about the need for workers, everywhere
    certainly. And in agriculture, we hear the desperate need for
    workers--and in every area. Certainly we see this in Michigan
    as well. Could you speak a little bit more about how the
    program works in Oregon, because we certainly see paid family
    leave as pro-workers, pro-families?
        You are saying it is also pro-business, which I believe
    that it is, and that it can be structured in a way that is not
    costly. Because certainly, for small businesses in particular,
    that is a huge issue, being able to afford to be able to do
    something like this.
        But universal paid family and medical leave in Oregon; what
    does that look like for you? How is that structured?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Thank you, Senator, for the question. Our
    government program in Oregon makes it tremendously affordable
    for me to offer these kinds of benefits, really comprehensive
    benefits to my employees. Again, it is less than truck repairs.
    They get paid family leave, which includes paid parental leave,
    time to care for a loved one, paid medical leave, and paid safe
    leave.
        As an employer, for that small investment, I get a big
    return in terms of retention, promotion, business growth. And I
    would also add that it has been really, really simple to set
    up. I cannot afford this kind of comprehensive paid family
    leave on my own. Our government program makes it really easy to
    do that, and it makes it easy to set up.
        It really is as simple as a software update to our payroll,
    a poster in the break room. That leaves me with a lot more time
    to do what my day job is, which is not here in front of you
    guys; it is growing flowers for garden centers. And I know I
    can rest assured that the government is managing the program,
    confirms if a worker qualifies, and of course pays for the
    leave itself out of the program.
        That is a real service and a value to me, my farm, my small
    business, and certainly my workers.
        Senator Stabenow. Is this done in matching funds or through
    the tax code? What does that look like?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Thank you. Thank you, Senator, for the
    question. Our Oregon program is done through a payroll tax. So,
    as an employer, I pay four-tenths of one one-hundredth of my
    payroll. So that is----
        Senator Stabenow. Say that again? Four-tenths----
        Mr. Verhoeven. Four-tenths of one one-hundredth of my
    payroll, a fraction of a fraction. That four thousandths of my
    payroll, for that small amount, my workers also contribute six-
    tenths of one one-hundredth of their pay. So, while it is not
    free, right, I would argue it is a really, really good bargain,
    because for that, they are getting access to paid parental
    leave, medical leave, caregiving leave, and I get better
    retention.
        Senator Stabenow. And are you finding, I assume, that you
    keep workers longer?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Yes, absolutely.
        Senator Stabenow. In terms of retention and the quality of
    the workers and so on, this, I would assume, pays dividends on
    the farm and with your business?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Yes, Senator, thank you for the question. We
    absolutely see better retention, opportunities for promotion,
    and of course that leads to business growth for me and my farm.
        Senator Stabenow. Right.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. I think we might just want to put Ben in
    charge of bringing everybody together and working this out.
    He's got it down, and he is an Oregonian.
        Senator Menendez?
        Senator Menendez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to
    represent the great State of New Jersey, which was the second
    State in the country to pass a paid family leave program in
    2008, and then our State expanded the program in 2019. Our paid
    leave program has helped countless families and the 71 percent
    of all New Jersey households with children, more than 1.3
    million homes. All parents have paying jobs, and more than
    100,000 children are born each year in New Jersey.
        The State legislation created a paid leave program that
    guarantees all workers 12 weeks of family leave, with the
    lowest-wage workers receiving 85 percent of their pay. This
    legislation, I believe, should be an example for the country.
        Ms. Frye, what are the biggest successes and lessons from
    New Jersey's paid family leave program that we should consider
    as we push for national paid leave legislation?
        Ms. Frye. Thank you. Thank you so much, Senator, for that
    question. And you are right that there is lots of good research
    on the effectiveness of New Jersey's program. It was the second
    in the country, and what we know is that it has really helped
    with some of the things we have already talked about: labor
    force participation and retention, particularly for women
    workers.
        There is data that shows greater retention of workers who
    are family caregivers. There is really good research from
    employers that shows that for the most part, employers say it
    has either improved morale or productivity, or at worst it is
    neutral.
        So there is lots of good research that shows that the law
    has been able to both provide a benefit that people needed, but
    also to make sure that employers could manage it and manage it
    well.
        Senator Menendez. Yes. So human capital, which is
    essential--we have 10 or 11 million jobs in the country that go
    unfilled. So creating greater access to that human capital for
    productivity to take place, as well as higher performance,
    those are things that the private sector would want to see as
    much as any benefit to the individual families, isn't that
    true?
        Ms. Frye. Well, it is why we think that paid leave is a
    win-win. And I think when you look at all of the States
    increasingly--and as Senator Wyden said, there are 14 now
    including the District of Columbia--one of the reasons that
    paid leave is growing is because you do see those benefits for
    workers and for employers.
        Senator Menendez. So, I am proud to be an original
    cosponsor to Senator Gillibrand's FAMILY Act, which would
    guarantee all workers access to 12 weeks of paid leave, and I
    look forward to working with her to make it happen.
        Latinos and Latinas are far less likely to have access to
    paid leave than others, and nationally Latinos are 66 percent
    less likely to have paid leave compared to White workers. This
    inequality makes it harder for Latinos to spend time with a new
    child or take care of a sick parent.
        To add insult to injury, it also forces many Latinos to
    drop out of the workforce altogether when they have a child,
    contributing to the monumental wage gap we see between Latinos
    and White men. As we know, it takes a Latino worker an average
    of 2 years to equal what White non-Hispanic males are paid in 1
    year.
        So, Ms. Frye, why is national paid leave legislation so
    vital for Latino families?
        Ms. Frye. Well, you have recounted some of the challenges
    here, and Latino workers generally disproportionately work in
    jobs where there is no paid leave. That is true for, in
    particular, low-paying jobs and many in the service sector. So
    a lot of times Latino workers simply do not have access to
    leave because of the jobs they work in.
        In addition, as you mentioned with Latinos in particular,
    there is an enormous wage gap, and what we know about the wage
    gap from people like Nobel Prize winner Claudia Goldin is,
    there are several different drivers of the wage gap.
        One of them is discrimination, one is occupational
    segregation, and the other is the lack of work family policies,
    like paid leave and child care. So, when you have paid leave,
    you enable folks to actually stay in the workforce longer. It
    enables them to not only earn wages, but grow wages, and that
    is why paid leave and work family policies are so critical to
    helping to close the wage gap.
        Latinos have one of the largest wage gaps. They earn 52
    cents for every dollar a White male makes. That is an enormous
    gap, and we need to close it.
        Senator Menendez. Yes. And finally, Mr. Verhoeven, you
    certainly talk about the benefits of paid leave as a small
    business owner. Of course, when an employee is away, it causes
    strains on a small business, but it is far worse if an employee
    is forced to leave the business because of a lack of family and
    medical leave.
        What has been the biggest success of the Oregon paid leave
    program for your business?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Thank you, Senator, for the question. The
    biggest success is, it is a tremendous bargain. Again, it costs
    us less than truck repairs, and I get a really big return on
    that investment in terms of retention, promotion, and business
    growth. I see my workers with more stable home lives, and that
    equates to more stable work lives at our farm.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        And in order of appearance, next our friend from North
    Carolina.
        Senator Tillis. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Mr. Verhoeven, a quick question for you. Is the program
    funded through employer and employee payroll deductions, or is
    it subsidized by the State as well? In other words, is it fully
    funded through the payroll tax deductions or not?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Thank you, Senator, for the question. In our
    State of Oregon, the government program is funded through
    payroll taxes and again, it is less than truck repairs--yes,
    correct.
        Senator Tillis. I am curious. So they have created a
    revenue pool that it is funded out of those resources? No other
    subsidies required. That is good.
        Mr. Verhoeven. Yes. That is my understanding; correct.
        Senator Tillis. I have a question for Ms. Milito. I am
    trying to--you know, North Carolina and various States have
    gone about this differently. We have this for State employees.
    We do not have it as anything mandatory for businesses. What
    are the trends that we are seeing? COVID had a lot of bad
    things, but it had some good things--I mean, we are addressing
    work-life balance, a number of other policies.
        But what could we do short of creating a large, potentially
    complex--because everything in the Federal Government is large
    and complex. And so, all of the sudden we go to small
    businesses--and I remember in the Banking Committee we were
    having a hearing where someone was talking about how this is a
    small program. It is only a 4- or 5-page form that a small
    business needs to fill out.
        I do not think people understand how chilling that is to a
    small business, where, Mr. Verhoeven, you are probably the CEO,
    the chief marketing officer, the chief financial officer. You
    are running a lot of your business. So I am in the mode of,
    let's get paid family leave out there, but let's do it in the
    most light-handed manner possible.
        So, can you give me any ideas or trends, Ms. Milito, on,
    particularly for small businesses, what is occurring now? Are
    the market demands, the competition for labor, everything else
    going on out there--how much of the gap is being filled there,
    and to what extent does the Federal Government need to be
    involved?
        Ms. Milito. Thank you for that question, Senator. So I will
    say, you have heard a lot about flexibility here, but I would
    also say, any proposal policy should be simple. So, keep it
    simple. And I will go back to Mr. Verhoeven. You mentioned in
    Oregon it was a matter of updating your software.
        A lot of NFIB members are still doing payroll manually. So
    then again, that would be more complexity added there too. The
    carrot is always better than the stick there, so allowing more
    flexibility. You know, you mentioned COVID and government
    policies that came out then. You probably might recall the
    Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which mandated leave
    and offered a tax credit.
        But the tax credit--claiming the credit was really
    complicated, and the NFIB survey, our research center, found
    afterwards that only 43 percent of small employers who had
    employees take that FFCRA leave claimed the credit. It is just
    complicated. Most of our members use a tax preparer. So they
    are doing payroll in-house, sometimes still manually, but they
    are using a tax preparer. So you know, awareness on the part of
    sort of the tax preparer community on any sort of tax credit is
    also very important there.
        So that is a long-winded answer to your question, but
    simplicity is very, very important, and the carrot is more
    important than the stick. Thank you.
        Senator Tillis. I agree.
        Ms. Greszler, tell me a little bit about government
    programs that, in your view, are falling short, and what more
    we need to do.
        Ms. Greszler. Yes. I think the reality of government
    programs is, they cannot eliminate the costs. They cannot
    reduce the costs. They can simply redistribute the costs, and
    when you hear--I have been in discussions with H.R. managers at
    large companies, and they have said that complying with these
    State-based programs has been so difficult. And they have ended
    up telling workers they can take leave and then they had to pay
    it back. And they said if they did not have to deal with these
    issues, they would be providing so much more.
        So I think that is the problem. Is a government program
    actually going to help the workers who need the help the most?
    And I think that that is where the evidence is saying ``no.''
    It is not getting to the lower-income workers who do not have
    access to leave, because it is a burdensome process.
        It is burdensome for employers. Ms. Milito is looking at
    that credit for the businesses. The JCT thought it would cost
    over $100 billion. It cost $6 billion, because businesses
    simply did not apply for it, having to go through the process
    and fill out these forms. If that is burdensome for a business
    owner, how much more burdensome is it for the low-income
    worker, who is also managing the medical condition for the
    leave?
        So I think anything that happens has to keep the
    relationship between the employer and the employee, so that
    they can flexibly work things out. That might not look like a
    formal written policy that is measured by the BLS to say you
    have access, but it nevertheless is having the ability to be
    able to take leave in a way that works for both the worker and
    the employer.
        Senator Tillis. Thank you. I am sorry; my time has expired.
    I had questions for all of you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague.
        Next in order of appearance is Senator Hassan.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and Ranking
    Member Crapo, and to our witnesses for being here today. There
    is strong public support for a national paid leave program, and
    I am encouraged that there is growing bipartisan support in
    Congress, because the current patchwork system is not working.
        It is not working for families, and it is not working for
    our businesses and our economy. Without access to
    comprehensive, guaranteed paid leave, many hardworking
    Americans are forced to reduce their hours or leave their jobs
    altogether when they welcome a child into their family, when
    they go through their own medical emergencies, or when they
    need to care for a sick family member or aging parents.
        So I want to start with a question to you, Ms. Frye. It was
    very good to see you last week. As we discussed in our meeting,
    many Granite Staters struggle because they do not have
    guaranteed paid family and medical leave. For instance, I have
    met with Carrie Duren in Wolfeboro, a single parent of three
    who served as a caregiver to her father, who had Alzheimer's
    until his passing in 2019.
        With no paid leave, in order to take her father to critical
    medical appointments, Carrie had to forego hours of pay. She
    was in between caregiving and critical financial support for
    her family. She continues to struggle with lack of access to
    paid leave as she cares for her daughter, who has complex
    medical needs, juggling part-time jobs at a financial cost.
        Ms. Frye, I am sure that you have heard stories like
    Carrie's throughout the country. How can comprehensive paid
    leave help people like her who are in a position of caring for
    their parents, children, or other loved ones?
        Ms. Frye. Well, thank you, Senator. I think you have really
    hit the nail on the head, that comprehensive paid leave is
    comprehensive, and it recognizes that what paid leave may look
    like for one person and the need for one person, is different
    for another.
        What we know, and Ms. Greszler, I think, said this, is that
    less than a quarter of the leaves that are taken under the
    FMLA, for example, are for parental purposes. The majority of
    leave is for personal, and a little over a quarter is for
    family care.
        So you need comprehensive leave to ensure that a person
    like your constituent can actually take the time that they need
    to care for their parent. I had a similar issue when I was on
    the staff of the National Partnership and had to take my dad to
    chemotherapy. So you need that type of flexibility.
        Senator Hassan. Well, thank you.
        Another question, which has to do with our service members
    who are in the National Guard and Reserves. They lack access to
    the parental leave that they need to care for and bond with
    their children after birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
        At a time when we are seeing recruiting and retention
    challenges across the military, we need to act swiftly to
    remove barriers, so that parents will continue to serve in the
    military. That is why Senator Murkowski and I are pushing to
    ensure that our bipartisan Reserve Component Parental Leave
    Parity Act is included in this year's National Defense
    Authorization Act. Our bill will strengthen the military and
    support families by expanding parental leave to fathers and
    adoptive and foster parents serving in the Reserves and
    National Guard.
        Ms. Frye, why is it critical for our military readiness and
    strength to ensure that all new parents in the military have
    access to leave?
        Ms. Frye. Well, it is critical to support our service
    members across the board, and that means not only service
    members who need to take time off because they are about to
    have a child, but also parents who are--you know, maybe a
    spouse is having a child. I so appreciate the legislation that
    you and Senator Murkowski are working on.
        You know, what we know is having that time off,
    particularly for a new mom or a new parent, is essential for
    bonding, for strengthening their family. It is particularly
    important when you have service members who are doing long
    deployments. The time that they are able to have with their
    families is critical.
        You know, we know that our military readiness is connected
    to service members believing that their families are okay. So
    we have a duty, I think as a Nation, to make sure that they
    have the tools available to them to make sure their families
    are as strong as possible.
        Senator Hassan. Well, I appreciate that very much. I see my
    time is almost up, so I will submit one more question to Mr.
    Verhoeven for the record.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Very good. I thank my colleague.
        Next is Senator Casey, who has worked on these issues for a
    long time.
        Senator Casey. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Thanks for working
    on this issue with us, and thanks for having this hearing. I do
    not think anyone needs to hear it again, but it bears
    repeating, how important paid leave is for families, whether
    they are starting a new family or whether they are in families
    with older adults, families with members with disabilities or
    significant medical needs.
        The Department of Labor tells us that 20 percent of people
    taking unpaid FMLA leave do so to care for a non-newborn family
    member with a serious health condition. That is a lot of
    families, a lot of people. Family members leave their jobs or
    reduce their work hours to care for a newborn or a newly
    adopted child, to provide ongoing care for a family member with
    a disability, or to care for their aging parents. So it runs
    the gamut from one end of the age scale to the other.
        A constituent of mine, Barbara Gurley, came to our office
    to talk about her caregiving experience for her late husband.
    She was talking about how often he fell and the challenges that
    she had, making sure that they could take care of him before he
    passed away. The Gurley family had insurance but could not
    access any paid support for the work she was doing, and they
    made too much money for local social services. If there had
    been a paid leave program in place, Barbara could have taken
    paid time off to care for her husband when he really needed it.
    So we know this is really hard work, caregiving.
        Mr. Verhoeven, you testified that before the new paid leave
    law in Oregon came into effect, you had an employee who was
    ``draining their retirement savings to care for a dying
    brother.'' Can you tell us more about how workers like Barbara
    Gurley and your employee will be affected by a new,
    comprehensive paid leave law like the one you have in place in
    Oregon?
        Mr. Verhoeven. Thank you, Senator, for the question. Yes,
    our government program makes it really affordable for me as a
    small business owner to offer now comprehensive paid family
    leave, so that no longer is it just parental leave, but it
    includes the kind of caregiving leave you are talking about:
    medical leave and safe leave.
        That is really at the crux of it for us. As a small
    business owner without our government program, I could not
    offer those kinds of things. My workers could not benefit from
    them. The kind of benefits that they receive makes it easier
    for them to have a stable home life, which makes it easier for
    them to have a stable work life.
        That is good for them. It is also good for me as a small
    business owner and as a farmer. If they are stable at home,
    stable at work, I can see better retention, promotion, business
    growth.
        Senator Casey. Thanks very much.
        And finally, Ms. Frye, if you have any data, I wanted you
    to share, if you could, how often and when workers need to take
    time to care for family members other than newborns or newly
    adopted children. Any national perspective on that, or data?
        Ms. Frye. Well, what we know from the data is, about a
    quarter of the time, the leave is taken for things that are not
    self-medical or related to the birth or adoption of a child--
    so, a significant percentage. And what we also know is that
    that family caregiving is often the type of caregiving that is
    left out of other policies.
        You know, people may have access sometimes to vacation and
    so forth, but it is really the family caregiving that often is
    the missing piece, which is why comprehensive leave is so
    important. We know one in seven caregivers, for example, report
    that they have had to either cut back on their hours or drop
    out of work because they did not have access to family
    caregiving leave.
        We know that women over 50 who have had to drop out of the
    workforce because they did not have access to caregiving leave
    lose on average almost $300,000 over the course of their
    careers because they have had to drop out of the workforce. So
    it is a significant impact.
        Senator Casey. Thank you very much.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague.
        Senator Cassidy is next, and he also has spent a long, long
    time working on this.
        Senator Cassidy. Yes; thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Yes; first, just a comment. Although you have all pointed
    out that it is a large fraction but not the complete amount of
    those who take family leave because of adoption or having a
    child, Senator Sinema and I have a bill which would allow the
    pull forward of a portion of a Child Tax Credit to allow a
    lump-sum payment of $5,000 at the birth or adoption, and the
    payment can be used either as income replacement if she chooses
    to stay home--or if he chooses to stay home--or they can use it
    for child care if they choose to go back to work.
        Yes, they are losing $5,000 in subsequent years from their
    Child Tax Credit. On the other hand, as we all know, studies
    show that if a woman stays attached to the workforce, her
    future income growth is such that it more than makes up this
    $5,000 she is losing in subsequent years.
        I spoke about that fast, but if anybody wants more
    information, I would love to give it to them. And more
    importantly, I think it is something that can be possibly paid
    for. I say that right now, sir, because of your mention of the
    de minimis almost payroll tax. But we have a President who will
    not support any tax on anybody less than $400,000, even if it
    is to save Social Security.
        Now, we have first got to line up our priorities. We've got
    to make sure that Social Security does not go bankrupt, and
    right now we have had no commitment to making that happen. The
    old sell about, let's just tax those who make over $400,000 a
    year--I will point out that the President has proposed over $4
    trillion on those who make over $400,000 a year, and none of
    that money is going to this sort of payroll program.
        So on the Federal level, we have to say, yes, it is great
    that Oregon is doing this, but on the Federal level I do not
    see a path forward in terms of raising the payroll tax.
        Ms. Greszler, though, and, Ms. Milito, when I researched
    this a few years ago--I was working on this with Senator
    Sinema--the research I did at the time said that most people--
    this is several years ago, so with inflation it would be
    higher--but most workers who make over $70,000 a year have paid
    leave of some sort.
        Now, it might be paid vacation days or personal days. It
    was not per se paid leave, but it was time they could take off
    if their parent were sick or if their child were sick or if
    they have a child. Is that still the case? I do not know the
    answer to this, because it has been a while since I have looked
    at this. Ms. Greszler?
        Ms. Greszler. Yes. I suspect it has gone up even more since
    then. The latest data we have is from 2018, and that shows that
    about 73 percent of workers across all income levels report
    that they have access to some type of paid leave for an FMLA
    condition at work, and I think that----
        Senator Cassidy. But to Ms. Frye's point and to your point,
    you could imagine that is going to be principally people who
    make above a certain income level. The worker behind the
    counter at the convenience store, she has a lower wage and
    probably an hourly wage, and a more tenuous employment
    circumstance. So again, is this not disproportionately those
    who are upper-income?
        Ms. Greszler. It is still disproportionately those who are
    upper-income, but we have seen the most significant growth in
    paid family leave policies in those lower-income groups over
    recent years.
        Senator Cassidy. That's great. Now why have you seen a
    growth of that? Is it because of the policies that have been
    advocated in States like Oregon or what?
        Ms. Greszler. No. The growth that we have seen--and I
    mentioned it increased sixfold. If you look at the 6 years
    before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed versus the 6 years
    since then, the percentage of workers--as formally measured by
    the Bureau of Labor Statistics looking at employer policies
    only--that is where we have seen that sixfold increase.
        It is companies like Lowe's, Starbucks, Chipotle, that
    typically are employing lower-income workers.
        Senator Cassidy. So let me stop you there, because I also
    was struck when I did this research a few years ago, some
    companies like Google and Deloitte and others were, in
    California, providing paid leave as a company policy, and then
    when California put in their program, they actually pulled back
    on their business-offered paid leave, and they discharged the
    obligation to the taxpayer.
        And so on net, there is no increased benefit to the worker;
    there is just less obligation in the case of businesses. Is
    that a common thing, or is that only California?
        Ms. Greszler. That is exactly what happens with these State
    policies. It is a windfall benefit for the employer that
    already provides a policy. They send their workers to the State
    program first. Once they have used up all those benefits and
    had to go through that burdensome application process, then the
    employer will top them up to bring them to the same level that
    they had been before. So the worker has to go through two
    programs to get the same thing that they were.
        Senator Cassidy. Now let me ask you: I am also told that
    Washington State did it in such a way that was--it avoided
    that. And again, I am just telling you this because I have been
    told that, not because I know details. Can you comment on my
    understanding of the Washington State program, that they
    avoided this kind of zero sum for the employee but created a
    windfall for the employer?
        Ms. Greszler. I believe they have a process where the
    employer can get a qualification to just run their own program,
    and to opt out of that. That is something that I would
    encourage any State or government policy to do: to allow an
    opt-out for employers who are already providing the minimum
    level of paid family leave.
        Senator Cassidy. Well, I have questions for you all, but I
    am out of time. So, thank you all.
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague, and my colleague has
    been working in good faith on this for a long time. I just want
    to make a quick point while it is relevant to the debate. It
    just strikes me that you should not have to sacrifice the Child
    Tax Credit to get paid leave when you have a child. That is
    especially true when Ben has given us a path to basically say,
    ``Hey, look, we can offer paid leave that costs less than truck
    repairs.''
        So we've got a lot of work to do to try to bring this
    together. I am going to work very closely with Senator Cassidy.
    He has put in a lot of time on this, and I appreciate it.
        Senator Cortez Masto?
        Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman
    and Ranking Member, for this great conversation. It has been
    very enlightening as well.
        And let me just ask Elizabeth Milito. Oregon has a paid
    leave program. Did the National Federation of Independent
    Business oppose that program, that statewide program, and do
    they still?
        Ms. Milito. Yes.
        Senator Cortez Masto. Why?
        Ms. Milito. Our members--we are member-driven, and our
    members took a look at it and opposed it. It was not the right
    thing for them. It does not offer flexibility. It is a one-
    size-fits-all. So it is challenging. Again, not all businesses
    are created equal, and there is a cost associated with it.
        Senator Cortez Masto. And the harm to the businesses--can
    you explain, is it harmful in the sense that it puts some folks
    out of business, that small businesses could not afford the
    cost?
        Ms. Milito. There is--so a couple of things. There is the
    payroll cost there, so there is a cost burden on the business.
    So there is an employer-side payroll cost there too. There is
    the recordkeeping, the administrative burden there, because
    there is some burden on the employer with adapting their
    payroll system to account for it there too.
        They also need to become familiar with the program, so
    there is a learning curve there too with familiarity so they
    can answer their employees' questions about the program there.
    And then there is also too the potential for workers to take
    extended leave and the strain on other employees.
        Not that an employer would necessarily not offer the leave.
    They probably--you know again, as I said before, I keep saying,
    most small business owners do offer a paid leave program, but
    it might be a PTO program, you know? So it is all sort of in
    one bucket there, not necessarily as formalized a policy there.
        Senator Cortez Masto. And the Oregon law did not exempt or
    carve out those small businesses that already have a different
    form of paid leave?
        Ms. Milito. It did not. To my knowledge, it did not, but--
    --
        Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
        Mr. Verhoeven, I am curious about your examples. Can you
    talk a little bit about how you perceive the Oregon program?
    Did you see those challenges as well? I am just interested in
    the State program.
        Mr. Verhoeven. Yes, thank you, Senator, for the question. I
    do not see those challenges. Again, I am a small business
    owner. I am the H.R. department, and our working with our
    government program has been as easy as a software update to our
    payroll system and a poster in the break room.
        It has made it incredibly simple for me to afford the kind
    of benefits that I otherwise could not, and offer them to my
    workers to, again, build that stability in their home, which
    gives me stability in the workplace and leads to improved
    retention, opportunities for promotion, and growth for my
    business.
        Senator Cortez Masto. And how many employees do you have?
        Mr. Verhoeven. I have 26 full-time employees, myself
    included, and we hire about 24 seasonally.
        Senator Cortez Masto. And is it safe to say that a smaller
    business that has 15 or less employees might have a profit
    margin that is really slim and not be able to accommodate some
    of these costs? Is that true or not? Just for the panelists--I
    am going to open it up to the panelists.
        Ms. Greszler. Yes, I think the costs are definitely an
    issue, and it is a bigger burden for smaller businesses. But
    something that we have not looked at a lot is beyond the dollar
    cost: it is the ability of the business to keep managing its
    operations, and that is what is particularly burdensome, if you
    are a smaller employer and you cannot just pull somebody else
    in and share the work amongst them.
        You know, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it had a
    really generous paid leave program. It was offering 12 months,
    and it was not a cost issue. But they found that they had so
    many people out that they could not fulfill their mission, and
    so they actually had to pull that back.
        And so that is the difficult needle to thread here: how can
    you have a policy that is providing the benefits, but also
    enabling the employer to keep managing their operations? And
    that is where you need to be able to have ways that you can
    pull new workers in without----
        Senator Cortez Masto. The flexibility; exactly.
        Ms. Greszler. Yes, exactly.
        Senator Cortez Masto. So I know I have about a minute left,
    but I know President Trump in his budgets proposed to have the
    States provide 6 weeks of paid leave to new parents through
    their existing State unemployment insurance trust funds.
        While I think there could be promise in helping States
    expand paid leave, this proposal did not include any Federal
    support and left all the details to the States, and I question
    whether that helps those States, particularly those less
    affluent States. If they do not have Federal support, they are
    not going to be able to do this.
        So I guess my question to the panel is, looking at this
    flexibility, looking at what the States have done, should there
    be Federal support as well, as part of this? Shouldn't it be
    both State and Federal support coming in to address the paid
    leave? Let me start with Ms. Frye, because it looks like you
    have an answer.
        Ms. Frye. Yes. I will quickly say that you are absolutely
    right, that I think we need a Federal program. I mean, that was
    proposed during the Trump administration and during the Clinton
    administration. They had a similar, a closely similar program
    that would have tapped UI.
        And the problem is that sometimes those funds simply are
    not sufficient, which is why a national program that actually
    is comprehensive is the preferred strategy.
        Senator Cortez Masto. Okay.
        Ms. Greszler--I know my time is up. Mr. Chair, if she can
    answer this question, then we will be done.
        Ms. Greszler. Yes. Just really quickly, I think the worst
    thing would be to have a State and a Federal program, because
    then they could potentially conflict and overlap and make it
    more difficult. It is a promising option, and I see it as a
    good one to be a true safety net--to use the State's
    unemployment insurance programs, because that is really going
    to get at the workers who do not have access to a program at
    work, and who tend to be the lower-income ones.
        So I think that is one option. You would clearly have to
    increase the tax on employers to fund that.
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague.
        Senator Blackburn?
        Senator Blackburn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you
    to each of you for your testimony today. I think, Mr. Chairman,
    we have the power panel. I like this: three women, one guy. But
    a great topic for women to be leading on.
        In Tennessee, I visit with each of our 95 counties every
    year, and this is your county and city and town Mayors and
    local elected officials and small business owners, and to a
    person, the issue that regularly comes up is workforce and how
    do you keep your workforce, the lack of available workers to
    fill current job openings.
        They are all concerned with this, and one of the things
    that I have found is that employers want to provide better
    benefits for their employees. They talk about the need to do
    that because they want to keep them after they get them
    trained.
        And, Ms. Milito, let me come to you, because Tennessee
    recently passed a new voluntary law, and it is called the
    Tennessee Paid Family Leave Insurance Act. This amends the
    insurance code in the State and establishes paid family leave
    insurance. So you now have a paid family leave insurance as a
    new line of insurance that insurers can offer in Tennessee. How
    important is it that your Federal and State law allows
    employers to have that flexibility to opt in and to make a
    benefit like that available?
        Ms. Milito. Thank you for that question, Senator Blackburn.
    I mean, something like that that removes sort of the economic
    strain on a business from offering a benefit is something that
    certainly we would be open to exploring at the NFIB and hearing
    more about, and that would allow the benefit to be more widely
    available to employees too. I think that is a great thing.
        You know 70--we keep hearing this number--70 percent of
    Americans want paid leave, but then if you ask if it means a
    smaller paycheck, 60 percent oppose. So I mean, to your point
    there, the costs are a concern for both employers and employees
    too. So if there is a way to get at it that, again, removes the
    economic strain from employers and employees, that could be a
    very good thing. So thank you.
        Senator Blackburn. Yes. We have talked a little bit about
    the cost of offering a federally mandated leave, and also the
    impact on the workforce. One thing we have not really touched
    on is, I would love to hear you and Ms. Milito--I will stay
    with you--talk about the compliance cost that is there on
    workforce laws, and what would that do to increasing compliance
    costs for small business owners.
        Ms. Milito. And that is a great question, because just
    about every leave proposal that I have reviewed, State or
    Federal, does have compliance. There is recordkeeping; there is
    notification. So it might just be--I hear in Oregon, it sounds
    like it is a poster in the break room. But in other States--I
    believe in California, you have to hand out a brochure and a
    poster and notification.
        There are potential penalties associated in some of the
    States if you do not provide that, so sort of a cause of action
    for the employee if that is not given. This goes back to the
    simplicity thing there. Small business owners do not have a
    professional H.R. person in most instances there. They are like
    Mr. Verhoeven. They are the H.R. person.
        So there is usually, again almost always--I have always
    seen a cost of recordkeeping, and that cost, that is time for
    the business owner. And then there is the liability risk too if
    you do not do it right. So thank you.
        Senator Blackburn. Okay; all right.
        Ms. Greszler, let me come to you. What about unintended
    consequences that could result from changing the idea of
    something that is considered a benefit that employers can
    offer, to something that is federally mandated and that the
    government mandates employees have to have? So what would be
    the unintended consequences of making that flip?
        Ms. Greszler. I think the unintended consequences there
    are, you get a more rigid structure that does not work very
    well for most people. If three out of four workers who are
    taking leave are taking it for their own medical condition or
    caring for a family member, those are not things that are
    usually anticipated, and they are often not things that fit
    nicely into 12 weeks fully off, back on the job the next day.
        It is often caring for an elderly parent who might be
    needing to be home, but not constantly needing to be with them.
    So maybe a remote option is something that would work, or
    taking an elderly parent 1 day a week to a doctor's
    appointment. Those things do not fit into the government
    programs.
        Senator Blackburn. Okay. So then, leaving it as a benefit
    for employers to provide like Tennessee has done with an
    insurance option that is there and having that line of
    insurance, that allows the flexibility that employees want is
    what you are saying?
        Ms. Greszler. Yes. That is something that an employee could
    opt into themselves or the business can choose to offer, and
    nobody would necessarily have to pay for it if they do not want
    to.
        Senator Blackburn. Okay; thank you. Thank you, Mr.
    Chairman.
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague, and my colleague is
    raising issues that need to be debated. For those of you who
    are just coming in--and we have had discussions most recently
    about rigid structures and the like--something like 3 hours
    ago, 2 hours ago, Mr. Verhoeven of Albany, OR basically said he
    could offer paid leave for less than it costs for truck
    repairs.
        So that does not suggest to me that we are arming up for
    some kind of huge, rigid kind of structure, and I still like
    the idea of putting all four of you together to work this thing
    out.
        Senator Warren?
        Senator Warren. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        So, women workers saw steep job losses during the pandemic,
    and while women's labor force participation has bounced back,
    it's been stuck at 10 points lower than men's labor force
    participation for the past quarter of a century, and that's
    because women still bear the burden of care work. They take
    care of children, they take care of sick relatives, they take
    care of parents with disabilities, and that means that too
    often, women workers--and particularly women of color--must
    choose between getting paid or caring for a loved one.
        A key way to address this problem is through a national
    paid family and medical leave program so all workers have the
    support they need to balance work and caregiving
    responsibilities. Now some States, including Massachusetts,
    have already set up their own paid family and medical leave
    programs.
        Ms. Frye, how does Massachusetts' paid leave program work?
    Can you just explain to everyone how we're set up?
        Ms. Frye. Sure; absolutely, Senator. Thank you. You know,
    Massachusetts has a very strong program. They have been able to
    make use of some of the best practices across the country. It
    offers 12 weeks of paid leave for family reasons, I think 20
    weeks for medical purposes.
        They have progressive wage replacement, so lower-wage
    workers get more of their pay, about 80 percent, which is
    significant. And it has job protection so that people, if they
    take leave, their job is protected. So it is an important
    program. It also allows additional time for military service
    members as well.
        Senator Warren. Yes. And as I understand it, we cover the
    overwhelming majority of our workers in Massachusetts with this
    program. And are workers in Massachusetts actually using the
    program? What do you see, Ms. Frye, especially with women?
        Ms. Frye. Absolutely. What we know from the early data is
    that the majority of people who have taken claims are women, a
    little over 60 percent. More than half of those women have been
    taking it for their own personal leave. So it is working, and
    that is important. That is exactly what we want in a program.
        Senator Warren. Good. So we've got it. It is a robust
    program. People are using it, and the program is relatively new
    in Massachusetts. But in looking at data from other States that
    have had paid leave programs for years, the impact seems to be
    pretty clear.
        Ms. Frye, in States like Massachusetts that have paid leave
    programs, do we see positive economic outcomes, both for
    workers and for businesses?
        Ms. Frye. Well, that is why it is so important. We
    definitely see positive outcomes in terms of labor force
    participation. It allows folks to stay longer, retain their
    jobs, grow their wages, which is exactly what we want.
        You know, our priority is keeping women in the labor
    market, because it supports them and it supports their
    families. Women are increasingly breadwinners. Two-thirds of
    moms are breadwinners, even higher for Black and Latina moms.
    More than 85 percent of Black mothers are breadwinners in their
    families.
        So, it is so critical to have that labor force attachment,
    and it also helps to close the wage gap. As I said earlier,
    what we know is, in Massachusetts in particular, there is a
    significant wage gap, and this is one of the strategies to help
    fix it.
        Senator Warren. Oh, this is terrific. I really appreciate
    your explaining all of this. You know, paid leave helps
    families improve their economic security, and it's good for
    businesses at the same time, because we get higher workforce
    participation when we do this.
        Clearly, there is a need for leave programs, especially for
    women workers. But the State you live in shouldn't determine
    whether you can take off time from work to care for a sick
    family member at the same time that you're trying to put food
    on the table.
        We need a national paid leave program. President Biden has
    called for it. It is time for Congress to act on this. Thank
    you again.
        I yield, Mr. Chair.
        The Chairman. I thank my colleague.
        I do not want you all to think that I am beginning to
    filibuster, but I have a couple of colleagues who may be on the
    way. So there are a couple of questions that I do think are
    kind of relevant to the debate.
        We haven't said much about rural communities, and this dais
    has a lot of Senators with substantial rural terrain. Ms. Frye,
    you have looked into this issue, I gather, and are there some
    barriers that rural communities face in terms of paid leave?
        Ms. Frye. Well, you know, I think there are a couple of
    things. One is that oftentimes in rural communities they just
    have access to less services. They have to go farther. If you
    have somebody who has a care need, it is more stressful in
    terms of being able to access the care that they need, or
    having to drive people to appointments and things like that.
        So having the ability to take time to maybe take somebody
    to a city that is 1 hour away for a specialized appointment is
    really critical. It is exactly what families need in
    particular. The other thing that we know is that rural workers
    tend to be lower-paid workers.
        They are often disproportionately in lower-wage jobs, and
    many of those jobs do not provide access to paid leave. So you
    know, having a national program that enables workers across the
    workforce, regardless of where they reside, to still have
    access to a leave benefit is particularly important.
        The Chairman. All right.
        In the continuation of our hopes that our colleagues will
    arrive, let me also state a procedural matter, and that is, all
    Senators and staff have to get their questions in by next
    Wednesday, November 1st at 5 p.m.
        Tell me a little bit--and I will ask you this, Ms. Milito,
    because we have worked with you all on a variety of issues. As
    you know, I had a bipartisan health reform bill, the Healthy
    Americans Act--seven Democrats, seven Republicans--that said,
    look, the Democrats have an important point of universal
    coverage, because if you do not have universal coverage, too
    much cost-shifting; and the Republicans had a legitimate point
    as well about some marketplace kind of forces.
        I am looking at the four of you, and I am saying, ``Hey,
    let's figure this thing out.'' I mean, just listening to you
    over the last whatever it has been, 2 hours, I hear that a
    number of colleagues that we invited have been very sympathetic
    to the flexibility issue.
        My hope is that folks in the business community who are
    thinking about what to do and the concern about rigid
    structures would say, ``Why in the world can't we get this help
    to people of modest means?'' I mean, that is how I started the
    discussion 2 hours ago. When people ask me why are we doing
    this, it is that firefighters and cashiers and all these people
    who really are of very modest kind of means, they work hard,
    they want to work hard, but at the same time, when life
    intervenes, they have to be there for their families.
        So, because you all have been involved in kind of
    coalitions and efforts to try to bring together people with
    responsible policy--and to me, policy is not about taking each
    other's crummy ideas. I think that conservatives make
    legitimate points on flexibility, and I think progressives have
    legitimate points with respect to how important the human need
    is here.
        So you have been working on this a lot. What is the path
    here to break the gridlock? By the way, you know, when we
    started on some issues around here, Senator Crapo and I were
    told we did not have a prayer in the world of moving them, and
    we have been able to, because we have a lot of colleagues here
    who believe in the sharp pencil theory. So tell us how we get
    this done.
        Ms. Milito. So, thank you, Senator. You are right. We
    definitely see--there seems to be an awareness about the need
    for flexibility with small business owners, and what works for
    one business might not work so well for another business there.
        I would just ask that your colleagues also build an
    awareness of the costs on small business too. So, for
    instance----
        The Chairman. But you are saying--and I share this view--I
    am sympathetic to flexibility. I mean, I think one of you said
    something like, well, this is being done for getting government
    revenue or some such thing. Not on my watch. On my watch, this
    is being done for two reasons: for economic growth, because we
    desperately need that--that is what fuels innovation--and
    helping families.
        So that is what we are trying to do, and that is what
    flexibility is all about. What do you say to your colleagues on
    that end of the table with respect to getting help and actually
    making sure it gets to them, without having to give up other
    assistance if they are of modest means and they have to help
    their family?
        Ms. Milito. So proposals, I think, need to start modestly,
    and transposing, for instance, what Oregon has done nationwide,
    I think--Ms. Greszler could speak more to the potential calls
    for that, but I say that there are a lot of people and NFIB
    members that are not willing to absorb that cost----
        The Chairman. I didn't talk--I didn't talk----
        Ms. Milito [continuing]. And it is the creation of another
    Federal entitlement program. Is that something that my members
    would support? They would not.
        The Chairman. I didn't talk about taking anybody's model. I
    am talking about trying to get people to say, ``Look, let's get
    serious about actually resolving it.'' And when my constituent
    comes in and says, ``We can do paid leave for less than we are
    spending on truck repairs,'' I think there is a lane here that
    I have heard Senators on both sides talk about, where human
    capital, the needs of people, count as much as the very
    important investments that I support for your members in terms
    of equipment and machinery and the like. So that is my final
    refrain.
        Senator Whitehouse will ask his questions, and we will wrap
    up. But let's say that this forum is a powerhouse panel, and
    let's continue this conversation and find a path to actually
    making this happen on our watch.
        Senator Whitehouse?
        Senator Whitehouse. Thank you very much.
        Let me start, if I may, by highlighting a Rhode Island paid
    leave story. Not everybody has an equal share of good and bad
    luck in this life, and this story is about a woman who has
    three kids. Her oldest is 15, medically fragile, nonverbal, and
    receives ICU-level care at home.
        He has been hospitalized twice, and because his mom has
    paid family leave, she is able to stay with him during some of
    these crises. And by virtue of her being there, that keeps him
    out of the hospital, lowering health-care costs for all of us
    in addition to, I think, being a pretty fair and decent thing
    to do for a woman who is already carrying a pretty heavy burden
    of need in her family.
        So to quote the mom, expanding this program is crucial to
    supporting families during difficult times, and so I am very
    supportive of it for that reason.
        Ms. Frye, how do you rate providing family leave in terms
    of overall economic growth? Does it add value to the economy,
    or is it a deadweight loss on the economy to provide workers
    with paid family leave?
        Ms. Frye. Well, Senator, I think you will not be surprised
    to hear me say that it certainly adds a benefit, a strong
    economic benefit, to have access to paid family and medical
    leave, in part because it helps women in particular stay in the
    workforce. It helps them retain their jobs, which is critical
    for not only their own economic stability, but it is critical
    for our national economy.
        What we know is, when more women are participating in the
    workforce, it grows our economy. And we already know that we
    lose about $650 billion a year in part because our women's
    labor force participation does not match that of some of our
    global partners. So paid leave is an important strategy to
    address that problem.
        Senator Whitehouse. Other countries do it?
        Ms. Frye. Other countries--almost every country does it,
    Senator, and quite frankly, we ought to be able to do it too,
    and we know from States that we can do it.
        Senator Whitehouse. And if, just say my mom from Rhode
    Island, if she is forced to choose between a job that does not
    allow her the leave that is necessary to take care of her
    child, versus staying home and taking care of the child, I
    would bet that she and a lot of moms like her would forego the
    job and stay home. That is the mother's first responsibility:
    to a child with a disability.
        Ms. Frye. Absolutely.
        Senator Whitehouse. So it is the prospect of paid leave
    when needed, that actually adds her to the workforce, is it
    not?
        Ms. Frye. Absolutely.
        Senator Whitehouse. And is that like a one-off, that
    everybody else is different, that the only place that would
    happen is with her in Rhode Island, or is that something that
    would repeat itself across other families and across other
    States, that it actually adds to the workforce to have a
    benefit like this, so that people who have the particular needs
    like she does feel that they can actually operate in the
    workforce without compromising their obligations at home?
        Ms. Frye. It absolutely is the case that we have seen
    across the country, where there are paid leave programs--and we
    know also from the Family and Medical Leave Act that when
    people have the assurance of being able to take time off, it
    not only helps them in terms of the care they need to provide
    for their families, but it helps with their economic stability.
        It is crucial at all times, particularly for women, who are
    far more likely to be the ones who have to leave their job to
    provide care, because we know they do that. That is part of
    what happened during the pandemic, Senator, is that a million
    women left the workforce. It is because they had no choice but
    to leave the workforce to care for their families.
        Senator Whitehouse. Yes. I think we have had a similar
    argument here in this committee as regards the Child Tax
    Credit, which I would argue also helps facilitate work and
    helps people get to work, because if you are a mom with kids
    and you get a robust Child Tax Credit, you can now afford, with
    those Child Tax Credit dollars, the child care that allows you
    to go to work. So I think many of these things actually support
    the workforce and support jobs and economic growth.
        So, thank you for being here. The chairman has asked me to
    gavel out the hearing. I believe as he does, that now is the
    time for Congress to enact a national paid leave program, that
    a national comprehensive program would be good for business,
    good for workers and families, and good for the economy--a
    triple win.
        But a national paid leave program will also make the
    American workforce more competitive against China. And when
    small businesses like Ben's thrive, our economy will also
    thrive.
        Members will have 7 days to submit questions for the record
    for these witnesses. That means Wednesday, November 1st by
    close of business to get any questions that you have in.
        I want to thank all the witnesses again for their time and
    trouble being here. And with that, the Senate Finance Committee
    is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:52 a.m., the hearing was concluded.]

                                A P P E N D I X

                  Additional Material Submitted for the Record

                                  ----------

                    Prepared Statement of Hon. Mike Crapo,
                           a U.S. Senator From Idaho
        This is an important hearing, as nearly every working American will
    need to take leave from work at some point in their career. The Finance
    Committee has previously explored this topic, including holding a
    subcommittee hearing in 2018 and convening a paid leave working group
    organized by then-Chairman Grassley and Chairman Wyden.

        I was a member of that bipartisan working group, which sought to
    find the most sustainable path forward on family leave policies. As I
    noted at the time, I am committed to addressing the needs of working
    Americans, both inside and outside the home, while also ensuring that
    businesses have the flexibility they need to succeed, particularly in
    today's challenging economy.

        As we will hear today, paid leave can greatly benefit workers and
    their families--from improving employee morale to helping families meet
    caregiving responsibilities. However, there are many approaches to
    expanding paid leave, and the details matter.

        Employers across the country are struggling to fill vital roles in
    their organizations, with nearly 9.6 million jobs remaining unfilled
    nationally. In a recent survey from the National Federation of
    Independent Business, 43 percent of small business owners reported job
    openings they could not fill in the current period.

        In light of these workforce challenges, Congress must be careful
    not to interfere with employers' existing paid leave offerings, which
    play an important part in their efforts to recruit and retain workers.

        According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, 78 percent of
    private-sector workers have access to paid sick leave and 79 percent
    have access to paid vacation. Additionally, 73 percent of small
    employers offer paid time off to the majority of their full-time
    employees, and 67 percent offer 2 weeks or more of leave.

        Imposing a one-size-fits-all paid leave program could limit
    employers' ability to offer paid leave policies that meet the unique
    needs of their workforce or significantly diminish existing employer-
    provided paid leave altogether. Creating a new Federal paid leave
    program also raises questions about implementation challenges and costs
    to taxpayers. States' experience standing up paid leave programs
    illustrate some of the challenges a new Federal program could face.

        Several States that have enacted paid leave programs have had
    difficulty setting up even the most basic components of the program,
    leading to implementation delays. For example, applicants in multiple
    States have experienced delays with getting their claims approved, with
    processing times in one State expected to increase from about 5 weeks
    to 4 months by 2025 absent additional staffing. One State has had to
    repeatedly increase the revenue going to the program to avoid a funding
    deficit. And in another State, analysts have raised concerns that
    revenues may be too low to pay future benefits.

        Even though there are many challenges on this topic, the bipartisan
    work that continues from members on and off this committee shows the
    importance of the issue.

        I appreciate the witnesses being here today, and I look forward to
    your testimony.

                                     ______

                Prepared Statement of Jocelyn Frye, President,
                  National Partnership for Women and Families
        Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and members of the Senate
    Finance Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the
    critical topic of paid leave. My name is Jocelyn Frye, and I am the
    president of the National Partnership for Women and Families.

        The National Partnership is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy
    organization based in Washington, DC. We promote fairness in the
    workplace, reproductive health and rights, access to quality,
    affordable health care and policies that help all people, especially
    women, meet the dual demands of work and family. For more than 5
    decades, we have focused specifically on tackling gender-based
    barriers, often rooted in longstanding stereotypes and biases, used to
    limit the opportunities available to women, men, gender minorities and
    all those deemed to be out of step with assumptions about gender norms
    or roles. Women of color, disabled women, and women who hold other
    marginalized identities are particularly likely to face these barriers,
    compounded by prejudice and negative attitudes based on the
    intersections of their identities. We believe that it is essential to
    prioritize equity--in our workplaces, in our economy, in health care
    and health-care systems--to create environments fully equipped to
    respond to the diverse needs of workers, patients and indeed all people
    regardless of their background or resources. Our goal is to create a
    society that is free, fair and just, where nobody has to experience
    discrimination, all workplaces are family friendly, and every family
    has access to quality, affordable health care and real economic
    security.

        The National Partnership has been deeply involved in the fight for
    paid family and medical leave for decades. We wrote the first draft of
    the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)--which provides unpaid, job-
    protected family and medical leave--and helped lead the coalition that
    successfully won its passage in 1993. Our work on the FMLA is rooted in
    our longstanding commitment to challenge barriers impeding women's
    employment and full participation in the economy. The law has been
    instrumental in helping to counter biases and assumptions about workers
    with caregiving obligations and needs, and ensure that workers are not
    treated unfairly when navigating their family and work
    responsibilities. The FMLA is one of our proudest achievements as an
    organization, and since its passage has been used more than 460 million
    times,\1\ meaning that millions of workers no longer have to risk their
    livelihoods in order to take care of their own health or care for their
    families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (2023, February).
    Key Facts: The Family and Medical Leave Act. Retrieved 16 October 2023,
    from https://nationalpartnership.org/report/fmla-key-facts/.

        In the 3 decades since the FMLA passed, we have had the privilege
    of working alongside a number of State and national partners to advance
    the issue of paid leave. We worked with paid leave champions
    Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to craft the
    Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act) that was first
    introduced in 2013, and to update the bill in 2023 to reflect the
    growing body of evidence and State innovation on paid leave and the
    legislative progress made in the Build Back Better Act. We are proud to
    be part of the Paid Leave for All campaign, a powerhouse coalition that
    leverages policy and research expertise and its grassroots memberships
    in the fight to make national paid family and medical leave a reality.
    We lead the National Work and Family Coalition, a diverse group of more
    than 200 national and State advocacy organizations that advance
    supportive workplace policies like paid leave nationally and in States
    across the country. We also participate in the Care Can't Wait
    campaign, a national campaign to advance comprehensive care supports to
    expand access to child care, paid family and medical leave and home-
    and community-based services while ensuring high-quality jobs for the
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    care workforce.

        We have worked at the national, State and local levels to advance
    different types of paid leave programs. At the Federal level, our
    recent work has included successfully advocating for the Federal
    Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA), which provided Federal workers with up
    to 12 weeks of fully paid leave to welcome a new child. We worked
    closely with members of Congress and partners to secure the inclusion
    of emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave in the Families
    First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)--which, although narrow in
    scope, still helped slow the spread of coronavirus and prevented an
    estimated 15,000 cases per day.\2\ And we worked day and night
    alongside our partners and legislative champions to shape the
    comprehensive, universal paid family and medical leave program that
    passed the House as part of the Build Back Better reconciliation
    package in November 2021. We also fought for the creation of a State
    paid leave research fund within the Department of Labor and worked with
    several States to help them apply for funding and carry out invaluable
    research that has been foundational to paid leave efforts across the
    country. Most recently, we successfully advocated for a provision in
    the CHIPS and Science Act to allow for more flexibility for people
    working on Federal science grants who have caregiving responsibilities.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Pichler, S. Wen, K. and Ziebarth, N.R. (2020, October). COVID-
    19 Emergency Sick Leave Has Helped Flatten the Curve in the United
    States. Health Affairs, 39(12); Mason J. (2022, February). Lack of Paid
    Leave Stifles Economic Recovery and Blocks Women's Return to Work.
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from National Partnership for Women and
    Families website: https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2023/02/lack-of-paid-leave-stifles.pdf. Unfortunately, the emergency
    COVID leave expired at the end of 2020.

        At the State level, we are routinely consulted by the dynamic and
    innovative advocates who have been fighting for--and winning--paid
    leave in their States. We have testified at State hearings and carried
    out extensive research on and analysis of the implementation of State
    paid leave laws, the benefits of paid leave and negative impacts of
    lack of access to paid leave--and we continue to do so to this day. We
    also work closely with business partners to discuss best practices,
    encourage the adoption of supportive leave policies, and elevate
    business support for a national paid leave law.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Businesses Advancing National Paid Leave. (n.d.). Businesses
    are advancing the case for national paid leave. Retrieved 18 October
    2023, from https://advancingpaidleave.org/.

        The breadth and depth of our decades-long experience has given us a
    deep understanding of the evolution of paid leave policy, what works
    and doesn't work in program design, and what these programs have meant
    to millions of workers, businesses, local communities and the American
    economy as a whole. We believe that paid family and medical leave is a
    core workplace standard that is necessary, long overdue, and essential
    to strengthening our economy and creating workplaces of the future that
    maximize the potential of all workers.
    i. paid leave is essential for the modern workforce--and essential for
                   strengthening and growing a modern economy
        The need for paid leave is urgent--the millions of families across
    the country who stand to benefit cannot wait, and its positive impacts
    on the workforce and economy are clear. The pandemic's sudden
    disruption of our economy was a stark, sobering demonstration that the
    lack of comprehensive care supports undermines the ability of workers,
    especially women workers, to find and keep jobs and economically
    contribute to their families. Learning from the pandemic's lessons
    requires building a modern, functioning economy that can tap the full
    potential of all workers, and to do so requires prioritizing access to
    comprehensive paid leave. Research consistently shows that paid leave
    is an indispensable tool, enabling people from all backgrounds to
    better participate in the economy. Ample evidence from existing paid
    leave programs shows how to successfully implement paid leave to
    support workers and businesses, and the policies are overwhelmingly
    popular with workers and the public. Without action, the Nation risks
    leaving recent economic gains on the table and stalling future
    progress. The cost of failing to act--for workers, families and the
    nation--is too high to ignore.
    A. Learning From History: Correcting Discrimination and Valuing Women's
            Work
        Our Nation's current lack of a comprehensive, nationwide paid
    family and medical leave program cannot be divorced from our historical
    context. For much of our Nation's history, women's labor was viewed
    very narrowly and often seen as less important than the labor performed
    by men. Women's work was devalued precisely because it was performed by
    women, reflected in lower wages and fewer opportunities--a legacy that
    continues to this day. A large body of research demonstrates these
    gender dynamics, showing how wages decrease for both women and men as
    women's share of an occupation increases, even after accounting for
    other relevant factors.\4\ Additionally, women were often limited to
    certain sectors, such as the domestic sphere,\5\ which lacked essential
    labor protections,\6\ while other, more lucrative opportunities were
    foreclosed. Outside of the domestic sector, women have generally faced
    barriers to training, better-paying jobs and accessing diverse roles in
    the formal labor market.\7\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ For more on the historic devaluation of women's labor, see
    Cohen, P. and Huffman, M. (2003, March). Occupation segregation and the
    devaluation of women's work across U.S. labor markets. Social Forces,
    81(3), 881-908.
        \5\ Yellen, J. (2020, May). The history of women's work and wages
    and how it has created success for us all. The Brookings Institution.
    Retrieved October 19, 2023, from https://www.
    brookings.edu/articles/the-history-of-womens-work-and-wages-and-how-it-
    has-created-success-for-us-all/.
        \6\ Henderson, K. (2020, November). Why Millions of Workers in the
    U.S. Are Denied Basic Protections. Oxfam America. Retrieved October 19,
    2023, from https://politicsofpoverty.oxf
    amamerica.org/why-millions-workers-us-are-denied-basic-protections/.
        \7\ See note 5; Banks, N. (2019, February). Black women's labor
    market history reveals deep-seated race and gender discrimination.
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from Economic Policy Institute website:
    https://www.epi.org/blog/black-womens-labor-market-history-reveals-
    deep-seated-race-and-gender-discrimination/.

        In addition to gender, the segregation of work along racial and
    ethnic lines is also deeply rooted in the Nation's history. From the
    era of slavery into the ensuing decades, Black women, for example, were
    always expected to work, mostly in service of White families with their
    own personal caregiving or family needs deprioritized and taking a back
    seat.\8\ Entrenched racism meant that Black women were confined to
    domestic and laborer jobs where their opportunities were limited.\9\
    While each demographic group has had their own unique experiences in
    the labor market, many other women of color--Latinas, Asian and Pacific
    Islander women, and Native women--have also had to navigate the
    combined effects of race, ethnic, and gender bias that has relegated
    them to the lowest paying domestic, service, and laborer jobs.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ See note 7.
        \9\ Ibid.
        \10\ Frye, J. (2016, October). The Missing Conversation about Work
    and Family: Unique Challenges Facing Women of Color. Center for
    American Progress Publication. Retrieved 23 October 2023, from https://
    cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/30124619/WorkAnd
    Family-WomenOfColor-Oct.pdf; Mason, J. and Gallagher Robbins, K. (2023,
    March). Women's Work Is Undervalued, and It's Costing Us Billions.
    Retrieved 186 October 2023, from National Partnership for Women and
    Families website: https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2023/04/womens-work-is-undervalued.pdf.

        Because of these collective attitudes, the term ``women's work''
    has often involved care work, disproportionately performed by women of
    color for little or no pay.\11\ Such work is frequently seen as not
    having real value even though it is essential to the sustainability and
    well-being of families. The importance of caregiving as work, both paid
    and unpaid, has long been ignored and treated as inconsequential, thus
    it isn't always quantified or measured or captured by metrics such as
    the GDP.\12\ National Partnership research shows that women spend
    nearly twice as much time as men providing unpaid care for children,
    parents, spouses, and other loved ones.\13\ Overall, Americans' unpaid
    caregiving--two-thirds of which is done by women--is worth nearly $1
    trillion each year.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ See Frye note 10; see note 7; see note 5.
        \12\ Folbre, M. (2006, July). Measuring Care: Gender, Empowerment,
    and the Care Economy. Journal of Human Development, 7(2), 183-199.
        \13\ Gallagher Robbins, K., and Mason, J. (2023, August 14).
    Women's unpaid caregiving is worth more than $625 billion--and it could
    cost more. National Partnership for Women and Families Blog. Retrieved
    16 October 2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/womens-unpaid-
    caregiving-worth-more-than-625-billion/.
        \14\ Ibid.

        The perception that caregiving should be largely understood through
    a framework of women's responsibilities--and that women's
    responsibilities are not considered labor, nor is their participation
    in a formal labor market valuable or an economic priority--has directly
    contributed to the undervaluing of caregiving and care work. It helps
    us understand why certain types of supports have not been prioritized
    in our public policy landscape. When efforts to begin a paid leave
    program began more than 100 years ago, women in what might have been
    considered as the mainstream American workforce were less common, with
    women of color and unmarried women much more likely to be engaged in
    work to support their families than white women.\15\ Women across the
    globe banded together to advocate for working protections, lobbying the
    newly formed International Labor Organization in 1919 to pass an
    international standard that included 12 weeks of paid maternity leave,
    but the United States did not ratify the convention and remains the
    only developed Nation without this standard.\16\ Even as women in the
    workplace became more common, especially during World War II,\17\
    permanent, sustainable policies to support child care and maternity
    leave remained out of reach. In the 1960s and 1970s, as women's
    education increased and they entered the formal workplace in
    droves,\18\ they still faced unemployment and discrimination when they
    become pregnant or need to care for a loved one, impeding women's
    abilities to achieve economic independence or support themselves and
    their families.\19\ Employers discriminated against women regardless of
    their family status, denying employment opportunities to those they
    believed might become pregnant or need time away from work. The FMLA
    broke new ground to tackle this problem head on--by connecting the dots
    between the need to create supports for caregiving, and the need to
    prevent discrimination aimed mostly, but not always, at women because
    of their caregiving roles. Under the FMLA, the ability to take leave
    was established as a gender-neutral protection, available to all
    eligible workers, to help them fulfill their work and family
    obligations without penalty and avoid discriminatory treatment. This
    historical context about how women workers and the work that they
    perform have been perceived is crucial to understand the current public
    policy landscape--and the obstacles that have influenced certain
    supports not being prioritized.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ Streeter, L.G. (2021, November 10). Paid family leave isn't a
    new fight. Here's a century's worth of attempts to get something
    passed. The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://
    www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/11/10/paid-family-leave-isnt-new-
    fight-heres-centurys-worth-attempts-get-something-passed/; see note 5.
        \16\ Siegel, M. (2019, November 29). The Forgotten Origins of Paid
    Family Leave. The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/opinion/mothers-paid-family-
    leave.html.
        \17\ See note 5.
        \18\ For a history of women's participation in the formal labor
    market in the United States, see Goldin C. The U-Shaped Female Labor
    Force Function in Economic Development and Economic History. In
    Schultz, T.P. (Ed). (1995). Investment in Women's Human Capital and
    Economic Development. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
    Goldin's research is part of her Nobel Prize-winning record of
    scholarship.
        \19\ Molnar, C. (2005). ``Has the Millennium Yet Dawned?'': A
    History of Attitudes Toward Pregnant Workers in America. Michigan
    Journal of Gender and Law. 12(1), 163-187.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    B. Current Challenges Facing Workers That Undermine Maximizing Full
            Participation in the Economy
        Much of the current conversation about the economy has focused on
    low unemployment and tight labor markets, but the challenges that faced
    certain categories of workers prior to the pandemic--women, workers of
    color, disabled workers, and workers in low wage jobs--continue to
    persist.\20\ And the cost of not acting to address these shortcomings
    through critical caregiving investments is high.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \20\ Harring, A. (2023, February 3). Black women are gaining group
    in the labor market but still face unique barriers. CNBC. Retrieved 23
    October 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/03/black-women-are-
    gaining-ground-in-the-labor-market-but-still-face-unique-barriers.html.

                Barriers to Women's Full Participation in the Economy
        Decades of deliberate policy choices to underinvest in necessary
    caregiving programs, undermining families' abilities to prioritize
    their caregiving needs, have had enormous impacts on America's women.
    Women are the unspoken backbone of our Nation's economy. They drive an
    overwhelming majority of purchases \21\ and control a growing share of
    the Nation's wealth.\22\ Women are nearly half the labor force,\23\ and
    are a key source of economic support for their families. Two-thirds of
    mothers are their family's primary, sole or co-breadwinners.\24\ These
    numbers are even higher for many mothers of color, with Black mothers
    occupying the highest share--an estimated 85 percent of Black mothers
    are primary, sole or co-breadwinners for their families.\25\ Yet, women
    continue to face numerous barriers to full participation in today's
    economy, including discrimination and harassment \26\ that too often
    goes unchecked \27\ and insufficient caregiving supports, even while
    they continue to do the majority of paid and unpaid caregiving.\28\ The
    result is that these forces push many women out of the labor force
    altogether--as we saw so clearly when the pandemic hit.\29\ Even when
    they are able to hold jobs, that work is often undervalued and
    underpaid. The failure to support women's full participation in the
    economy comes at a cost to both families and the economy--and paid
    leave is an essential part of the solution.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ Numerator. (2023, March). Breaking Stereotypes: The Women
    Driving Sales in Male-Centric Categories. Retrieved 19 October 2023,
    from https://www.numerator.com/resources/report/breaking-stereotypes.
        \22\ Baghai, P., Howard, O., Prakash, L., and Zucker, J. (2020,
    July). Women as the next wave of growth in U.S. wealth management.
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from McKinsey and Company website: https://
    www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/women-as-
    the-next-wave-of-growth-in-us-wealth-management.
        \23\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Table A-1. Employment
    status of the civilian population by sex and age. Retrieved 19 October
    2023, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm. In
    September 2023 women workers were 46.8 percent of the Nation's labor
    force.
        \24\ Glynn, S.J. (2021, March). Breadwinning Mothers Are Critical
    to Families' Economic Security. Retrieved 23 October 2023, from Center
    for American Progress website: https://www.
    americanprogress.org/article/breadwinning-mothers-critical-familys-
    economic-security/.
        \25\ Ibid.
        \26\ Parker, K., and Funk, C. (2017, December). Gender
    discrimination comes in many forms for today's working women. Retrieved
    19 October 2023, from Pew Research Center website: https://
    www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-
    in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women.
        \27\ SteelFisher, G.K., Findling, M.G., Bleich, S.N., Casey, L.S.,
    Blendon, R.J., Benson, J.M., Sayde, J.M., and Miller, C. (2019,
    October). Gender discrimination in the United States: Experiences of
    women. Health Services Research, 54(2), 1442-1453.
        \28\ See note 13.
        \29\ Bipartisan Policy Center. (2020, October 28). New Survey:
    Facing Caregiving Challenges, Women Leaving the Workforce at
    Unprecedented Rates. [Blog post]. Retrieved 2018 October 2023, from
    https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/facing-caregiving-challenges/.

        Despite the fact that women are disproportionately likely to need
    paid leave, they are less likely than men to be able to take leave when
    they need it.\30\ They are also more likely than men to take leave
    without full pay or to take unpaid leave.\31\ In part due to a large
    gender wage gap,\32\ women are also more likely to report financial
    distress when taking leave without full pay, with three-quarters of
    women saying it is much more difficult to make ends meet when on
    leave.\33\ Single women are especially likely to confront challenges
    when taking leave: more than half report going without pay, and 15
    percent report losing a job as a result of taking leave.\34\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \30\ Herr, J., Roy, R., and Klerman, J.A. (2020, November). Gender
    Differences in Needing and Taking Leave. Retrieved 19 October 2023,
    from the U.S. Department of Labor website: https://www.dol.gov/sites/
    dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/WHD_FMLAGenderShortPaper_January
    2021.pdf.
        \31\ Ibid.
        \32\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (September 2023).
    Quantifying America's Gender Wage Gap by Race/Ethnicity. Retrieved 19
    October 2023, from https://national
    partnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/quantifying-americas-gender-
    wage-gap.pdf.
        \33\ See note 30.
        \34\ Among partnered women who took a leave, 33 percent reported
    receiving no pay at all, and 3 percent reported losing a job. See note
    30 (Exhibits 11 and 13).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                A Lack of Paid Leave Disproportionately Impacts Workers of
                        Color
        While paid leave is needed for all families across the country,
    regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity, we know that both the
    devaluation of care and the lack of guaranteed paid leave has
    disproportionate impacts on women of color, especially Black women and
    Latinas.\35\ The inadequate access to paid leave for women and
    communities of color compounds other racial injustices including the
    racial wealth gap, maternal morbidity and mortality, inequitable access
    to health care and discriminatory experiences with health-care
    providers.\36\ Inadequate paid leave policies cost Black women and
    their families nearly $4 billion a year in lost wages,\37\ a loss that
    is especially challenging because Black women also face a large gender
    wage gap.\38\ Despite their caregiving commitments, surveys find that
    Black and Latino workers are less able to take leave when they need
    it.\39\ In fact, Black women report being unable to take leave 38
    percent of the time they need it, resulting in 1.1 million untaken
    leaves.\40\ And even when they do take leave, they are often forced to
    do so without pay. On top of the Black women who are unable to take any
    leave at all, more than one-quarter (26 percent) of leaves taken by
    Black women are taken without pay, reducing their and their families'
    economic security.\41\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \35\ See note 13; Milli, J., Frye, J., and Buchanan, M.J. (2022,
    March). Black Women Need Access to Paid Family and Medical Leave.
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from Center for American Progress website:
    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/black-women-need-access-to-
    paid-family-and-medical-leave/.
        \36\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (August 2018).
    Paid Family and Medical Leave: A Racial Justice Issue--And Opportunity.
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/report/
    paid-family-and-medical-leave-a-racial-justice-issue-and-opportunity/.
        \37\ See note 35.
        \38\ See note 32.
        \39\ Horowitz, J., Parker, K., Graf, N., and Livingston, G. (2017,
    March). Americans Widely Support Paid Family and Medical Leave, but
    Differ Over Specific Policies. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from Pew
    Research Center website: https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/
    uploads/sites/3/2017/03/22152556/Paid-Leave-Report-3-17-17-FINAL.pdf.
        \40\ See Milli, Frye, and Buchanan note 35.
        \41\ Ibid.

                A Lack of Paid Leave Disproportionately Impacts Disabled
                        Workers
        Paid leave is also critical for disabled women workers. Research by
    the Center for American Progress shows that 16 percent of workers who
    took FMLA leave did so to address an ongoing health condition, many of
    which may be disabilities such as chronic migraines, diabetes or
    multiple sclerosis.\42\ Women workers and Black workers were
    particularly likely to need this type of leave.\43\ Though disabled
    workers may be especially likely to need paid leave to take care of
    their own health, they report less access to paid leave than
    nondisabled workers.\44\ This is in part because disabled people are
    more likely to work in low-wage jobs, which are less likely to offer
    paid leave.\45\ Disabled workers also need leave to provide care to
    their family or loved ones. Nearly three out of 10 workers (29 percent)
    who took leave for an ongoing health condition were also caring for
    children under 18,\46\ and, similar to LGBTQ+ workers, disabled workers
    are especially likely to need leave to support their chosen family.\47\
    For disabled workers--who have less income and savings to rely on, face
    significant health disparities, and are more likely to be in poverty
    \48\--a lack of paid leave compounds existing inequities.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \42\ Boesch, D., and Cokley, R. (2020, October). The Disability
    Community Needs Paid Family and Medical Leave. Retrieved 19 October
    2023, from Center for American Progress website: https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/disability-community-needs-paid-
    family-medical-leave/.
        \43\ Ibid.
        \44\ U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment
    Policy. (2021, December). Access to Paid Leave for Family and Medical
    Reasons Among Workers with Disabilities (p. 5). Retrieved 19 October
    2023, from https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ODEP/pdf/Access-To-
    Paid-Leave-ForFamily-And-Medical-Reasons-Among-People-With-
    Disabilities.pdf.
        \45\ Ditkowsky, M. (2023, July). Systems Transformation Guide to
    Disability Economic Justice: Jobs and Employment. Retrieved 19 October
    2023, from National Partnership for Women and Families website: https:/
    /nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/systems-transformation-
    guide-disability-economic-justice-jobs-employment.pdf; Mason, J. (2023,
    September 21). When We Fight, We Win--Paid Sick Days and Paid Family
    Leave. National Partnership for Women and Families Blog. Retrieved 19
    October 2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/when-we-fight-we-
    win-paid-sick-days-and-paid-family-leave/.
        \46\ See note 42.
        \47\ Gallagher Robbins, K., Durso, L.E., and Bewkes, F.J. (2017,
    October 30). People Need Paid Leave Policies That Cover Chosen Family.
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from Center for American Progress website:
    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/people-need-paid-leave-
    policies-that-cover-chosen-family/.
        \48\ See Ditkowsky note 45.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A Lack of Paid Leave Disproportionately Impacts Low-Wage Workers
        Low-wage workers and those in service occupations especially lack
    access to paid leave. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2023 shows
    that workers in management and professional occupations have twice as
    much access to employer-provided paid family leave (39 percent), than
    service workers (16 percent).\49\ The gap between the highest-paid
    workers (48 percent) and lowest-paid (6 percent) is even more stark,
    with the highest paid workers eight times more likely to have employer-
    provided paid leave than those with the lowest wages.\50\ While these
    data are not broken down by gender, National Partnership research
    demonstrates that women, especially women of color and disabled women,
    are especially likely to hold low-wage and service sector
    occupations.\51\ Low-wage workers are the least likely to be able to
    take unpaid leave even if they are eligible,\52\ making paid leave
    particularly critical for these workers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \49\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September). National
    Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023
    (Excel tables, Leave, Civilian workers). Retrieved 19 October 2023,
    from https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/employee-benefits-in-the-
    united-states-march-2023.htm.
        \50\ See Mason note 45.
        \51\ See Mason and Gallagher Robbins note 10.
        \52\ Brown, S., Herr, J., Roy, R., and Klerman, J.A. (2020, July).
    Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical Leave Act:
    Supplemental Results from the 2018 Surveys (p. 41). Retrieved 19
    October 2023, from Department of Labor website: https://www.dol.gov/
    sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/
    WHD_FMLA2018SurveyResults_Appendices_Aug2020.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                The Cost of Inaction on Paid Leave Is High
        Failure to act on paid leave and other caregiving policies has
    tremendous consequences for families and the economy. As women's labor
    force participation in the United States continues to lag behind other
    comparable nations, we leave billions of dollars on the table each
    year.\53\ In fact, the gap between prime-age women's labor force
    participation in the United States compared to Canada, Germany, and the
    U.K. cost the U.S. economy more than $3 trillion over a 5 year
    period.\54\ And research from the Center for American Progress shows
    that even before recent increases in inflation workers were losing more
    than $22.5 billion in wages each year due to a lack of paid leave--and
    the majority of this loss is borne by women workers.\55\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \53\ Novello, A. (2021, July). The Cost of Inaction: How a Lack of
    Family Care Policies Burdens the U.S. Economy and Families. Retrieved
    19 October 2023, from National Partnership for Women and Families
    website: https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    cost-of-inaction-lack-of-family-care-burdens-families.pdf.
        \54\ Ibid.
        \55\ Glynn, S.J. (2020, January). The Rising Cost of Inaction on
    Work-Family Policies. Center for American Progress Publication.
    Retrieved 23 October 2023, from https://www.americanpro
    gress.org/issues/women/news/2020/01/21/479555/rising-cost-inaction-
    work-familypolicies/.

    C. Investing in Paid Family and Medical Leave Can Help Address Problems
            Facing Workers, Workplaces, and Employers
        Research proves that the benefits of paid leave are substantial,
    supporting all workers and the economy overall.
                Paid Leave Supports Workers Caring for Older Adults Amidst
                        Demographic Changes
        As the U.S. population ages, the need for paid leave to support
    family caregivers is already acute and only growing more urgent. Right
    now, about one in five Americans is providing unpaid care to an older
    or disabled adult,\56\ and these caregivers are disproportionately
    women.\57\ The need for caregivers is certain to grow in the coming
    years, as by 2040 the population of adults 65 and older is expected to
    grow more than 40 percent compared to its 2020 level, reaching more
    than 80 million people.\58\ About 6 in 10 family caregivers are also in
    the workforce,\59\ all too often struggling to manage both their
    caregiving responsibilities and their jobs. One in seven caregivers has
    had to cut back their hours at work as a result of caregiving, 6
    percent report giving up working and five percent report retiring
    early.\60\ These job impacts undermine caregivers' long-term financial
    security: men over the age of 50 who leave the workforce to provide
    care for a parent lose, on average, nearly $284,000 in earnings and
    retirement savings--and women, $324,000.\61\ For women of color, that
    lost income further compounds wage and wealth gaps.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \56\ National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2020, May).
    Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 (Figure 2). National Alliance for
    Caregiving and AARP Public Policy Institute Publication. Retrieved 19
    October 2023, from https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2020/05/
    full-report-caregiving-in-the-united-states.doi.10.26419-
    2Fppi.00103.001.pdf.
        \57\ Ibid.
        \58\ Vespa., J., Medina, L., and Armstrong, D.M. (2020, February).
    Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population
    Projections for 2020 to 2060. U.S. Census Bureau Publication. Retrieved
    17 October 2023, from https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/
    library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.pdf.
        \59\ See note 56.
        \60\ Ibid.
        \61\ MetLife Mature Market Institute. (2011, June). The MetLife
    Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for
    Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents (p. 14). Retrieved 19 October
    2023, from https://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mmi-
    caregiving-costs-working-caregivers.pdf.

        When a lack of support drives caregivers out of the workforce,
    employers lose talented, experienced employees and our economy suffers.
    Health and caregiving reasons are main factors behind why nearly 20
    percent of prime-age adults are out of the labor force.\62\ But among
    those who are out of the labor force due to family care, about half say
    that they would have kept working in their last job if they had had
    paid family leave.\63\ And in fact, State paid leave programs have been
    shown to improve the labor force participation of unpaid family
    caregivers.\64\ Investments in paid leave are an essential piece of
    adapting our economy to demographic change.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \62\ Gitis, B., and Wielk, E. (2023, September 1). Barriers to
    Work: A Recent BPC-Artemis Survey of Non-working Americans and the Need
    for Paid Family and Medical Leave. Bipartisan Policy Center
    Publication. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://
    bipartisanpolicy.org/report/bpc-artemis-survey/.
        \63\ Ibid.
        \64\ Saad-Lessler, J. (2020, October). How does paid family leave
    affect unpaid care providers? The Journal of the Economics of Ageing,
    17, 100265. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2020.
    100265; Anand, P., Dague, L., and Wagner, K.L. (2022, May). The role of
    paid family leave in labor supply responses to a spouse's disability or
    health shock. Journal of Health Economics, 83, 203632. doi: 10.1016/
    j.jhealeco.2022.102621.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Paid Leave Programs Benefit Workers' Health and Economic
                        Security
        Supporting workers' caregiving and health needs through paid leave
    has tremendous positive impacts for individuals and families. Numerous
    studies now show that paid leave programs go a long way to redress long
    standing inequities for workers, especially women of color. Paid leave
    programs increase the time new mothers take to bond with new children
    and recover from birth,\65\ and reduce the incidence of low birth
    weight and preterm births \66\--with both benefits especially
    pronounced for Black mothers. Research also links State paid leave
    programs to improved physical \67\ and mental health for new mothers,
    including lower postpartum distress,\68\ improved on-time vaccination
    rates,\69\ greater initiation and duration of breastfeeding,\70\ fewer
    infant hospitalizations \71\ and more. Paid leave increases new
    fathers' leave-taking,\72\ which supports greater involvement in
    parenting,\73\ including for nonresident fathers.\74\ And paid leave
    for parents supports economic security as well as health; research on
    the Nation's longest-running paid leave program in California shows
    increases in income and decreases in poverty as a result of paid
    leave.\75\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \65\ Rossin-Slater, M., Ruhm, C., and Waldfogel, J. (2013). The
    Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Program on Mothers' Leave-
    Taking and Subsequent Labor Market Outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis
    and Management, 32(2), 224-245. doi: 10.1002/pam.21676.
        \66\ Stearns, J. (2015, September). The effects of paid maternity
    leave: Evidence from Temporary Disability Insurance. Journal of Health
    Economics, 43, 85-102. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.
    2015.04.005.
        \67\ Pal, I. (2016). Work, Family and Social Policy in the United
    States--Implications for Women's Wages and Well-being. Doctoral thesis,
    Columbia University. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://
    academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D87W6C74.
        \68\ Doran, E.L., Bartel, A.P., Ruhm, C.J., and Waldfogel, J.
    (2020, July). California's paid family leave law improves maternal
    psychological health. Social Science & Medicine, 256, 113003. doi:
    10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113003.
        \69\ Choudhury, A.R., and Polachek, S.W. (2019, July). The Impact
    of Paid Family Leave on the Timing of Infant Vaccinations. I. Z. A.
    Institute of Labor Economics, No. 12483. Retrieved 19 October 2023,
    from http://ftp.iza.org/dp12483.pdf.
        \70\ Pac, J., Bartel, A., Ruhm, C., and Waldfogel, J. (2023,
    December). Paid family leave and parental investments in infant health:
    Evidence from California. Economics and Human Biology, 51. doi:
    10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101308. See also Hamad, R., Modrek, S., and White,
    J.S. (2019, January). Paid Family Leave Effects on Breastfeeding: A
    Quasi-Experimental Study of U.S. Policies. American Journal of Public
    Health. 109(1): 164-166. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304693.
        \71\ Pihl, A.M., and Basso, G. (2019). Did California Paid Family
    Leave Impact Infant Health? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
    38(1), 155-180. doi: 10.1002/pam.22101; Klevens, J., Luo, F., Xu, L.,
    Peterson, C., and Latzman, N. (2016). Paid family leave's effect on
    hospital admissions for pediatric abusive head trauma. Injury
    Prevention, 22, 442-445. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041702.
        \72\ Bartel, A.P., Rossin-Slater, M., Ruhm, J., Stearns, J., and
    Waldfogel, J. (2018). Paid Family Leave, Fathers' Leave-Taking, and
    Leave-Sharing in Dual-Earner Households. Journal of Policy Analysis and
    Management, 37(1), 10-37. doi: 10.1002/pam.22030.
        \73\ Petts, R.J., Knoester, C., and Waldfogel, J. (2020). Fathers'
    Paternity Leave-Taking and Children's Perceptions of Father-Child
    Relationships in the United States. Sex Roles, 82, 173-188.
    doi:10.1007/s11199-019-01050-y.
        \74\ Pilkauskas, N.V., and Schneider, W.J. (2020, October). Father
    Involvement Among Nonresident Dads: Does Paternity Leave Matter?
    Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(5), 1606-1624. doi: 10.1111/
    jomf.12677.
        \75\ Romig, K., and Bryant, K. (2021, April). A National Paid Leave
    Program Would Help Workers, Families. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from
    Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website: https://www.cbpp.org/
    research/economy/a-national-paid-leave-program-would-help-workers-
    families.

        The health and economic effects of paid leave are not limited to
    parental leave. Only about one in five FMLA claims are taken for a new
    child; the majority of leaves are taken to address one's own illness or
    serious health condition.\76\ Research on service and retail workers--a
    group of workers who are especially likely to lack access to paid
    leave--demonstrates clear impact. When these workers took paid leave,
    as compared to unpaid leave, for a new child or to address their own or
    a loved one's health concern, they were significantly less likely to
    have difficulty making ends meet or experience hunger and significantly
    more likely to report happiness and quality sleep.\77\ Paid leave has
    even been shown to reduce elder nursing home utilization,\78\ which can
    benefit those adults' health (for example, by lessening exposure to
    infections common in congregate settings), improve staffing ratios for
    those patients who remain in institutional care and keep more older
    adults in their homes and communities.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \76\ See note 1.
        \77\ Goodman, J., and Schneider, D. (2021, November). The
    association of paid medical and caregiving leave with the economic
    security and well-being of service sector workers. BC Public Health,
    21. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11999-9.
        \78\ Arora, K., and Wolf, D.A. (2017, November). Does Paid Family
    Leave Reduce Nursing Home Use? The California Experience. Journal of
    Policy Analysis and Management, 37(1), 38-62. doi: 10.1002/pam.22038.

                Paid Leave Is a Win-Win for Businesses and Workers Alike
        State paid leave programs are also feasible and workable for
    businesses, including small businesses, and employers even accrue
    benefits to retention, productivity and morale. Recruiting and training
    new employees is costly, averaging 24 percent and up to 150 percent of
    annual wages in certain industries,\79\ and research shows paid leave
    decreases turnover and increases the likelihood new mothers and low-
    wage workers return to their previous jobs.\80\ Firm-level analysis of
    employers in California before and after paid family leave was
    implemented confirmed that for the average firm, wage costs had not
    increased and turnover rates had decreased.\81\ Research in California
    also found that for workers in lower quality jobs who needed time off,
    the share who reported returning to their same employer was nearly 10
    percentage points higher among those who used the State paid leave
    program compared to those who did not \82\--a major benefit to
    employers in a tight labor market where replacing workers can be
    challenging. And employers cite increases in employee morale, with an
    executive from Deloitte (a corporation with locations in numerous paid
    leave program States)\83\ testifying before a Senate Finance
    subcommittee that, ``[our] expanded leave program has had a profound
    impact on our people, and the realized benefits have far outstripped
    concerns about operational disruption from expanded leave.''\84\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \79\ Bahn, K., and Sanchez Cumming, C. (2020, December). Improving
    U.S. labor standards and the quality of jobs to reduce the costs of
    employee turnover to U.S. companies (p. 4). Retrieved 20 October 2023,
    from Washington Center for Equitable Growth website: https://
    equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/122120-turnover-costs-
    ib.pdf.
        \80\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (2023, October).
    Paid Leave Is Good for Business. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from
    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-
    good-for-business.pdf.
        \81\ Bedard, K., and Rossin-Slater, M. (2016, October 13). The
    Economic and Social Impacts of Paid Family Leave in California: Report
    for the California Employment Development Department. Retrieved 20
    October 2023, from https://edd.ca.gov/siteassets/files/disability/pdf/
    PFL_Economic_and_Social_Impact_Study.pdf.
        \82\ Appelbaum, E., and Milkman, R. (2011). Leaves That Pay:
    Employer and Worker Experiences with Paid Family Leave in California.
    Center for Economic and Policy Research Publication. Retrieved 20
    October 2023, from https://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-
    family-leave-1-2011.pdf.
        \83\ Deloitte. (n.d.) Our offices. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from
    https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/footerlinks/office-locator.html.
        \84\ Examining the Importance of Paid Family Leave for American
    Working Families: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Social Security,
    Pensions and Family Policy, 115th Cong. (2018) (testimony of Carolyn
    O'Boyle).

        Employer profitability and employee performance also improve with
    paid leave. A study found that after implementing their own paid leave
    policies, manufacturing companies saw a $2.57 return for every $1.00
    invested in their workforce, on average, and tech companies a $2.64
    return per $1.00 invested.\85\ A study conducted for the New Jersey
    Business and Industry Association found that after the State's paid
    leave program was implemented, the majority of businesses experienced
    no negative impact on profitability or performance, and that
    ``[r]egardless of business size, based on survey results, New Jersey
    businesses have had little trouble adjusting to requirements of the
    Paid Family Leave law.''\86\ A study of New York State firms with fewer
    than 100 employees found the majority were supportive of the paid
    family leave program, and that it led to an increase in employers' ease
    of handling long employee absences.\87\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \85\ Panorama and American Sustainable Business Council. (2019,
    October). The Business Impacts of Paid Leave: A financial analysis of
    the return on investment of paid family and medical leave. Retrieved 20
    October 2023, from https://assets-global.websitefiles.com/
    62448c65f2a3dc
    7ae94193bd/62448c65f2a3dc0f7a4195a2_Business-impacts-of-paid-leave-A-
    Panorama-report.pdf.
        \86\ Ramirez, M. (2012). New Jersey Business and Industry
    Association: The Impact of Paid Family Leave on New Jersey Businesses.
    Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://bloustein.
    rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Ramirez.pdf.
        \87\ Bartel, A., Rossin-Slater, M., Ruhm, C.J., Slopen, M., and
    Waldfogel, J. (2021, April). The Impact of Paid Family Leave on
    Employers: Evidence from New York. NBER Working Paper 28672. Retrieved
    17 October 2023, from https://www.nber.org/papers/w28672.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Paid Leave Strengthens the Economy and Women's Labor Force
                        Participation
        Paid leave is hugely important to the Nation's economy. A lack of
    paid leave can have devastating impacts, but when access to paid leave
    increases, our economy sees significant benefits. After a steep decline
    in women's labor force participation in the early days of COVID--
    largely due to increased caregiving responsibilities with few initial
    supports--prime-age women's labor force participation has recovered
    significantly, with nearly 78 percent of U.S. women ages 25-54 in the
    labor market.\88\ This recovery has been driven in large part by
    policies to support caregiving such as paid leave, investments in child
    care and home- and community-based services, and flexible work
    arrangements (such as hybrid work), the prevalence of which increased
    during the pandemic as States, companies and the Nation adopted more
    supportive workplace policies.\89\ These trends make clear that paid
    leave and other caregiving supports are essential for the Nation's
    resiliency and these important investments must continue.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \88\ The labor force participation rate for U.S. women ages 25-54
    declined from 77.0 percent in February 2020 to 73.5 percent in April of
    the same year. It hit an all-time U.S. high of 77.8 percent in June
    2023, still several points behind comparable rates in peer countries
    like Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. U.S. Bureau of Labor
    Statistics. (n.d.). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population
    Survey (Series ID: LNS11300062 Civilian labor force participation rate,
    seasonally adjusted). Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://
    data.bls.gov/PDQWeb/ln; see note 29; Pearce, M. (2023, October). Surge
    in female labor force participation a key upside risk. Retrieved 20
    October 2023, from Oxford Economics website: https://www.oxford
    economics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/US-Surge-in-female-labor-
    force-participation-a-key-upside-risk.pdf.
        \89\ See Pearce note 88.

        The labor force participation recovery that was created in large
    part by these policies followed years of stagnant rates and policy
    inaction that left the United States falling farther and farther behind
    comparable economies.\90\ Even now, those recent gains still leave
    women in the United States behind global peers in terms of labor force
    participation. Now, however, we could be poised to close the gap. In
    fact, if current trends in women's labor force participation continue,
    economists estimate that prime-age women's labor force participation
    may finally catch up to that in comparable advanced economies within 5
    years, adding an estimated 3.3 million women to the U.S. workforce by
    the end of the decade.\91\ Increasing the number of women in the labor
    force would ensure there are more workers to fill jobs essential to our
    economy like health care, infrastructure, and more. It would also boost
    the Nation's GDP. Economists estimate that adding 3.3 million women to
    the workforce will result in a nearly one percent increase in GDP over
    5 years.\92\ But this is dependent on women's continued access to
    supportive policies like paid leave.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \90\ OECD Stats. (n.d.) LFS by sex and age--indicators: Retrieved
    October 20, 2023, from: https://stats.oecd.org/
    Index.aspx?DataSetCode=lfs_sexage_i_r. Differences in State policies in
    the U.S. also produced variation in mothers' labor force participation,
    with stronger State paid leave and child care policies associated with
    smaller employment gaps for mothers. See Duran-Franch, J., and Regmi,
    I. (2022, August). Family-Friendly Policies and the Motherhood
    Employment Gap during the COVID-19 Recovery. Retrieved 20 October 2023,
    from Roosevelt Institute website: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-
    content/uploads/2022/08/RI_FamilyFriendlyPolicies_
    IssueBrief_202208.pdf.
        \91\ See Pearce note 88. Comparison is to the average rate in other
    G7 nations.
        \92\ Ibid.

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        This opportunity for women's increased workforce participation
    comes at a critical time in our economy's history. Inflation is
    substantially higher now than just a few years ago,\93\ making it
    harder for women and families to put food on the table, pay rent or
    afford the goods and services that are the backbones of local
    economies.\94\ And while inflation has come down from its peak,\95\ the
    Federal Reserve continues to signal the potential for additional
    interest rate increases,\96\ despite the fact that inflation has not
    been primarily driven by wages.\97\ Researchers estimate that
    increasing women's labor force participation will improve our chances
    of a ``soft landing,'' which would combine increased GDP with reduced
    inflation.\98\ This, in turn, would likely lead to lower interest
    rates, reducing borrowing costs, supporting the housing market and
    stimulating the economy writ large.\99\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \93\ Smialek, J. (2023, October 12). Inflation Slowdown Remains
    Bumpy, September Consumer Price Data Shows. The New York Times.
    Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://www.
    nytimes.com/2023/10/12/business/inflation-cpi-report-september.html.
        \94\ Kearl, M. (2023, August 21). Top Effects of Inflation on
    Consumer Behavior: 2023 Inflation Trends. Medallia Blog. Retrieved 20
    October 2023, from https://www.medallia.com/blog/inflation-effects-
    consumer-behavior-data-trends/.
        \95\ See note 93.
        \96\ Cox, J. (2023, October 11). Fed officials see ``restrictive''
    policy staying in place until inflation eases, minutes show. CNBC.
    Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/11/fed-
    minutes-october-2023-.html.
        \97\ Shapiro, A.H. (2023, May). How Much Do Labor Costs Drive
    Inflation? Retrieved 20 October 2023, from Federal Reserve Bank of San
    Francisco website: https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/
    publications/economic-letter/2023/may/how-much-do-labor-costs-drive-
    inflation/; Weber, I.M., and Wasner, E. (2023). Sellers' inflation,
    profits and conflict: Why can large firms hike prices in an emergency?.
    Review of Keynesian Economics, 11(2), 183-213 doi:10.4337/
    roke.2023.02.05.
        \98\ See Pearce note 88; see also Gallagher Robbins, K. (2022, June
    30). Investing in Caregiving: An Equitable Way to Reduce Inflation.
    U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://
    www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-06-30/investing-in-
    caregiving-an-equitable-way-to-reduce-inflation.
        \99\ Kliesen, K. (2010, October). Low Interest Rates Have Benefits
    . . . and Costs. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from Federal Reserve Bank
    of St. Louis website: https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-
    economist/october-2010/low-interest-rates-have-benefits--and-costs.

        Economists fear that these positive trends may not last without
    action.\100\ Yet despite the overwhelming evidence in favor of paid
    leave, access to this critical economic support remains uncertain for
    tens of millions of workers across the country, and for the businesses
    needing to attract and retain them. While States have continued to
    advance paid leave policies, including two new States in 2023
    alone,\101\ large swathes of the country continue to be left out
    without Federal action, and American Rescue Plan funding for child care
    has expired, creating a cliff that will leave many families without
    affordable access to child care.\102\ With women's partial, precarious
    economic gains in jeopardy, now is the time for Congress to act. That's
    why it's so encouraging to see the members of this committee
    prioritizing the issue of paid leave through today's hearing.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \100\ See Pearce note 88.
        \101\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (September
    2023). State Paid Family & Medical Leave Insurance Laws. Retrieved 20
    October 2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2023/02/state-paid-family-leave-laws.pdf.
        \102\ Quinlan, C. (2023, September 30). Women workers could bear
    economic brunt as Federal child care funding ends. Kansas Reflector.
    Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://kansasreflector.com/2023/09/30/
    women-workers-could-bear-economic-brunt-as-federal-child-care-funding-
    ends/; Kashen, J., Valle Gutierrez, L., Woods, L., and Milli, J. (2023,
    June). Child Care Cliff: 3.2 Million Children Likely to Lose Spots with
    End of Federal Funds. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from The Century
    Foundation website: https://tcf.org/content/report/child-care-cliff/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              ii. paid leave must be universal and comprehensive
                             to meet workers' needs
        Creating strong supports to ensure that all workers can navigate
    their work and family responsibilities without jeopardizing their jobs
    or their economic security is essential. The FMLA was a groundbreaking
    first step, establishing as a baseline principle protections allowing
    workers to take time off for caregiving or self-care. But the
    limitations of the law have always meant that additional action would
    be needed to close gaps and help as many workers as possible. Although
    the FMLA has benefited millions of workers, many workers are not able
    to make use of the FMLA's protections because of the law's eligibility
    criteria, and due to the fact that many workers cannot afford to take
    unpaid leave. Only 56 percent of the overall workforce, including part-
    time workers, is eligible for the FMLA,\103\ only 39 percent is both
    eligible for the FMLA and can afford to take 6 weeks of unpaid
    leave,\104\ and only 35 percent can afford to take 12 weeks unpaid
    leave without financial distress.\105\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \103\ Figure includes both the public and private sector workforce.
    See note 1.
        \104\ Affordability is defined as being able to take unpaid leave
    for the 6 weeks without income falling below 200 percent of the Federal
    poverty line. Joshi, P., Walters, A.N., Wong, E., Shafer, L., and
    Acevedo-Garcia, D. (2023, March). Inequitable Access to FMLA Continues.
    Retrieved 18 October 2023, from Diversity Data Kids website: https://
    www.diversitydatakids.org/research-library/data-visualization/
    inequitable-access-fmla-continues.
        \105\ Affordability is defined as being able to take unpaid leave
    for 12 weeks without income falling below 200 percent of the Federal
    poverty line. diversitydatakids.org. 2023. Working adults' eligibility
    and affordability for FMLA unpaid leave (percent) by race/ethnicity.
    Calculated from Current Population Survey Public Use Microdata Files
    (IPUMS-CPS)). Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://
    data.diversitydatakids.org/dataset/working-adults-eligibility-and-
    affordability-for-fmla-unpaid-leave-percent-by-race-
    ethnicity?_external=True.

        Paid leave policy experts understand that an equitable paid leave
    program must be universal: covering all workers, including part-time,
    hourly and temporary workers; and covering all employers, with
    mandatory coverage and inclusive of small businesses. It also must be
    comprehensive, covering the wide range of medical and caregiving needs
    of families, including but not limited to parental leave, leave for
    one's own serious health condition, and the serious health condition of
    a loved one, including chosen family members. The benefits themselves
    must be meaningful, in a duration and amount sufficient for low-wage
    workers to meet their needs; they must be secure, by protecting workers
    from being penalized or losing job opportunities for taking leave; and
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    they must be funded sustainably.

        The public support and demand for paid leave has helped to fuel a
    national conversation about paid leave that has continued to grow in
    profile, especially during and in the ongoing aftermath of the COVID-19
    pandemic. This increased attention has led to many different ideas
    about how best to design a paid family and medical leave program that
    meets the needs of workers and families. Importantly, there is more and
    more research about what works and what does not--learning from a
    growing number of State-based programs, along with data from other
    private sector and international efforts. While the increased interest
    in paid leave is an important step forward, it is crucial to build
    programs that actually solve--and don't ignore or exacerbate--the
    problems that workers are navigating. Accordingly, we believe proposals
    that, for example, do not cover all workers, do not allow workers to
    take different types of caregiving leave, or do not give workers an
    actual right to take leave are not the right approach. There are
    essential elements that must be foundational features of an effective
    paid family and medical leave programs that meet the current needs of
    workers.
    A. Paid Leave Must Be Universal and Guaranteed
        The evidence from 30 years of the Family and Medical Leave Act and
    20 years of State paid leave programs makes it clear that a
    comprehensive program has to cover the vast majority of the workforce
    and be guaranteed. The most effective State strategies have sought to
    cover as many workers as possible with less cumbersome eligibility
    criteria--and to ensure that they have the right to an adequate amount
    of leave for family and self-care reasons.

        A lack of universal paid leave to cover all workers and all
    employers has resulted in heavily lopsided access along existing lines
    of social and economic inequality. For example, 65 percent of the
    highest paid workers--those in the top 10 percent of wage earners--
    receive disability insurance through their employers, making them over
    six times more likely to have this benefit than the lowest paid workers
    (10 percent).\106\ Workers in managerial and professional jobs are more
    than twice as likely (52 percent) to have access to these benefits than
    service workers (23 percent).\107\ Forty-seven percent of full-time
    workers have access compared to 21 percent of part-time workers.\108\
    Although the data does not break out access by gender or race and
    ethnicity, occupational segregation means that women of color and
    disabled women are disproportionately more likely to work in low-paid
    service jobs,\109\ and women and people of color are more likely to be
    working part-time involuntarily.\110\ These disparities are therefore
    also likely to be present along lines of race and gender.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \106\ See Mason note 45.
        \107\ Ibid.
        \108\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September). National
    Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023
    (Excel tables, Short-term disability, Civilian workers). Retrieved 18
    October 2023, from https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/employee-
    benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2023.htm.
        \109\ See Mason and Gallagher Robbins note 10.
        \110\ Golden, L. (2020, February). Part-time workers pay a big-time
    penalty. Retrieved 18 October 2023, from Economic Policy Institute
    website: https://www.epi.org/publication/part-time-pay-penalty/.

        The disparities in access also apply to industries and small
    businesses that are crucial to a healthy national economy. In
    construction--one of the industries with a high demand for workers in
    light of the massive infrastructure investments being overseen by the
    Biden administration--only 31 percent of workers have access to short-
    term disability insurance through their employers.\111\ Large
    businesses are nearly twice as likely to offer disability insurance as
    small businesses,\112\ reflecting the disparity in resources that makes
    it hard for small businesses to compete with large ones for the best
    employees. An approach to paid leave that is not working for the small
    businesses that are the foundation of our economy, or the growing
    industries that are critical to our future, is an approach that does
    not work for America.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \111\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September). National
    Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023
    (Short-term disability, Civilian workers). Retrieved 18 October 2023,
    from https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/NBU1160000
    4547000028248.
        \112\ See Mason note 45.

        A handful of States have recently enacted laws that do not
    guarantee paid family and medical leave, but instead permit private
    insurers to offer family leave insurance plans that employers (and in
    some cases, employees) can opt to purchase for their employees. It is
    too early for us to have evidence of whether such plans are effective--
    and given the relative lack of mandatory transparency and reporting
    requirements for these programs, it is possible that we will never have
    the same level of detailed, public information about how these plans
    are playing out that we have for the public programs. The limited
    information that has been made available about the implementation of
    New Hampshire's voluntary insurance law shows that about two percent of
    the State's workforce is covered by its voluntary plan.\113\
    Unfortunately, the data show that the private short-term disability
    market--a similar, opt-in approach--has failed to result in widespread
    access to leave: in 2023, only 41 percent of America's workers had
    access to short-term disability insurance through their employers, and
    this access rate has barely budged in the last 15 years.\114\
    Furthermore, laws to permit the sale of opt-in paid family leave
    insurance products typically provide no guarantee that premiums will be
    affordable or even transparent for small employers, or that premiums
    will be uniform across employers regardless of size or employee
    demographics.\115\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \113\ Based on reporting that employers with 6,100 employees have
    opted in to coverage and 9,000 State employees are covered, and U.S.
    Bureau of Labor Statistics data finding 749,500 people were employed in
    New Hampshire, as of April 2023. Green, R. (2023, April 19). ``New NH
    paid family and medical leave program signs up 149 employers.'' NHPR.
    Retrieved 17 October 2023, from https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-04-
    19/paid-family-medical-leave-new-hampshire-signs-up-149-employers; U.S.
    Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, October 13). Economy at a Glance:
    New Hampshire. Retrieved 17 October, 2023 from: https://www.bls.gov/
    eag/eag.nh.htm.
        \114\ See Mason note 45.
        \115\ New Hampshire permits its insurance carrier to experience-
    rate premiums for employers and individuals opting into the State
    coverage, for example. RSA 21-I:103, III (2021). Laws recently enacted
    in Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas do not include
    provisions setting or limiting premium rates beyond the broad, non-
    specific limitations placed on all other insurance products. Va. Code
    Ann. Sec. Sec. 38.2-107.2, 38.2-135, 38.2-316, 38.2-1800 (2022); Ark.
    Code Ann. Sec. 23-62-112 (2023); Fla. Stat. 624.6086, 627.445 (2023);
    Tenn. Code Ann. Sec. 56-36 (2023); Tex. Ins. Code Sec. 8.1255.

        The transformational potential of paid family and medical leave
    will only be fully realized if it is attainable for the people who have
    the most to gain and the businesses that drive our economy. Universal,
    mandatory programs have proven that they can achieve this goal.
    B. Benefits Must Be of Sufficient Duration and Size and They Must Be
            Secure
        Paid leave benefits must last long enough to address common medical
    and caregiving needs of workers. For example, for new parents, public
    health experts recommend at least 12 weeks of leave in order to
    establish and support breastfeeding, reduce risk of postpartum
    depression, and support strong bonds between children and their parents
    and caregivers.\116\ Needs vary for other conditions requiring parental
    or family care, but serious or chronic health conditions may require
    several weeks of leave.\117\ For example, a typical hospital stay for a
    child with pediatric cancer is about 12 days, and a child may have
    three to six stays per year.\118\ The FMLA established a Federal
    standard of up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave and evidence
    from States demonstrates this is a minimum for meeting workers' needs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \116\ WORLD Policy Analysis Center, UCLA Fielding School of Public
    Health. (2018, February). A Review of the Evidence on the Length of
    Paid Family and Medical Leave. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://
    www.worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/WORLD%20Brief%20-%20
    Length%20Paid%20Family%20and%20Medical%20Leave.pdf.
        \117\ Among parents of children with chronic health conditions,
    about two-thirds reported that their longest leave ranged from 1-4
    weeks, and about 80 percent reported needing 12 weeks or less. RAND
    Health. (2010). Perceived Effects of Paid Family Leave Among Parents of
    Children with Special Health Care Needs. Retrieved 20 January 2020,
    from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9445/index1.html;
    congenital heart disease typically requires up to 1 week of
    hospitalization for surgery, plus 3 to 8 weeks of recovery time.
    National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
    (n.d.) Pediatric heart surgery--discharge. MedLine Plus Publication.
    Retrieved 20 January 2020, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patient
    instructions/000015.htm; for hospice patients, stays can range from
    less than 1 week to more than 6 months, but the average length of stay
    is 97 days. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. (2022,
    December). NHPCO Facts and Figures: 2022 Edition. Retrieved 20 October
    2023, from https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/NHPCO-Facts-
    Figures-2022.pdf.
        \118\ See note 116.

        It is also critical that the program pay an amount of benefits that
    allows workers at all wage and income levels to not jeopardize their
    ability to afford basic expenses while on leave. Without ensuring a
    program provides benefits that are as close as possible to full wages
    for the lowest paid workers, workers living paycheck to paycheck are
    unable to take the leave they need. Adequate wage replacement is also
    vital for gender equity: when paid leave replaces closer to full usual
    wages, men are more likely to take their share of parental leave,\119\
    which in turn helps equalize involvement in caregiving.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \119\ Lenhart, A., Swenson, H., and Schulte, B. (2019, December 4).
    Lifting the Barriers to Paid Family and Medical Leave for Men in the
    United States. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from New America website:
    https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/lifting-barriers-
    paid-family-and-medical-leave-men-united-states/; Dow, W.H., Goodman,
    J.M., and Stewart, H. (2017, November). San Francisco's Paid Parental
    Leave Ordinance: The First Six Months. Population Sciences at
    University of California Berkeley Publication. Retrieved 20 October
    2023, from: https://www.populationsciences.berkeley.edu/sites/default/
    files/SF%20Paid%20Parental%20
    Leave%20-%20UC%20Berkeley%20issue%20brief%201.pdf.

        Paid leave is also not accessible to workers if they are not
    protected from retaliation or other penalties for using the leave. This
    is particularly critical for workers of color, who are more likely to
    report concerns about retaliation or job loss for taking leave.\120\ A
    meaningful paid leave policy for workers should include protections
    from retaliation so that all workers can feel they can take the leave
    they need without fear of discrimination or retaliation.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \120\ Schneider, D., and Harknett, K. (2021). Paid Family & Medical
    Leave in the U.S. Service Sector (Table 3). Harvard Shift Project
    Publication. Retrieved 20 October 2023, from https://
    shift.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/
    PMFL_Brief_6.09.21.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    C. Paid Leave Must Be Comprehensive to Meet the Full Range of Workers'
            and Families' Needs
        We believe it is essential to cover the full range of needs for
    workers and not pick and choose which kinds of families deserve
    support. A comprehensive paid leave program ensures that certain groups
    of workers are not marginalized and avoids preferring certain types of
    caregiving over others. Thus, it's critical that any national paid
    leave program supports all types of leave, including medical,
    caregiving, and parental.

        Covering medical and caregiving leave in paid leave programs--the
    vast majority of leave taken under FMLA \121\--ensures workers have the
    supports they need to thrive during difficult times. Paid medical and
    caregiving leave has been shown to contribute to financial health. Data
    from the Financial Health Pulse survey shows that workers who have
    access to paid leave for medical or caregiving purposes are 14
    percentage points more likely than those without access to report
    having low (or no) financial stress.\122\ For workers who experienced a
    serious illness or injury in their household in the past year, those
    with access to paid leave were 26 percentage points less likely than
    those without to report financial hardships, such as trouble paying for
    housing, food, or health care.\123\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \121\ Brown, S., Herr, J., Roy, R., and Klerman, J.A. (2020, July).
    Employee Leave-Taking Patterns. Retrieved 18 October 2023, from U.S.
    Department of Labor website: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/
    OASP/evaluation/pdf/WHD_FMLA2018PB2LeaveTaking_StudyBrief_Aug
    2020.pdf.
        \122\ Garon, T., McKay, J., and Mason, J. (2021). Unpaid and
    Unprotected: How the Lack of Paid Leave for Medical and Caregiving
    Purposes Impacts Financial Health. Retrieved 18 October 2023, from
    National Partnership for Women and Families website: https://national
    partnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/unpaid-and-unprotected-how-
    lack-paid-leave-impacts-financial-health.pdf.
        \123\ Ibid.

        Including medical and caregiving leave also ensures paid leave
    programs address the full range of workers' needs. More than half of
    leaves taken under FMLA are taken for an employee's own serious health
    condition and 20 percent are taken for caregiving for an immediate
    family member's illness, while leave to care for a new child makes up
    only a quarter of leaves.\124\ Parental-only policies would therefore
    fail to meet the vast majority of the demand for leave. Family
    caregiving leave and personal medical leave are particularly important
    to disabled people and their families, low-wage workers, older adults,
    veterans, military families and other workers with personal and family
    caregiving responsibilities.\125\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \124\ See note 121.
        \125\ Between 12 and 23 percent of military caregivers are not
    related to the veteran or servicemember they are caring for. Ramchand,
    R., Tanielian, T., Fisher, M.P., Vaughan, C.A. et al. (2014). Hidden
    Heroes: America's Military Caregivers (p. 33). Retrieved 10 October
    2023 from RAND Corporation website: https://www.rand.org/pubs/
    research_reports/RR499.html.

        A paid leave program without family caregiving is particularly
    harmful for women, who still carry out the bulk of family caregiving
    responsibilities,\126\ but are less likely than men to report having
    access to paid leave for caregiving or medical purposes.\127\ And a
    program without paid medical or family caregiving leave also excludes
    many disabled workers, particularly disabled women of color workers,
    who are more likely to work in low-wage jobs \128\ that are the least
    likely to provide paid leave.\129\ A paid leave program designed only
    to value and accommodate the care needs of new parents--or that
    otherwise restricts eligibility to a narrow definition of caregiving--
    doesn't address the needs of those currently least likely to have
    access.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \126\ Sharma, N., Chakrabarti, S., and Grover, S. (2016, March 22).
    Gender differences in caregiving among family-caregivers of people with
    mental illnesses. World Journal of Psychiatry, 6(1), 7-17. doi:
    10.5498/wjp.v6.i1.7; see Gallagher Robbins and Mason note 13.
        \127\ See note 122.
        \128\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, February 23). Persons
    with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics--2022 (Press release).
    Retrieved 18 October 2023, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/
    disabl.pdf; see also Ditkowsky, M. (2023, February 23). New Data on
    Disability Employment: Small Gains But Institutional Barriers Remain.
    Retrieved 18 October 2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/new-
    data-on-disability-employment-small-gains-but-institutional-barriers-
    remain/.
        \129\ See Mason and Gallagher Robbins note 10.

        Additionally, comprehensive paid leave must inclusively define
    family to reflect the needs and diversity of America's families,
    including extended family members, like siblings and grandchildren, as
    well as chosen family, defined as ``loved ones people consider family
    but to whom they may not have a legal or biological
    relationship.''\130\ Research shows that nearly one-third of people in
    the United States have taken leave to support the caregiving of a
    chosen family member,\131\ This type of leave is particularly important
    for LGBTQIA+ and disabled workers.\132\ Nearly every State paid leave
    program goes beyond the FMLA's limited definition of family, and
    several have successfully included chosen family as well.\133\ It's
    imperative that a national program incorporate a modern and inclusive
    definition of family too.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \130\ Medina, C., and Weston Williamson, M. (2013, March). Paid
    Leave Policies Must Include Chosen Family. Retrieved 19 October 2023,
    from Center for American Progress website: https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/paid-leave-policies-must-include-
    chosen-family/.
        \131\ See note 47.
        \132\ Ibid.
        \133\ See note 130.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                iii. state programs guaranteeing comprehensive
                        paid leave are a proven success
        Policymakers across States have spent nearly 20 years developing
    and innovating State programs to guarantee comprehensive, universal
    paid family and medical leave--with clear positive results for workers
    and businesses. Public programs to provide paid family and medical
    leave are the only proven solutions to expand paid leave access to
    workers across geography, job type, race, disability status, gender and
    income. They are also the only policy solution on the table that has a
    large and growing body of research documenting their benefits to public
    health, to workers' economic well-being, and to employers.\134\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \134\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (2022,
    February). Paid Leave Works: Evidence from State Programs. Retrieved 16
    October 2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2023/02/paid-leave-works-evidence-from-state-programs.pdf.

        Research shows that paid leave insurance offered through the
    private market creates large gaps in access, especially for lower wage
    workers. In public State programs, however, the majority of workers
    gain coverage and those large gaps in people's ability to use leave
    based on income and other factors narrow considerably. Our analysis of
    labor force data and program rules finds that on average, close to 90
    percent of workers in a State are eligible for leave under State
    programs.\135\ That compares to only 41 percent nationally for
    employer-provided short-term disability insurance--available on the
    private market for decades--and 27 percent for employer-provided paid
    family leave.\136\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \135\ In Rhode Island, 78 percent of workers are eligible; in New
    Jersey, 88 percent; in Washington, 94 percent; and in Maryland (once
    implemented), 94 percent. Unpublished calculations by the National
    Partnership for Women and Families based on the number of people in
    each State's labor force and the number of workers expected to meet
    minimum eligibility thresholds in each State based on program rules.
    U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 1-Year Data for 2021, via
    IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org.
        \136\ National Partnership analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of
    Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey. See Mason note 45.

        Near-universal coverage and equitably designed benefits help ensure
    gender and racial equity in access and utilization. For example, we
    know that women and workers of color are generally less likely to have
    access to paid leave through their jobs. But in Washington State, the
    first to collect and report data disaggregated by race/ethnicity, women
    and workers of color make up about the same shares of workers eligible
    for the State's paid leave program as they do in the workforce at
    large.\137\ And women and Black and Latino workers are actually
    slightly overrepresented among approved paid leave claims--exactly what
    we would hope to see in light of the disproportionate caregiving burden
    and health inequities those groups experience.\138\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \137\ Washington State Employment Security Department. (2023,
    September 15). Paid Family and Medical Leave Customer Data. Retrieved
    16 October 2023, from https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/paidleave/
    customer-data.
        \138\ Ibid.

                                                       Washington
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                         Hispanic/
                                                                           Women       Black Workers      Latino
                                                                                                          Workers
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Percentage of Workforce                                                      46%              4%             11%
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Percentage of Workers Eligible for Paid Family and Medical Leave             46%              4%             12%
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Percentage of Approved Paid Family and Medical Leave Claims                  57%              7%             17%
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Source: Washington Employment Security Department.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        In New Jersey, where data on race/ethnicity has recently become
    available, we also see significant uptake by women and by Black and
    Latino workers.\139\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \139\ New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
    Office of Research and Information. (2023, June). Family Leave
    Insurance and Temporary Disability Insurance Combined Annual Activity
    Report 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2023, from https://www.nj.gov/labor/
    myleavebenefits/assets/pdfs/
    Annual%20FLI%20TDI%20Report%20for%202021.pdf. U.S. Census Bureau.
    (2023, September). American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (Table
    S2301). Retrieved 16 October 2023, from data.census.gov. (Unpublished
    calculations based on combined claims data in Table 4 and Table 9 of
    New Jersey FLI and TDI report, and population and employment rate data
    for New Jersey in American Community Survey.)

                                                       New Jersey
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                         Hispanic/
                                                                           Women       Black Workers      Latino
                                                                                                          Workers
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Percentage of Workforce                                                    47.1%           12.1%           21.5%
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Percentage of Approved Paid Family Leave and Temporary                     70.4%           14.3%           17.9%
     Disability Insurance Claims
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Source: National Partnership for Women and Families analysis of data from the New Jersey Department of Labor
     and Workforce Development and U.S. Census Bureau.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

             iv. there is broad and substantial voter support for
                  comprehensive paid family and medical leave
        Voters believe that the government can and should play a role in
    supporting families balancing work and caregiving.\140\ Comprehensive,
    inclusive paid leave policies are popular with all types of voters.
    Eighty percent of voters want Congress to pass a comprehensive national
    paid family and medical leave program, including 90 percent of
    Democrats, 77 percent of Independents, and 69 percent of Republicans.
    Support is especially strong among women (83 percent),\141\ including
    suburban women (79 percent),\142\ and voters of color (86 percent among
    Black voters, 85 percent among Hispanic voters, 83 percent among AAPI
    voters).\143\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \140\ Lake Research Partners Poll (2022, November). On file with
    the National Partnership for Women and Families.
        \141\ Navigator Research. (2023, June 2). Paid Family and Medical
    Leave: A Guide for Advocates. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://
    navigatorresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Navigator-Update-
    06.02.2023.pdf.
        \142\ National Partnership for Women and Families. (2020,
    November). Voters Show Bipartisan Support for Permanent Paid Sick Days
    and Paid Family Leave. Retrieved 19 October, 2023, from https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/voters-show-
    bipartisan-support-for-permanent-paid-sick-days-and-paid-family-and-
    medical-leave.pdf.
        \143\ See note 141.

        Support is also strong for all types of paid leave: 89 percent of
    voters support a Federal paid leave program that allows workers to take
    time to recover from their own serious illness or health condition, 87
    percent support leave for workers to care for a seriously ill or
    disabled family member, and 83 percent support leave to care for a new
    child.\144\ While all types of voters support different types of leave,
    Republican and independent voters are especially supportive of
    providing personal medical leave, underscoring the importance of not
    only passing paid leave for new parents.\145\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \144\ Jacobs, S. (2023, February 3). Voters Across Party Lines
    Overwhelmingly Support a Federal Paid Leave Program. Data for Progress
    Blog. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from: https://www.dataforprogress.org/
    blog/2023/2/3/voters-across-party-lines-overwhelmingly-support-a-
    federal-paid-leave-program.
        \145\ In a poll of likely voters in seven battleground States,
    including Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin,
    overwhelming majorities of voters supported all purposes of leave
    regardless of party affiliation. Ninety-four percent of likely voters
    in these States supported paid leave for a personal serious illness,
    breaking down to 97 percent of Democrats, 92 percent of independents,
    92 percent of Republicans, and 94 percent of undecided voters--and for
    all affiliations, a majority of voters rated their level of support as
    ``strong.'' With respect to leave to care for a seriously ill family
    member, 91 percent supported overall, with 97 percent of Democrats, 87
    percent of independents, 86 percent of Republicans, and 91 percent of
    undecided voters. For leave to care for a new child, support was at 88
    percent overall, 94 percent of Democrats, 90 percent of independents,
    81 percent of Republicans, and 95 percent of undecided. Global Strategy
    Group and Paid Leave for All Action. (2021, May). New Survey Shows
    Voters in Senate Battleground Stats Want Paid Leave Urgently, as Part
    of Infrastructure Package. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://
    globalstrategygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PLFA-BG-Press-Memo-
    F06.01.21.pdf.

        States have been moving on paid leave because voters want it. In
    Delaware, 85 percent of voters supported a paid family and medical
    leave program.\146\ Voters in swing States also support paid leave.
    Colorado enacted its paid leave program through a ballot initiative
    that won by a 15-point margin, including in Republican-leaning counties
    like Weld County, El Paso County, and Las Animas County.\147\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \146\ Blue Delaware. (2022, March 8). Paid Leave is Enormously
    Popular among Everyone Everywhere. (Poll conducted by Change Research.)
    Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://bluedelaware.com/2022/03/08/
    paid-leave-is-enormously-popular-among-everyone-everywhere/.
        \147\ The New York Times. (2020, November 3). Colorado Proposition
    118 Election Results: Establish Paid Medical and Family Leave (Results
    by County). Retrieved 16 October 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/
    interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-colorado-proposition-118-
    establish-paid-medical-and-family-leave.html; The New York Times.
    (2020, November 3). Colorado Presidential Election Results (Results by
    County). Retrieved 19 October 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/
    interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-colorado-president.html.

        Paid leave remains popular in States with paid leave programs,
    including among small businesses. A survey of small employers (100 or
    fewer employees) in New York and New Jersey found that support
    increased from 2019 to 2020, especially among firms that had employees
    use paid leave.\148\ In California, a 2023 survey found more than eight
    in 10 small business owners supported a number of proposals to expand
    the State's paid leave program.\149\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \148\ Bartel, A.P, Rossin-Slater, M., Waldfogel, J., Slopen, M.,
    and Ruhm, C.J. (2021, December). Support for Paid Family Leave among
    Small Employers Increases during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Socius:
    Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 7. doi:10.1177/
    23780231211061959.
        \149\ Small Business Majority. (2023, July 12.) Opinion Poll:
    California small business owners support expanding paid family leave
    protections, increasing paid sick days. Retrieved 19 October 2023, from
    https://smallbusinessmajority.org/our-research/workforce/ca-small-
    business-owners-support-expanding-paid-family-leave-protections-
    increasing-paid-sick-days.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 v. conclusion
        As the Nation continues to recover from a devastating pandemic, we
    must learn from the past and make smart investments to support workers,
    businesses, and our economy. The conversation about paid family and
    medical leave and other caregiving investments does not occur in a
    vacuum--it is an integral part of a broader, important discussion about
    how we build an economy for the future that works for everyone. What
    the pandemic taught us is that there are essential gaps in our policy
    infrastructure that we must fill in order to ensure that all workers,
    especially women, can be full participants in the economy. Decades of
    history and experience have shown that women's progress in the labor
    market has not occurred without intentional, concrete action to combat
    barriers and expand opportunity. When these doors are opened, women are
    eager to walk through them--and they have done so successfully, in ways
    that have contributed enormously to our economy and our country.

        Access to leave for caregiving purposes has been a pivotal strategy
    to support women workers, to ensure that they--and all workers--are not
    treated unfairly at work when addressing their caregiving
    responsibilities.

        Comprehensive paid family and medical leave is no longer an issue
    that we can continue to put off--a lack of action has already cost us
    dearly. Each day, millions of Americans worry about how they will
    manage the seemingly impossible task of caring for themselves and for
    their loved ones without sacrificing their financial security. This
    sense of apprehension springs to their minds the moment they awake--and
    it keeps them up at night as they lay in bed.

        We can dramatically improve the lives of families in every segment
    of our Nation by enacting thoughtful, comprehensive, intentional
    interventions to meet the needs of all workers. There are innovative,
    inclusive, State models that are already working around the country--
    and there is an opportunity for the members of this committee to
    exhibit bold leadership at the Federal level to address a problem that
    is long overdue for a solution.

        Thank you for the invitation to join this important discussion and
    for your consideration of these comments.

                                     ______

               Questions Submitted for the Record to Jocelyn Frye
                  Questions Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantewell
        Question. Paid leave is critical to supporting women in the
    workforce. Throughout the country, more than 24 million working women
    are the primary caretakers for children and family members. For these
    women, the ability to take time off to care for a family member without
    losing income or their job is a big concern.

        The COVID-19 pandemic heightened these issues; over 1 million women
    left the workforce during the pandemic because they did not have access
    to affordable child care. In the first year of Washington's paid family
    leave program, about two-thirds of the claims were filed by women, and
    women continue to have the highest participation rates in the program.
    Recently, Maria from Marysville reached out to my office in support of
    paid family and medical leave policies. Maria is the caregiver for both
    her son and elderly mother, who have both had medical emergencies over
    the past few years. Access to paid leave would help her take them to
    doctors' appointments and do other caregiving tasks without risking her
    paycheck. We must do more to ensure that women, like Maria, are able to
    stay in the workforce.

        How would Federal paid leave requirements improve employment
    opportunities for women in the workforce, like Maria?

        Answer. Evidence from State paid leave programs makes it clear that
    comprehensive, inclusive paid leave helps workers--especially women--
    stay connected to their jobs and the labor market amid health and
    caregiving challenges. Evidence from California demonstrates that
    access to paid leave increases the likelihood mothers are employed 1
    year after birth and that working mothers who take paid parental leave
    show increased work hours in the years following birth. In New Jersey,
    along with New York and California, women whose spouse had a major
    health shock were 7 percentage points less likely to leave their job
    for caregiving after paid leave was implemented. Paid leave is also
    linked to increased labor force attachment for family caregivers, a
    group that is anticipated to grow as our population ages.

        The benefits of paid leave are especially important for workers
    with lower wages who are less likely to have access to paid leave in
    the absence of a public program. Research in California found that 83
    percent of workers in lower quality jobs who used the State paid leave
    program reported returning to the same employer, 9 points higher than
    workers who did not use the program. This not only helps workers, it is
    a major benefit to employers in a tight labor market where replacing
    workers can be challenging. Federal paid leave would also support
    employment opportunities for women by leveling the playing field across
    businesses, which may not be as able to start a program as a large
    company with a dedicated Human Resources Department, but have benefited
    from State paid leave programs which have offered grants and
    administrative assistance.

        Question. The Census Bureau found that, nationwide, women in the
    workforce faced steeper job losses and slower job recovery than men due
    to the COVID-19 pandemic. What trends in women employment are you
    seeing as our economy recovers from the pandemic?

        Answer. The pandemic exacerbated policy gaps and failures that
    existed prior to COVID, making clear that most women were already
    navigating an economy and workplaces that were not built with their
    experiences in mind. Women, especially women of color, entered the
    pandemic with inadequate support for balancing work and caregiving
    responsibilities--and today that support is still lacking.

        For example, jobs in essential caregiving industries, such as child
    care and nursing and residential care facilities, have not returned to
    pre-pandemic levels,\1\ despite the fact that the economy overall has
    more than 4.5 million additional jobs since before COVID started. The
    failure to rebuild these caregiving industries creates a double bind
    for women, who are more likely to work in caregiving jobs,\2\ and whose
    labor force participation is improved when they have access to
    caregiving supports such as paid leave, child care and home- and
    community-based supports for disabled and elderly adults.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ As of October 2023 these two industries combined are more than
    200,000 jobs below their pre-COVID employment levels (author's
    calculation), https://www.bls.gov/ces/data/employment-situation-table-
    download.htm.
        \2\ For example, women are more than 90 percent of child-care
    workers and more than 80 percent of personal care aides, https://
    www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm.

        What's more, even though labor force participation for prime-age
    women has recently hit an all-time high, the United States still lags
    behind many of our partner nations who provide significantly more
    caregiving support, harming individual families as well as the economy
    overall. Recent research from the Department of Labor reveals that if
    prime-age women in the United States participated in the labor force at
    the same rate as women in Germany and Canada, approximately 5 million
    additional women would be in the labor force, resulting in an
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    additional $775 billion in economic activity annually.

        Moreover, Black women, Latinas, Native women, disabled women, and
    women with less education face particular barriers. Despite their high
    rates of labor force participation, Black women continue to face larger
    wage gaps and high rates of unemployment than their White counterparts,
    harming their own and their families' economic security. Latinas and
    Native women also face elevated rates of unemployment and large wage
    gaps,\3\ as do disabled women. And mothers of young children with lower
    levels of education have not experienced the same recovery as their
    college-educated counterparts.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Native women's unemployment rates are consistently higher than
    White women's. Author's analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Current
    Population Survey data, annual averages, data for women 16 and older.

        As our Nation continues to recover, we must build an economy that
    values the labor of all women, especially women of color. We must
    transform our approach to the economy as a whole, tackling persistent
    barriers that have undermined women's employment and implementing
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    policies designed to promote sustained economic security and equity.

    Links

    https://www.jstor.org/stable/43867293

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3701456/

    https://equitablegrowth.org/access-to-paid-family-leave-improves-u-s-
                womens-labor-market-outcomes-following-a-spouses-health-
                shock/

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212828X2030030X

    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/frye-senate-
                testimony-exploring-paid-leave.pdf

    https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801478956/unfinished-
                business/

    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-
                good-for-business.pdf

    https://nationalpartnership.org/warning-signs-latest-job-report-chance-
                to-save-child-care-jobs-day-november-2023/

    https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
                10252023_frye_testimony.pdf

    https://caseforchildcare.org/2020CaseForChildCare.pdf

    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/systems-
                transformation-guide-disability-economic-justice-jobs-
                employment.pdf

    https://www.brookings.edu/articles/prime-age-women-labor-market-
                recovery/

    https://nationalpartnership.org/report/improving-employment-outcomes-
                economic-security-for-black-women/

    https://www.bls.gov/cps/data.htm

    https://www.brookings.edu/articles/prime-age-women-labor-market-
                recovery/

                                     ______

       Prepared Statement of Rachel U. Greszler, Senior Research Fellow,
         Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, The Heritage
                                   Foundation
        My name is Rachel Greszler. I am a senior research fellow at The
    Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own
    and should not be construed as representing any official position of
    The Heritage Foundation.

        As a mother of six young children--and having multiple family
    members and friends battle cancer in recent years--I understand the
    need and desire for workers to take leave and the necessity for paid
    family leave to be flexible and accommodating. And having family and
    friends who own small businesses, I also understand how difficult it
    can be to manage paid family leave while continuing to serve customers
    and patients. The good news is that the strong labor market and
    realities of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a surge in workers'
    access to paid family leave over the past 6 or so years.

        Even as paid family leave has many benefits, it is not without cost
    or consequence for workers, employers, ordinary Americans, and the
    entire economy. Structuring leave programs in ways that minimize costs
    and maximize access and flexibility is crucial to ensuring that the
    maximum benefits reach the greatest number of workers with the least
    disruption to employers and the people they serve.

        In my testimony today, I would like to cover three topics that can
    help inform policymakers as they consider what the Federal Government
    can and should do regarding paid family leave. First is to examine the
    current landscape of paid family leave and family-friendly work
    arrangements across the U.S. Second is to contrast employer-provided
    paid family leave with government-provided paid family leave. And third
    is to consider policies that could help expand workers' access to paid
    family leave and other work flexibilities.

             the state of paid family leave and what families want
        Families are the foundation of society, and it is important that
    family members be able to care for one another. Paid family leave helps
    support families in their roles of caring for one another across
    generations, and it can benefit workers and employers alike.

        Support Is Widespread and Access Is Growing. Nearly all Americans
    support paid family leave, and predominantly in response to workers'
    desires for it, employers have responded in recent years with new and
    expanded paid family leave policies. Over the past 6 years alone, the
    percentage of workers with access to paid family leave has increased by
    80 percent, from 15 percent to 27 percent of workers.\1\ Much of this
    recent increase has accrued to lower- and middle-wage workers as large
    companies like Lowe's, Starbucks, Walmart, and Chipotle have added paid
    family leave benefits.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``National Compensation Survey,''
    percent of civilian workers with access to paid family leave, https://
    data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet (accessed October 18, 2023).

        While this measure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics only
    includes workers whose companies have formal, written paid family leave
    policies, many more workers--particularly those who work for small
    employers--can take paid family leave through informal policies. A 2018
    Department of Labor survey found that 73 percent of employees report
    having access to paid leave for their own illness or medical care
    (which includes maternity leave).\2\ Of workers who took leave, 66
    percent received pay (42 percent received full pay, 24 percent received
    partial pay) and 34 percent received no pay. These pay percentages are
    almost certainly higher in 2023 as paid family leave programs have
    expanded significantly since 2018.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Scott Brown, Jane Herr, Radha Roy, and Jacob Alex Klerman,
    ``Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical Leave
    Act: Executive Summary for Results from the 2018 Surveys,'' submitted
    to the Department of Labor by Abt Associates, July 2020, https://
    www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/
    WHD_FMLA2018SurveyResults_
    ExecutiveSummary_Aug2020.pdf (accessed October 18, 2023).

        Moreover, while those surveys track employer-provided paid family
    leave benefits, 14 States have now enacted government-paid family leave
    programs. Although not all workers who live in States that have paid
    family leave laws are eligible to receive benefits, 28 percent of the
    workforce currently live in States that have active paid family leave
    programs and another 6.5 percent live in States that have passed
    legislation to implement paid family leave programs in the next few
    years.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Author's analysis of State-level labor force statistics from
    the Bureau of Labor Statistics. States that have active paid family
    leave programs include: California, Connecticut, the District of
    Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island,
    and Washington. States that have enacted programs that are not yet
    active include: Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota.

        Who Takes Leave and Why? According to the most recent 2018 survey
    from the Department of Labor, 15 percent of workers (about one out of
    every seven) take family or medical leave each year, and the average
    leave lasts 5.5 weeks (28 business days).\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Brown et al., ``Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the
    Family and Medical Leave Act: Executive Summary for Results from the
    2018 Surveys.''

        Contrary to common perception, the most frequent reason for taking
    leave is not for the birth or adoption of a child, but for workers' own
    health conditions. Of all family and medical leaves reported, one of
    every four (25 percent) was for the arrival of a new child; two of
    every four was for a worker's own serious health condition; and about
    one of every four was for a family member's health condition or other
    reason (such as a family member's military deployment).\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Ibid.

        Unmet Need for Leave Is Modest. Despite only 56 percent of workers
    qualifying for job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave
    Act (FMLA), 82 percent of private-sector employees report having access
    to leave for at least one qualifying FMLA reason.\6\ Only 7 percent of
    all workers report having an unmet need for family or medical leave
    over the past year.\7\ Low-wage workers (earning less than $15 per
    hour) were more likely to report an unmet need for leave (9 percent)
    compared to other workers (6 percent). The most commonly cited reason
    for not taking leave was an inability to afford unpaid leave (66
    percent), followed by fear of losing a job (45 percent).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Ibid.
        \7\ Ibid.

        While lower-wage workers are less likely to work in jobs that
    provide paid family leave, they are also more likely to be ineligible
    for leave even while working for an employer or living in a State that
    provides paid family leave because virtually all paid leave programs
    have tenure-based requirements to qualify for leave and lower-wage
    workers tend to have shorter job tenures. Moreover, even when eligible
    for leave, lower-wage workers are less likely to be able to take leave
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    if they receive less than full-wage replacement.

        Paid Family Leave Is Only One Factor Affecting Working Families.
    While nearly all working parents say paid family leave is important to
    helping them balance work and family, it is far from their biggest
    priority. A 2018 Cato Institute poll asked current workers to select
    which of six options ``would be the best way to help you balance work
    and family.'' \8\ The results, in order of preference were: \9\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ Emily Ekins, ``Cato Institute 2018 Paid Leave Survey,'' The
    Cato Institute, released December 11, 2018, https://www.cato.org/sites/
    cato.org/files/survey-reports/pdf/cato2018paidleave
    survey-updated.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \9\ The Cato survey results also included 9 percent of respondents
    who chose ``Other'' with the option to specify something else that
    would best help them, and 2 percent of respondents either did not
    answer or responded ``Don't know.''

        (1) More flexible work schedules (34 percent);
        (2) Ability to work remotely (25 percent);
        (3) More affordable day care (11 percent);
        (4) Ability to work part-time hours (8 percent);
        (5) More paid parental leave (6 percent); and
        (6) Extended after-hours child care (4 percent).

        These results indicate that more than 10 times as many workers
    would prefer more workplace flexibility than more paid parental
    leave.\10\ That makes sense considering that workplace flexibility
    affects families' every day lives while paid family leave is an
    irregular need.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ Combining the three workplace-flexibility and work-hours-
    flexibility responses (1, 2, and 4) covers 67 percent of workers'
    highest preferences, compared to 6 percent saying more paid parental
    leave would help most.

        A post-COVID-19 2021 survey by the Institute for Family Studies
    looked at the childcare preferences of parents with children ages 4 and
    under and found the majority of parents prioritize workplace
    flexibility that allows for family care. As a working mother of six
    young children, these preferences resonate with me. Without the
    flexibility that my employer voluntarily provides me, I would not work
    at all, and thus paid family leave would be irrelevant to me. But
    flexibility is not something that lawmakers can impose on employers, as
    certain occupations and organizations are conducive to flexibility
    while others are not. I also believe that flexibility works best when
    it is mutual on the part of both employers and workers. That is not
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    possible with one-sided government mandates.

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Yet, the very work arrangements that many parents prioritize
    are under threat by recent regulations from the Department of Labor
    that will soon be implemented (such as the independent contractor and
    overtime rules discussed in the final section) and also by bills that
    passed the House in recent Congresses--the Protecting the Right to
    Organize (PRO) Act \11\ and the Paycheck Fairness Act.\12\ These
    policies would hurt, instead of help, families by making it harder or
    impossible for many workers to have flexible schedules, to work
    remotely, or to work part time.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ H.R. 2474, Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019,
    https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2474 (accessed
    October 20, 2023).
        \12\ H.R. 7, Paycheck Fairness Act, https://www.congress.gov/bill/
    116th-congress/house-bill/
    7?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Paycheck+Fairness+Act%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1
    (accessed October 20, 2023).

        By upending independent work and impeding remote work and flexible
    hours, these policies would take away jobs and income opportunities,
    and restrict workplace flexibility, with some of the biggest burdens
    falling on women, individuals with medical conditions or disabilities,
    and single parents.\13\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ Rachel Greszler, ``6 Ways a Union-Backed Bill Will Upend the
    Job Market,'' The Daily Signal, February 5, 2020, https://
    www.dailysignal.com/2020/02/05/6-ways-a-union-backed-bill-will-upend-
    the-jobs-market/; and Rachel Greszler, ``Democrats Want to Close the
    `Gender Pay Gap.' Here Are 4 Ways Their Proposal Would Backfire,'' The
    Daily Signal, January 31, 2019, https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/01/31/
    democrats-want-to-close-the-gender-pay-gap-here-are-4-ways-their-
    proposal-would-backfire/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
             employer-provided versus government-paid family leave
        All paid family leave policies have benefits and costs, but not all
    paid family leave policies are equal. A key to maximizing benefits and
    minimizing costs is balancing the need for accessible and accommodating
    benefits for workers with employers' needs to maintain operations
    (without hurting customers and employees who fill in for absent
    coworkers).

        Workers Need Accessible and Accommodating Paid Family Leave. Other
    than the birth or adoption of a child--which makes up only one of five
    leaves taken by workers--workers' needs are widespread, often
    unexpected, and can include unknown lengths.

        The struggle with government programs is that since the bureaucrats
    who run them do not know anything about workers' personal needs or the
    nature of their jobs, they have to set one-size-fits-all rules. And
    without the daily interaction that occurs between workers and
    employers, government programs require a burdensome application and
    approval process as opposed to a worker's ability to simply talk with
    or email his boss to notify her of his need for leave.

        Those government application processes can be daunting. The
    District of Columbia's 54-page handbook on paid family leave benefits
    explains that workers must: wait to apply for benefits until after they
    have experienced a family or medical event that caused them to miss
    work; submit personal information and a leave plan; obtain and submit
    detailed forms to be completed by a certified health provider; wait for
    a decision from the government's program administrators; and then wait
    for a benefit check, which is a portion of workers' usual
    paychecks.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ Department of Employment Services, ``Employee Handbook: DC
    Paid Family Leave,'' Version 3, published March 2022, https://
    dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/
    PFL_EmployeeHandbook-March-2022.pdf (accessed October 23, 2023).

        Once an application is approved, workers must follow the prescribed
    leave plan to a T. Partial-leave days are not an option; if a worker
    needs 2 hours of leave for an appointment, she must claim the entire
    day as leave. If she did not know about the appointment when submitting
    her application, she must petition for a change in leave, which can
    only be done once per month. If she ends up working on a day she
    requested for leave, she will have to repay her benefits or forgo
    future benefits. All of that is not conducive to many workers' needs,
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    nor to the modern workforce.

        For example, the combination of remote work and flexible hours has
    allowed one of my coworkers to care for his mother who suffered a
    stroke--without missing a paycheck and without having to formally use
    paid family leave. That type of arrangement was not possible through
    the existing DC Government program because he could not possibly know
    in advance what would be the daily needs of his mother. Moreover, what
    he needed was to be able to care for his mother in short increments
    throughout the day--every day--but the government program requires all-
    or-
    nothing care or work.

        Just as the government program did not work for my coworker, a
    government program would not work well for many people. In addition to
    many workers not being able to go weeks without a paycheck or months
    with a reduced one, many leaves are not planned events. The last thing
    that workers need while faced with medical emergencies,
    hospitalizations, or long-term health and family-care struggles is to
    have to collect paperwork and get approval from a government program,
    including for things as simple as switching a doctor's appointment from
    Monday to Wednesday.

        Employers Need to Maintain Control Over Operations. Aside from the
    direct costs of providing paid family leave, a crucial component to
    enabling leave is the ability to manage a company's operations amidst
    workers' leaves. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation realized this
    when the foundation had to cut its 52-week paid family leave program in
    half because it was too disruptive to the foundation's operations.
    Because the policy was the foundation's own, it was free to modify it
    based on needs.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ ``Bill Gates' Foundation Says 52-Week Paid Leave Isn't Doable
    After All, But Will Give New Parents $20,000,'' CNBC, February 6, 2019,
    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/06/bill--melinda-gates-foundation-cancels-
    52-week-paid-parental-leave.html (accessed October 17, 2023).

        When Denmark implemented a similar 52-week government-paid parental
    leave program in 1994, it led to significant unintended consequences.
    An economic analysis of this program on the nursing industry found that
    it ``led to a sudden, unintended, and persistent 12-percent reduction
    in nurse employment.'' The consequences of that reduction included a
    17-percent increase in inpatient readmissions, an 89-percent increase
    in newborn readmissions, a delay in technology adoption, and a 13-
    percent increase in nursing home mortality over the 3-year period
    following enactment.\16\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ Maya Rossin-Slater, Christopher J. Ruhm, and Jane Waldfogel,
    ``The Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Program on Mothers'
    Leave-taking and Subsequent Labor Market Outcomes,'' National Bureau of
    Economic Research Working Paper No. 17715, December 2011, http://
    www.nber.org/papers/w17715 (accessed October 20, 2023).

        Across the U.S., employers in States with government-paid family
    leave programs have less ability to manage their operations without
    interruptions that burden other employees or limit customers access to
    goods and services. For example, while I know many people--myself
    included--who have utilized employer-provided paid family leave
    policies and have kept their foot in the door at work to help things
    move along in their absence, I also know new mothers who, when
    utilizing formal government-paid family leave programs have had their
    access to email and all computer systems shut off while they were on
    leave, out of their employer's fear of a lawsuit if they did any work.
    Such rigid prohibitions hurt companies and customers, as well as
    employees who can miss out on promotions or find it harder to come back
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    to work after taking leave.

        While acknowledging that paid family leave is beneficial for
    workers, it imposes costs on employers. Inserting a middleman--a
    bureaucratic government administration--between workers and employers
    prevents both parties from flexibly balancing their needs and desires
    in ways that minimize costs and consequences for workers, employers,
    and customers.

        Government Programs Crowd Out Employer-Provided Paid Family Leave.
    A 2017 Pew Research Center poll found that over 70 percent of Americans
    believe that employers--as opposed to Federal or State governments--
    should be responsible for providing paid family leave.\17\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ Juliana Menasce Horowitz et al., ``Americans Widely Support
    Paid Family and Medical Leave, But Differ Over Specific Polices,'' Pew
    Research Center, March 23, 2017, https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/
    03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-
    differ-over-specific-policies/ (accessed October 20, 2023).

                     Table 2. Americans Support Paid Family Leave  and Want Employers to Provide It
                                             PERCENT OF AMERICANS SUPPORTING

                      TYPE OF LEAVE                                           WHO SHOULD PAY?

    Mothers following birth/adoption of child                  82%  Employers                                    62%

    Fathers following birth/adoption of child                  69%  Workers                                      18%

    Workers to deal with their own serious health              85%  State governments                            13%
     condition

    Workers to care for family members with serious            69%  Federal Government                           11%
     health conditions

    NOTE: 82 percent of Americans support paid maternity leave. This implies that 18 percent believe workers who
      want to take leave from work should pay for it themselves through personal savings or using vacation and paid
      time off.

    SOURCE: Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Kim Parker, Nikki Graf, and Gretchen Livingston, ``Americans Widely Support
      Paid Family and Medical Leave, But Differ Over Specific Policies.'' Pew Research Center, March 23, 2017, http:/
      /www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-
      specific-policies/, (accessed March 12, 2018).

    BG3376  heritage.org

        Yet, a government program would crowd out employer-provided paid
    family leave programs by discouraging employers who do not yet offer
    their own paid family leave programs from starting them. And a
    government program would also shift part of the costs of existing
    employer-provided paid family leave onto taxpayers.\18\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \18\ Based on a recent economic analysis that showed a 60-percent
    crowd-out rate of privately provided health insurance due to government
    provision, policymakers can expect significantly higher crowd-out from
    a Federal paid family leave program; such benefits would be less
    valuable, as they would lack the special tax benefit for employer-
    provided health insurance. Jonathan Gruber and Kosali Simon, ``Crowd-
    Out Ten Years Later: Have Recent Public Insurance Expansions Crowded
    Out Private Health Insurance?'', National Bureau of Economic Research
    Working Paper No. 12858, January 2007, http://www.nber.org/papers/
    w12858.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).

        Such crowding out is already happening with State-based programs.
    At a July 11, 2018, Senate Finance subcommittee hearing, Carolyn
    O'Boyle, representing Deloitte, explained that while Deloitte has its
    own employer-provided paid family leave program, the company instructs
    in States that have government programs to first apply for and utilize
    the State-provided paid leave benefits. Deloitte then tops those
    benefits off to bring them up to what Deloitte's program provides. That
    is a transfer of costs from within Deloitte's operations to State
    taxpayers. Larger companies have more resources to help workers
    navigate State paid family leave programs and are thus more likely to
    take advantage of government programs, but even large companies
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    complain about the complexity and rigidity of government programs.

        In a conversation with HR representatives from large companies,
    managers expressed frustrations and reported significant compliance
    costs from State-based paid family leave programs. They noted that they
    were often unable to help employees understand which benefits they
    could receive, that some employees had to pay benefits back, and that
    complying with State-based paid family leave programs left them with
    fewer resources to devote to employee compensation. Moreover, when
    asked if a Federal program would make things easier for them, employers
    unanimously said that it would make things more difficult for them.

        Existing Government Programs Fall Short for Low-Income Workers.
    Despite their intent to particularly benefit lower-income workers who
    are less likely to have access to paid family leave, most government
    programs are highly regressive. While government programs tax all
    workers, they primarily benefit middle-
    income and upper-income earners. That skewed distribution is the result
    of lower eligibility among low-wage workers (government programs
    require a minimum job tenure or number of hours); lower awareness of
    government programs; less ability to make ends meet with partial wage
    replacement; greater concerns with the rules and confusion about the
    application process; and concerns about job protection.

        A 2019 report from the Independent Women's Forum, ``Expanding Paid
    Family Leave Without Disadvantaging Low-Income Families,'' highlighted
    the difficulties that government-paid family leave programs across the
    globe have encountered in helping low-income families:\19\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ Kristen Shapiro, ``Expanding Paid Family Leave Without
    Disadvantaging Low-Income Families,'' Independent Women's Forum, July
    2019, http://pdf.iwf.org/PFL_For_Low-Income_
    Families.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).

              California. A 2013 analysis by the California Senate's
            Research Office found that fewer than 4 percent of workers in
            the lowest income bracket (below $12,000) filed paid family
            leave claims with the State, compared to nearly 21 percent of
            workers in the highest income bracket (above $84,000).\20\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \20\ Leonor Ehling, ``California's Paid Family Leave Program Ten
    Years After the Program's Implementation, Who Has Benefited and What
    Has Been Learned?'', California Senate Office of Research, July 1,
    2014, https://sor.senate.ca.gov/sites/sor.senate.ca.gov/files/
    Californias%20
    Paid%20Family%20Leave%20Program.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Canada. A 2016 study found that only about 45 percent of
            Canadian mothers with household incomes below C$30,000 receive
            paid family leave benefit from the government, compared to
            between 75 percent to 85 percent of Canadian mothers with
            household incomes above C$60,000.\21\ The study's authors noted
            that ``[d]espite proportionate and obligatory contributions of
            all employers and employees to these programs, the distribution
            of benefits is unbalanced and aids the social reproduction of
            higher-income families.''\22\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ Lindsey McKay, Sophie Mathieu, and Andrea Doucet, ``Parental-
    Leave Rich and Parental-Leave Poor: Inequality in Canadian Labour
    Market Based Leave Policies,'' Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol.
    58, No. 4 (2016), pp. 1-20, http://www.andreadoucet.com/wp-content/
    uploads/2016/11/Doc-10--McKay-Mathieu-Doucet-2016-JIR-FINAL.pdf
    (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \22\ Ibid.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Norway. Norway tried to increase access to paid maternity
            leave for lower-income mothers by providing 100 percent
            replacement rates, but a study found that ``the extra leave
            benefits amounted to a pure leisure transfer, primarily to
            middle and upper income families.''\23\ The authors of the
            study concluded that ``the generous extensions to paid leave
            were costly, had no measurable effect on outcomes and poor
            redistribution properties.''\24\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \23\ Gordon B. Dahl, Katrine V. L, Magne Mogstad, and Kari Vea
    Salvanes, ``What Is the Case for Paid Maternity Leave?'', April 20,
    2015, https://econweb.ucsd.edu/gdahl/papers/paid-maternity-leave.pdf
    (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \24\ Ibid.

        The Proposed Federal Program Would be Costly and Excessively
    Burdensome. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act) is
    Democrats' leading proposal to establish a new Federal entitlement for
    paid family and medical leave.\25\ The FAMILY Act would be funded with
    a 0.4-percentage-point payroll tax split between workers and employers
    and would provide up to 12 weeks per year of paid family and medical
    leave.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \25\ S. 1714 and H.R. 3481, The FAMILY Act, 118th Congress (2023-
    2024), https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/s1714/BILLS-118s1714is.pdf
    (accessed October 19, 2023).

        The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzed the 2019 version of
    the FAMILY Act \26\ and found that the new entitlement would be quickly
    unfunded and cover fewer than half of the leaves that workers take.\27\
    According to the CBO analysis, the new 0.4-percentage-point payroll tax
    to fund the program would fall short of its expenses just 1 year after
    benefits begin.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \26\ H.R. 1185, The FAMILY Act, 116th Congress (2019-2020), https:/
    /www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1185/text (accessed
    October 19, 2023).
        \27\ Congressional Budget Office, ``Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1185,
    the FAMILY Act,'' letter to the Honorable Kevin Brady, February 13,
    2020, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2020-02/hr1185_2.pdf (accessed
    October 19, 2023).

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

             Table 1. CBO Estimate: Fewer Than Half of Workers Who Need PLeave Will Benefit From FAMILY Act
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Percent of All      Covered by      Not Covered by
                         Reason for Leave                          Leave Taken       FAMILY Act        FAMILY Act
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    New child*                                                             21.1%             11.1%             10.0%

    Own medical condition                                                  54.6%             27.3%             27.3%

    Care for family member's medical condition, or other FMLA-             20.0%              3.3%             16.7%
     covered reason

    Non-FMLA reason or unspecified**                                        4.3%              0.0%              4.3%
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total                                                                 100.0%             41.7%              58.3
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * The CBO report says 70 percent of new parents would be eligible to take leave, and within that group, ``most''
      new mothers and ``about half'' of new fathers would take leave. This data assumes that 100 percent of eligible
      mothers and 50 percent of eligible fathers would take leave.
    ** The FAMILY Act would not cover non-FMLA reasons, and the author assumes it would not cover the 1.0 percent of
      unspecified reasons for leave.

    SOURCES:
     Share of workers who need to take leave who use FAMILY Act benefits: Congressional Budget Office.
      Congressional Budget Office, ``Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1185, the FAMILY Act,'' letter to the Honorable Kevin
      Brady, February 13, 2020, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2020-20/hr1185_2.pdf (accessed February 23, 2020).
     Distribution of all leaves: Abt Associates, ``Family and Medical Leave in 2012: Technical Report,'' prepared
      for Jonathan Simonetta, U.S. Department of Labor, Exhibit 4.4.2 Medical reasons for taking leave. Revised
      April 18, 2014, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/legacy/files/FMLA-2012-Technical-Report.pdf
      (accessed February 25, 2020).

        After 6 years, the program's costs would equal 240 percent of its
    revenues, meaning policymakers would either have to ration benefits or
    more than double taxes. Most importantly, the CBO estimated that the
    program would provide benefits to only four out of every 10 workers who
    need to take family or medical leave.

        The most recent, 2023 version of the FAMILY Act would significantly
    expand benefit eligibility, impose tremendous burdens on employers--
    especially small businesses, invite substantial misuse and abuse, and
    be significantly more costly and underfunded than prior versions of the
    FAMILY Act.\28\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \28\ S. 1714 and H.R. 3481, The FAMILY Act, 118th Congress (2023-
    2024).

        For starters, the FAMILY Act extends the FMLA's job protections to
    all workers who have been employed with a company for 90 days or
    more.\29\ Currently about 70 million workers do not have access to FMLA
    job protection either because they work for a smaller employer or
    because they have not been employed for the FMLA's requirement of 12
    months or more. Thus, the FAMILY Act would extend FMLA job protections
    to tens of millions of workers. While job protection is seemingly a
    good thing (no one wants a woman to lose her job because she had a
    child and had to take leave from work), providing job protection for
    all FMLA purposes can be particularly burdensome for small employers,
    which is why Congress excluded them from the FMLA. For example, a
    Heritage Foundation report by James Sherk provided an example of a 911
    call center where five of the seven day-shift employees had FMLA
    certifications.\30\ Since that work is so specialized, when employees
    take unannounced leave, their coworkers have to work overtime, leaving
    exhausted workers handling emergency situations.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \29\ U.S. Department of Labor, ``Family and Medical Leave (FMLA),''
    https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla (accessed
    February 7, 2020).
        \30\ James Sherk, ``Use and Abuse of the Family and Medical Leave
    Act: What Workers and Employers Say,'' Heritage Foundation Special
    Report No. 16, August 28, 2007, https://www.heritage.org/jobs-and-
    labor/report/use-and-abuse-the-family-and-medical-leave-act-what-
    workers-and-employers-say.

        Moreover, FMLA has been extensively misused and abused in certain
    workplaces in which obtaining an FMLA certification is a means for
    workers to take time off whenever they want with immunity. Reports from
    HR managers, significant variance in the use of FMLA across otherwise
    similar worksites, and trends in FMLA use around holidays and weekends
    (it is often referred to as the Friday and Monday Leave Act) suggests
    significant misuse and abuse of FMLA. Turning currently unpaid leave
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    into paid leave will only exacerbate FMLA misuse and abuse.

        The current FAMILY Act also extends paid family leave to
    individuals who have little attachment to the labor force. To qualify
    for benefits, an individual can have as little as one penny of earnings
    in the prior quarter and must have only $2,000 in earnings over the
    prior 2 years. For someone making $10 per hour, that amounts to an
    average of fewer than 2 hours of work per week. The current FAMILY Act
    also extends leave to workers to care for non-kin individuals with whom
    the individual has a family-like relationship.

        The current FAMILY Act's significant expansions will vastly
    increase the cost of the Federal paid leave entitlement without
    adequately financing those expansions. The current FAMILY Act's
    proposal to apply the 0.4-percentage-point tax to earnings above the
    Social Security payroll tax cap will only increase revenues by about 17
    percent.\31\ Even if the current FAMILY Act did not increase benefit
    eligibility from the 2019 version, CBO's analysis indicates that the
    proposed tax increase would only keep the program solvent 1 year
    longer, with revenues falling short in the second year of benefit
    payments instead of the first year. By the 10th year, revenues would
    still be less than half of CBO's estimate of the cost of a less-
    expansive FAMILY Act (the 116th Congress version would have covered
    only 42 percent of leaves workers take).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \31\ Over the past 10 years (2012-2021), an average 17 percent of
    earnings have been above Social Security's taxable maximum. Social
    Security Administration, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2022, Table
    4.B1--Number of workers with Social Security (OASDI) taxable earnings,
    amount of earnings, and Social Security numbers issued, selected years
    1937-2021, https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2022/
    supplement22.pdf (accessed October 21, 2023).

        Considering the massive expansion in eligibility and benefits in
    the 2023 FAMILY Act, it is likely that the payroll tax will need to be
    at least three times as high as specified. For the median household
    with an income of about $70,000, that would amount to an extra $840 in
    Federal taxes. As the experience of other countries, States, and
    current Federal entitlement programs demonstrates, those costs would
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    likely rise significantly over time.

        In addition to increased taxes for workers, the current FAMILY Act
    imposes tremendous burdens on employers who are already struggling with
    labor shortages. Enabling virtually all workers to access paid family
    leave benefits and providing those who have been on the job at least 90
    days with additional workplace protections will make it even more
    difficult for employers to run their businesses and to meet customers'
    demands and patients' needs. In particular, the current FAMILY Act
    specifies that employers cannot interfere with employees' rights under
    the law (``interfere'' could be broadly interpreted to include asking a
    simple question related to an employee's leave). It also creates
    effective immunity from disciplinary, dismissal, or adverse action for
    an entire year after the worker takes leave. This is done by
    establishing a ``rebuttal presumption of retaliation,'' whereby any
    adverse action an employer takes against an employee is presumed to be
    in retaliation for the worker having taken leave. Since the Act allows
    workers to take up to 12 weeks of leave every year, workers who take
    leave every year could become nearly impossible to discipline or
    dismiss.

        Government Programs and Mandates Have Unintended Consequences for
    Women. While laws regarding paid family leave almost always aim to
    particularly help women, they can have the opposite effect in practice.

        Generous government-paid family leave programs in other countries
    have reduced women's prospects of promotion, contributed to lower
    relative wages, and created disjointed workforces with women dominating
    part-time jobs and men dominating full-time jobs.\32\ Thus, it is no
    coincidence that America is the only industrialized nation without a
    Federal paid family leave policy and where women's earnings are among
    the highest in the world compared to men's and where the highest
    proportion of women hold top-level and management positions.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \32\ See Jenna Stearns, ``The Long-Run Effects of Wage Replacement
    and Job Protection: Evidence from Two Maternity Leave Reforms in Great
    Britain,'' University of California, Davis, January 14, 2017, http://
    economics.ucdavis.edu/events/papers/28Stearns.pdf (accessed October 20,
    2023); Christopher J. Ruhm, ``The Economic Consequences of Parental
    Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe,'' National Bureau of Economic
    Research Working Paper No. 5688, July 1996, http://www.nber.org/papers/
    w5688.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023); and Sven R. Larson, ``A Fork in
    the Road of the American Welfare State,'' SSRN Research Paper 2019,
    https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3467127
    (subscription required).

        Both California's and New Jersey's State-based paid family leave
    programs had the unintended consequence of increasing the unemployment
    rate and the duration of unemployment for young women.\33\ Even with
    low awareness and up-take rates, researchers estimated that New
    Jersey's paid family leave program reduced young women's employment
    rates by an estimated 8 percent to 9 percent.\34\ And a recent analysis
    of California's program using administrative data from the IRS found
    that new mothers who used California's paid family and medical leave
    program had 7 percent lower employment and 8 percent lower annual
    earnings 6 years to 10 years after giving birth than new mothers who
    did not use the program. (That study also has the surprising finding
    that California's paid family leave program reduces women's fertility
    rates).\35\ Even though the United States' Family and Medical Leave Act
    (FMLA) only enables unpaid family and medical leave, and only applies
    to companies with more than 50 employees, it has still reduced women's
    likelihood of being promoted \36\ and thwarted women's wage gains
    relative to men.\37\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \33\ Tirthatanmoy Das and Solomom W. Polachek, ``Unanticipated
    Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Program,'' Institute of Labor
    Economics Discussion Paper No. 8023, March 2014, http://ftp.iza.org/
    dp8023.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \34\ Joshua Reed and Donald Vandegrift, ``The Effect of New
    Jersey's Paid Parental Leave Policy on Employment,'' Munich Personal
    RePEc Archive Paper No. 74794, October 28, 2016, https://mpra.ub.uni-
    muenchen.de/74794/1/MPRA_paper_74794.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \35\ Martha J. Bailey, Tanya S. Byker, Elena Patel, and Shanthi
    Ramnath, ``The Long-Term Effects of California's 2004 Paid Family Leave
    Act on Women's Careers: Evidence from U.S. Tax Data,'' NBER Working
    Paper No. 26426, October 2019.
        \36\ This study found that women who were hired shortly after
    passage of the FMLA were 8 percentage points less likely to be promoted
    compared to those hired before it: Mallika Thomas, ``The Impact of
    Mandated Maternity Benefits on the Gender Differential in Promotions:
    Examining the Role of Adverse Selection,'' Cornell University ILR
    School, September 6, 2016, https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/
    viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=ics (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \37\ This study found that White women's wages had been converging
    at a rate of 0.70 percentage points per year in the decades prior to
    passage of the FMLA and have converged at a rate of 0.03 percentage
    points since. For Black women, convergence rates fell from 0.30
    percentage points prior to the FMLA to 0.05 percentage points
    afterwards. Peter Q. Blair and Benjamin Posmanick, ``Why Did Gender
    Wage Convergence in the United States Stall?'', National Bureau of
    Economic Research Working Paper No. 30821, January 2023, https://
    www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w30821/w30821.pdf (accessed
    October 19, 2023).

        Even liberal economists such as professor and scholar Harry Holzer
    have noted, ``A mandatory paid leave policy might well lead employers
    to begin discriminating in hiring against less-educated women in the
    child-bearing ages, especially minority women.''\38\ While government
    mandates cause employers to fear absences that are out of their control
    and lawsuits for even unknowingly failing to follow complicated rules,
    employer-provided policies have fewer consequences because they do not
    insert a middleman between workers and employers. Consequently,
    employers who voluntarily provide paid family leave benefits are
    unlikely to discriminate against workers who may take leave and are
    more likely to accommodate workers' leaves in an effort to keep them
    employed with the company.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \38\ Harry J. Holzer, ``Paid Family Leave: Balancing Benefits and
    Costs,'' AEI-Brookings Project on Paid Family Leave Social Mobility
    Memo, January 30, 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-
    memos/2017/01/30/paid-family-leave-balancing-benefits-and-costs/
    (accessed October 20, 2023).

        Most Americans Are Unwilling to Accept the Costs and Trade-offs of
    a Federal Paid Family Leave Program. A 2018 survey by the Cato
    Institute found that most Americans--74 percent--support a Federal paid
    family and medical leave program; but that support dropped
    precipitously when asked about the costs, or trade-offs, of such a
    program.\39\ At a price tag of $450 more in taxes each year--the likely
    minimum cost for a program like the FAMILY Act \40\--fewer than half of
    Americans (48 percent) supported a national paid leave program.\41\ In
    reality, however, a national paid leave program would cost much more--
    as much as thousands of dollars per year in new taxes, according to the
    American Action Forum.\42\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \39\ Ekins, ``Cato Institute 2018 Paid Leave Survey.''
        \40\ The $450 cost is based on a critique by the AEI-Brookings
    Working Group on Paid Family Leave report, arguing that the FAMILY
    Act's costs are likely underestimated. The CATO survey uses a 16-
    percent take-up rate and an average leave duration of 7 weeks.
        \41\ Ekins, ``Cato Institute 2018 Paid Leave Survey.''
        \42\ Ben Gitis, ``The Cost of Paid Family Leave Law,'' American
    Action Forum, October 2015, https://www.americanactionforum.org/
    research/the-cost-of-paid-family-leave-law/ (accessed October 20,
    2023).

        Americans are not willing to exchange more debt for a Federal paid
    family leave program as only 40 percent of Americans support paid
    family leave if it means higher deficits.\43\ Americans appear even
    less willing to give up their own personal compensation or to forgo
    promotions for women: Only 38 percent of Americans support a Federal
    paid leave policy if it means lower pay raises for them, and even
    fewer--29 percent--are willing to exchange such a program for fewer
    benefits for them or for a reduced likelihood of promotions for
    women.\44\ That has, unfortunately, been the case with national paid
    family leave policies, including both unpaid mandates \45\ and generous
    national programs.\46\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \43\ Ekins, ``Cato Institute 2018 Paid Leave Survey.''
        \44\ Ibid.
        \45\ Malika Thomas, ``The Impact of Mandated Maternity Benefits on
    the Gender Differential in Promotions: Examining the Role of Adverse
    Selection,'' March 6, 2019, https://irs.
    princeton.edu/sites/irs/files/event/uploads/Draft030619.pdf (accessed
    October 20, 2023).
        \46\ Christopher J. Ruhm, ``The Economic Consequences of Parental
    Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe,'' National Bureau of Economic
    Research Working Paper No. 5688, July 1996, http://www.nber.org/papers/
    w5688.pdf (accessed October 20, 2023).

    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T0253.004

        Americans were least willing to support a Federal paid family
    leave program if it meant giving up other valued government services.
    Only 21 percent of Americans said they would trade lower funding for
    education, Social Security, and Medicare in order to implement a
    national paid family leave program.\47\ This is an important reality
    because Social Security and Medicare are both massively underfunded and
    Social Security is projected to run out of money within a decade,
    resulting in automatic and across-the-board benefit cuts of 23 percent
    (about $5,000 for the average retiree). Adding another unfunded
    entitlement program would further jeopardize the ability of existing
    entitlement programs to provide scheduled benefits.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \47\ Ekins, ``Cato Institute 2018 Paid Leave Survey.''

        Another survey, commissioned by the Independent Women's Forum,
    asked Americans about their concerns over a Federal paid family leave
    policy. Americans' biggest concern was that ``people will find a way to
    abuse this type of policy.''\48\ About half of all Americans were
    concerned about abuse, including 56 percent of conservatives, 52
    percent of moderates, and 38 percent of liberals. Americans' other top
    concerns were that a Federal paid family leave policy ``only benefits
    workers who plan to have children, which is unfair to those who do
    not'' (38 percent); ``workers will have to pay more taxes and will have
    less money for themselves and their families'' (37 percent); and it
    ``discourages businesses from providing their own parental leave
    benefit'' (34 percent).\49\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \48\ Heart Mind Strategies, ``Paid Leave Messaging Research: Public
    Report,'' prepared for the Independent Women's Forum, April 29, 2019,
    https://pdf.iwf.org/Paid-Leave-Poll-Hearts-and-Mind%202019.pdf
    (accessed October 20, 2023).
        \49\ Ibid.

               policies to expand workers' access to paid family
                        leave and work-life flexibility
        It is important that family members be able to care for one
    another, and in a time when many households are headed by a single
    adult or both spouses are working, providing necessary care can require
    taking time off work. Employers who fail to recognize and provide for
    this need risk losing good workers and incurring high turnover costs.
    Fortunately, a competitive global economy, the 2018 pro-growth tax
    cuts, and the workplace adaptations related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    have spurred more and more employers to voluntarily provide paid family
    leave to their workers. Moreover, 14 States have enacted paid family
    leave programs that vary in program design and administration, and a
    handful of other States have optional paid family leave programs.

        Tax Credits Versus Mandates. Tax credits for paid family leave
    policies will always have fewer unintended consequences than government
    mandates because credits are optional. The effectiveness of tax credits
    at increasing access to paid family leave depend on the structure of
    the credits. Temporary credits are less likely to induce employers to
    enact permanent new benefits, and credits that impose significant
    requirements on employers are less likely to be utilized. Meanwhile,
    credits that are available to employers who already provide the
    specified policy will raise taxpayers' costs without generating new
    benefits for workers.

        The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 (TCJA) included a temporary tax
    credit for employers who paid family leave to their workers. That
    credit was supposed to last only through 2019 but has since been
    extended through 2025. To qualify for the credit, employers must have a
    formal written policy that meets minimum requirements, including
    providing at least 2 weeks of paid family leave, being available to
    employees who have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, and
    providing at least 50-percent benefit replacement rates. The credit
    equals a quarter of the paid family leave wages paid (so, between 12.5
    percent and 25 percent) to workers who have incomes below a specified
    threshold. In 2023, employers can claim credits for workers whose total
    wage compensation did not exceed $81,000 in 2022. To claim the credit,
    employers must file two IRS forms and must reduce their tax deduction
    for employee compensation by the amount of the credit. The credit was
    and is available to employers with existing paid family leave policies
    that meet the credit's requirements, as well as to employers who
    provide short-term disability insurance plans that meet the
    requirements.

        The efficacy of the tax credit at expanding access to paid family
    leave is not yet known. In particular, it is not clear what portion of
    tax credits claimed went to employers who already provided paid family
    leave or short-term disability insurance policies versus how many were
    spurred to create new policies as a result of the credit. The Joint
    Committee on Taxation estimated that the credit would cost about $2.2
    billion per year in tax revenues over the first 3 years (2018-2020) and
    about $0.8 billion per year over the next 5 years (2021-2025).

        A back-of-the-envelope estimate suggests that $0.8 billion per year
    equates to about 1.1 million workers receiving the credit. (This
    estimate assumes workers have average wages of $50,000 per year, they
    each take the average of 5.5 weeks of leave, and they receive a 75
    percent benefit replacement.) Considering that upwards of 40 million
    workers have access to paid family leave at work, and that roughly 23
    million workers take family leave each year, the credit would appear to
    benefit relatively few workers.\50\ Moreover, it is unclear how many of
    the workers for whom employers claim the credit would have had access
    to paid family leave even without the credit.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \50\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``National Compensation Survey,''
    and Brown et al., ``Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family
    and Medical Leave Act: Executive Summary for Results from the 2018
    Surveys.''

        A provision of the paid family leave tax credit that may be
    preventing particularly smaller employers from claiming it, even if
    they decide to provide some paid family leave, is the ``non-
    interference'' language. That language specifies that an employer
    cannot interfere with any attempted use of the benefits of the policy.
    Employers may rightly fear that ``interfere'' could be interpreted to
    include an employer asking to work with an employee in scheduling his
    paid leave or asking that employee to do work--even answering an email
    or a phone call from a coworker filling in for that employee--while on
    leave. Additionally, because smaller companies tend to face greater
    liquidity constraints, the lag between when an employer provides paid
    family leave and when the company files taxes and eventually receives
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    the credit may render it less effective.

        COVID-19 Family Leave Credit Underutilized. Another temporary
    credit in the Families First Coronavirus Act covered 100 percent of
    employers' costs for wages and health-care benefits for workers at
    companies with 500 employees or fewer who took family leave for reasons
    related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The original credit expired at the
    end of 2020. Subsequent legislation modified and extended the credit
    through September 30, 2021. The original credit was estimated by the
    Joint Committee on Taxation to cost $105 billion. According to IRS
    administrative records through July 15, 2021, the IRS had processed
    only $6.7 billion worth of employers' claims for the credit between the
    second quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.\51\ This suggests
    that the credit was highly underutilized. Possible reasons for so few
    businesses claiming the 100 percent paid family leave credit could
    include fewer needed leaves than anticipated and administrative
    complexity and confusion, including the credit's interaction with other
    COVID-19 policies.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \51\ Congressional Budget Office, ``The Budgetary Effects of the
    Tax Credit for Employer-Paid Sick and Family Leave During the
    Coronavirus Pandemic,'' July 16, 2021, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/
    57362 (accessed October 19, 2023).

        Conditional tax credits for paid family leave are arguably less
    effective than across-the-board tax reductions. To the extent that
    policymakers consider using the tax code to encourage the provision of
    paid family leave, a temporarily lower tax rate for companies that do
    not currently provide paid family leave and that enact new paid family
    leave policies would be better targeted than credits available to
    employers with existing policies. Moreover, businesses may be more
    inclined to implement new policies if they have fewer strings attached
    and do not include the administrative burden of tracking and submitting
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    claims for each individual worker's leave.

        If policymakers enact Federal paid family leave legislation, it
    should be optional to prevent the unintended costs and consequences.
    The following proposals are all entirely optional ways to help expand
    paid family leave to workers who lack the ability to take it and to
    businesses that cannot yet afford to provide it:

        Enact the Working Families Flexibility Act. The Working Families
    Flexibility Act would allow lower-income, hourly workers to choose
    whether they want to accumulate paid leave overtime pay when they work
    more than 40 hours in a week. Paid leave, or so-called comp time, would
    accumulate at 1.5 times the rate of overtime, so 4 hours of overtime 1
    week would equal 6 hours of paid leave. This proposal would
    particularly help lower-income workers who are least likely to have
    access to paid family leave.

        Enact Universal Savings Accounts. Universal Savings Accounts would
    enable all Americans to save in a single, simple account for all their
    needs and to take money out for paid leave, for children's education,
    or any other life needs that arise without paying a penalty for early
    withdrawal. The ability to use tax-preferred savings for paid family
    leave would be particularly helpful for independent, part-time, and
    temporary workers.

        Expand Private Disability Insurance. Private disability insurance
    covers workers own medical needs and maternity leave. Already, about 50
    percent of full-time private-sector workers currently have private
    disability insurance at work.\52\ Providing clarity that employers can
    automatically enroll workers in private disability insurance, just as
    they can automatically enroll workers in retirement savings (so long as
    they provide a clear option to opt out), could encourage more employers
    to provide private disability insurance.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \52\ Rachel Greszler, ``Private Disability Insurance Option Could
    Help Save SSDI and Improve Individual Well-being,'' Heritage Foundation
    Backgrounder No. 3037, July 20, 2015, http://report.heritage.org/
    bg3037.

        Pursue Pro-Growth Tax Policies. Perhaps the single most impactful
    thing that policymakers can do to enable more employers to be able to
    provide paid family leave is to allow employers to return more of
    workers' output to them in compensation, like paid family leave, as
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    opposed to sending it to the government through taxes.

        The success of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the top corporate
    tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and lowered the top effective
    tax rate on S corporations from 37 percent to 29.6 percent. Many
    businesses used these tax reductions to increase employees'
    compensation, including paid family leave. In the 6 years leading up to
    the tax cuts, the percent of workers with access to employer-provided
    paid family leave increased only 3 percentage points, from 12 percent
    to 15 percent. In the 6 years following passage of the TCJA, that
    percentage shot up 12 percentage points, from 15 percent to 27
    percent.\53\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \53\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``National Compensation Survey.''

        Do Not Regulate Away Paid Family Leave and Flexibility. Regulations
    are another drag on employee compensation, both because of the dollar
    costs and the burdens of rigid rules. A number of recently proposed
    regulations threaten to make it more difficult and less likely for
    employers to offer paid family leave. The Department of Labor's soon-
    to-be-finalized Independent Contractor rule would make it harder for
    employers to hire short-term contractors to cover the work of employees
    who are out on paid family leave. That rule would also take away
    flexible work options that enable workers to choose when they work. The
    Department of Labor's recently proposed overtime rule (effectively
    subjecting all employees who make less than about $55,000 per year to
    overtime standards) could backfire on currently salaried employees who
    could end up having to use up their paid time off just to maintain a
    full paycheck in weeks when they log fewer than 40 hours. And salaried
    workers who are converted to hourly employees as a result of the rule
    may lose access to workplace benefits that are only provided to
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    salaried employees.

        Instead of enacting new regulations that tie employers' and
    employees' hands and take away flexible work options, policymakers
    should look to eliminate costly and unnecessary regulations so that
    more of employers' resources can go to employees' compensation instead
    of to lawyers, accountants, and administrators. In addition to saving
    time and money, fewer regulations specifically geared at paid family
    leave policies would reduce employers' legal fears about offering it.

        Unlike a one-size-fits-all Federal entitlement program, these
    policies would help to meet workers' unique needs, in flexible and
    accommodating ways, at a cost they can afford.

                                     ______

            Questions Submitted for the Record to Rachel U. Greszler
                     Questions Submitted by Hon. Todd Young
        Question. You have written about the importance of taking a
    measured Federal approach on paid leave.

        Can you please elaborate how, in your view, the Federal Government
    can best partner with States and employers to address some of the
    current gaps we are seeing in the paid family leave space?

        Answer. I appreciate how you have framed it, as it is gaps and not
    gaping holes that U.S. workers and employers face when it comes to paid
    family leave today. A Federal mandate or Federal entitlement would
    eviscerate many current private and State and local paid family leave
    programs, so this is not where Federal policy should start. Instead,
    Federal policy should look to fill in gaps with options for workers and
    employers.

        For example, by specifying that employers can automatically enroll
    workers in private disability insurance plans like the are allowed to
    do for retirement plans, more employers would do just that, resulting
    in more workers having access to private disability insurance that
    covers the overwhelming majority of workers' paid family leave needs.
    Private disability insurance can be attractive for employers because
    they do not have to manage the leave and it can be of little or no cost
    to them, depending on whether or not they subsidize it for workers. In
    addition, allowing workers to save tax free in a single, simple
    Universal Savings Account (USA), whereby they could withdraw funds
    without penalty for any need including taking family or medical leave,
    would specifically help fill the gaps where workers lack access to paid
    family leave. USAs have been particularly popular among lower-income
    workers in Canada and South Africa, presumably because they are more
    flexible and do not siphon off workers savings to be used only for
    specified purposes.

        Question. Additionally, in your testimony, you highlighted the
    importance of protecting certain flexibilities for employers looking to
    implement paid leave programs.

        Can you elaborate on the importance of these flexibilities and how
    you suggest my colleagues and I work to protect them as we evaluate
    opportunities for the Federal Government to bolster efforts on paid
    family leave?

        Answer. The majority of paid family leave needs are not like
    pregnancy, which is known many months in advance of the need for leave.
    Rather, many paid leave needs arise unexpectedly, and they also may
    include a need for intermittent leave as opposed to entire weeks or
    months away from work. When considering policies, it is important to
    fully consider not only how such policies might help people, but also
    how they might unintentionally hurt people. For example, the District
    of Columbia's paid family leave stipulations require government
    approval of all leave requests, but this prohibits flexibility because
    employees have to submit all needs for leave weeks in advance, and they
    cannot take partial days of leave. That causes problems if, for
    example, a medical appointment is changed, or if the appointment only
    requires missing 2 hours of work instead of a whole day. Moreover, if
    someone ends up working on a day that they requested and were approved
    for leave--including even just answering a work phone call or email--
    they will have to repay the benefits they received for that day. This
    type of policy simply does not work for many workers and many family
    and medical leave needs.

        Question. As Congress evaluates opportunities for Federal action on
    paid family leave, one question that often shapes the discussion is--
    should Congress create a new entitlement program to address the gaps in
    the current system or build off of existing Federal programs? In your
    written testimony, you highlighted the challenges of creating a new
    entitlement program.

        In your view, what are the benefits to enacting a paid leave
    program that builds off of an existing program in comparison to
    creating an entirely new entitlement program?

        Answer. Creating a Federal paid family leave entitlement would
    eviscerate existing employer-provided and State and local programs that
    are tailored to their own populations, which are a tiny fraction of the
    entire U.S. population. Many existing employer-provided paid family
    leave policies--both formal and informal--are serving workers and
    employers well and should not be disrupted with a Federal mandate,
    Federal entitlement, or even Federal regulations that could end up
    doing more to limit paid family leave than to expand it.

        If the Federal Government were to establish any type of paid family
    leave policy or program, it should be entirely optional, and geared
    towards allowing workers who do not have access to paid family leave to
    be able to purchase it. This could include following the model of
    Virginia (and now multiple other States) that have enabled private
    insurers to offer paid family leave insurance policies to individuals.

                                     ______

                   Question Submitted by Hon. Chuck Grassley
        Question. In your written testimony you talked about how,
    statistically, low-
    income families are less likely to file paid leave claims.

        What considerations are important to ensure that paid leave
    programs and policies are accessible for low, middle, and high wage
    earners alike?

        Answer. Voluntary, employer-provided paid family leave programs as
    well as personal savings (such as through Universal Savings Accounts,
    which could include employer contributions into them) provide the best
    pathway to meaningfully expand paid family leave to lower-income
    groups. The reality of the situation is that the nature of many lower-
    income Americans' work makes them ineligible for most
    government-created paid family leave programs. This is because lower-
    income workers are more likely to work for small employers that do not
    have to provide job-
    protected family and medical leave, lower-income earners tend to have
    significantly shorter job tenure that leaves them ineligible for
    government paid family leave programs, and most government programs
    provide only partial wage replacement and lower-income earners often
    cannot afford to keep paying their bills with only partial pay.

        Thus, policymakers should look to something like Universal Savings
    Accounts, or even emergency savings accounts that lower-income workers
    could use for whatever need arises--including paid family leave--and
    regardless of their employment situation. While it may be tempting to
    provide tax credits to companies for paid family leave provided to
    lower-income workers, experience with such tax credits during the
    COVID-19 pandemic showed that they were hardly utilized because of the
    regulations and requirements (even seemingly minor ones like ``non-
    interference'') that came with them. As avoiding potential liability
    associated with managing a formal paid family leave program appears to
    be a legitimate concern of employers, private disability insurance
    offers a potential way for companies to provide paid family and medical
    leave benefits without having to take on the costs and liabilities of
    managing a program. Congress could help encourage greater access to and
    enrollment in private disability insurance by clarifying that employers
    can automatically enroll employees into such insurance plans similar to
    how they are allowed to automatically enroll employees into retirement
    plans.

                                     ______

          Prepared Statement of Elizabeth Milito, Executive Director,
        Small Business Legal Center, National Federation of Independent
                                    Business
        Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and members of the Senate
    Committee on Finance, on behalf of the National Federation of
    Independent Business (NFIB), I appreciate the opportunity to submit for
    the record this testimony for the Senate Committee on Finance hearing
    entitled, ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the
    Workforce.''

        My name is Elizabeth Milito, and I serve as the executive director
    of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center. The NFIB Small Business Legal
    Center is a nonprofit, public interest law firm established to provide
    legal resources and be the voice for small businesses in the Nation's
    courts through representation on issues of public interest affecting
    small businesses.

        NFIB is the Nation's leading small business advocacy organization,
    advocating on behalf of nearly 300,000 small business owner members in
    Washington, DC and all 50 State capitals. NFIB's mission is to promote
    and protect the right of our members to own, operate, and grow their
    businesses. NFIB proudly represents small businesses nationwide from
    every industry and sector.

        NFIB members define our neighborhoods and fill our communities with
    character. They create local jobs and homegrown economic opportunities
    for small business owners and their employees alike. NFIB members are
    your local hardware store, the restaurant your family eats at on
    Friday, the neighborhood florist and barber, the mechanic who fixes
    your car, and the plumber, roofer, and landscaper who work on your
    home.

        Small businesses employ nearly half the country's private-sector
    workforce.\1\ When small businesses succeed, communities flourish. A
    strong, vibrant small business economy supports local tax bases,
    governments, and schools. It is estimated that 68 cents of every dollar
    spent at a local small business is reinvested into the community.\2\
    Small businesses are vital to our communities.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business 2023, U.S.
    Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy (March 7, 2023),
    available at https://advocacy.sba.gov/2023/03/07/frequently-asked-
    questions-about-small-business-2023/.
        \2\ The Multiplier Effect of Local Businesses, American Independent
    Business Alliance, available at https://www.amiba.net/resources/
    multiplier-effect/.

        I describe our membership and the importance small business has on
    our economy to illustrate one of the key points of my testimony and
    what I think often gets lost in the public policy discussions here in
    Washington, DC. There is no such thing as a ``one-size-fits-all''
    policy that works for every business or every industry. Consider the
    varied types of small businesses you frequent--pizza parlor, auto shop,
    dry cleaner, hair salon--some have employees that are strictly full-
    time, others strictly part-time or hourly. Some have a combination of
    both. Perhaps others are seasonal employers. Small businesses face
    complex issues that are unique to them, and when solutions to perceived
    problems are put in place by government, policymakers too often paint
    business with a broad brush and fail to consider the unique structure
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    of Main Street employers.

        The number of small business owners who struggle to fill positions
    is at a historically high level.\3\ Small businesses are increasing
    compensation and benefits. They are providing flexibility so employees
    can pick their kids up from daycare or go to a doctor's appointment.
    However, many small business owners are staunchly opposed to one-size-
    fits-all inflexible and costly mandates from Washington. Just as we
    know from past decisions the best political intentions do not always
    play out as desired. Therefore, we must also examine the likely
    consequences to small employers from new government mandates.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ NFIB Research Center, Small Business Economic Trends Survey
    (NFIB September SBET Survey) (October 10, 2023), https://www.nfib.com/
    content/press-release/economy/small-business-optimism-dips-in-
    september-as-inflation-remains-top-problem/.

        NFIB has long opposed inflexible or mandated leave requirements for
    a variety of reasons. But today, I would like to focus on three
    concerns of NFIB and its members: (1) leave mandates impede
    flexibility, which is the key to making small businesses the
    ``employers of choice'' in our communities; (2) leave mandates impose
    inordinate complexity and costs on small businesses; and (3) leave
    mandates lead to death by a thousand mandates.
      1. small businesses and employee benefits: flexibility makes small
           businesses the ``employers of choice'' in our communities
            Providing paid family leave can have several benefits for
            businesses, including increased employee morale, loyalty, and
            retention, as well as improved recruitment efforts. However,
            ultimately, each business must weigh the costs and benefits of
            offering paid family leave and make their decision based on
            their unique circumstances and not though legislative decree.
            Please do not take away what's left of the flexibility we have
            to accommodate our workers' needs. We hope that you will look
            to reduce the burden on running our business rather than adding
            payroll tax increases to our already rising operational costs
            and administrative and compliance burdens. Please consider the
            struggle that small businesses have been through in the last 3
            years before putting another expensive and time-consuming
            mandate on us. --NFIB Member--Brattleboro, VT

        Often the public and media link the term ``employers of choice''
    with big corporations that offer Cadillac employee benefit programs and
    have seemingly endless resources to throw around, but the reality is
    that creating good jobs doesn't have to be that complex or challenging.
    Small businesses have demonstrated time and again that being an
    ``employer of choice'' means becoming an employer that potential and
    existing employees want to work for. Small businesses do this by
    offering competitive compensation and investing in employees and their
    communities.

        Unfortunately, however, mandated leave proposals often envision a
    one-size-fits-all mandate that would handicap businesses' ability to
    attract workers at a critical time. Across the Nation, small business
    owners are seeing a growth in sales but are stunted by not having
    enough workers. Finding qualified employees remains the biggest
    challenge for small businesses and is slowing economic growth. Owners
    are raising compensation and offering bonuses and benefits to attract
    the right employees.

        The NFIB Research Center showed the Small Business Optimism Index
    (https://www.nfib.com/surveys/small-business-economic-trends/)
    decreased half a point in September to 90.8.\4\ September's reading
    marks the 21st consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98.\5\
    Business owners remain pessimistic about future business conditions,
    which has contributed to the low optimism they have regarding the
    economy. Forty-three percent of owners reported job openings that were
    hard to fill, up 3 points from August and remaining historically high
    as owners can't hire enough workers due to few qualified applicants.
    Finding qualified workers is the number-one-cited problem for small
    business owners, surpassing all other issues including inflation.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ NFIB Research Center, Small Business Economic Trends Survey
    (NFIB September SBET Survey) (October 10, 2023), https://www.nfib.com/
    content/press-release/economy/small-business-optimism-dips-in-
    september-as-inflation-remains-top-problem/.
        \5\ Id.
        \6\ Id.

        One of the primary ways in which small businesses attract and
    retain talented workers is by providing innovative benefits like
    flexible leave policies, designed specifically to fit the needs of
    their employees and their businesses. The majority of small business
    owners already include paid leave in their compensation packages.
    According to an NFIB national small business poll, a majority of small
    business owners indicated that they already provide flexible leave.
    Most small employers (73 percent) offer paid time off (PTO) to the
    majority of their full-time employees, and 67 percent of them offer 2
    weeks or more of leave.\7\ The number of days offered is dependent on
    an employee's length of service in 76 percent of small businesses
    offering the benefit.\8\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ NFIB National Small Business Poll, Employee Compensation and
    Small Business (2016), available at http://www.411sbfacts.com/files/
    NFIB_SBP_Emp-Compensation2017_v2.pdf.
        \8\ Id.

        Most small business owners work hard to ensure compliance with
    employment and labor laws in a workplace that treats employees fairly,
    pays decent wages, and provides good benefits, but their informal and
    unstructured nature and more limited financial resources require
    greater flexibility in creating policies and solutions. Indeed, small
    businesses are leaders in flexible working arrangements, a key benefit
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    for many of their employees.

        Studies have shown that small businesses are more likely to allow
    employees to change starting and quitting times, work some regular paid
    hours at home occasionally, have control over when to take breaks,
    return to work gradually after childbirth or adoption, and take time
    off. during the workday to attend to caregiving or other family or
    personal needs without loss of pay.\9\ Flexible work arrangements like
    these directly correlate with increased employee satisfaction.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Workplace Flexibility: Information and Options for Small
    Business, U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau (2015), available at
    https://www.dol.gov/wb/WorkplaceFlexibility_508
    _FINAL.pdf.
        \10\ Workplace Flexibility Survey--Strategic Use of Flexible Work
    Arrangements, Society for Human Resource Management (2014), available
    at https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-andforecasting/research-and-
    surveys/pages/2014-workplace-flexibility-survey-strategic-use-of-
    flexiblework-arrangements-(fwas).aspx.

        In summary, expanding leave mandates has two results that impact
    flexibility in the workplace. Mandating one-size-fits-all policies
    forces small business owners to eliminate unique programs that benefit
    their businesses, their customers, their employees, and ultimately
    their communities. In addition, leave mandates increase costs for small
    businesses, which almost always limits the flexibility of small
    businesses to provide benefits that many employees already enjoy.
     2. small businesses and mandated leave: the complexity of compliance
                  and unforeseen, unintended, and hidden costs
            As a small business, we have always strived to offer the best
            benefits that we can for our employees, which include 5 paid
            holidays, and up to 10 vacation days, not to mention health
            insurance, a SIMPLE IRA plan, etc. With the current economic
            climate, it is difficult to offer competitive wages and
            benefits and still keep the business profitable. Adding another
            mandated benefit will just make that even more difficult, not
            to mention the time it will take to track the proposed PTO
            which is different than our current system. We are already
            extremely flexible with our employees and have given a lot of
            grace through the pandemic and the many challenges that it has
            created. --NFIB Member--Decatur, IL

        Small businesses depend on predictability to stay competitive.
    Mandated leave policies, however, further complicate compliance with
    workforce laws for employers and raise costs on businesses. Mandated
    leave is not a free benefit for employees; mandated leave comes with a
    cost that businesses will have to shoulder and will eventually be
    absorbed by the employer, employees, and customers. In a small business
    with a finite number of resources, this translates into less money
    available for wage increases, health insurance and other benefits, and
    hiring additional employees.

        Small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy, are
    especially vulnerable to the impact of labor mandates. Small firms
    typically have few administrative staff members and little human
    resources experience or regular access to legal counsel. Only about 12
    percent of small businesses have a human resources (HR) professional or
    dedicated employee who handles personnel matters.\11\ In most small
    businesses, HR matters are handled by the business owner or an employee
    who handles back office and administrative tasks. This means that the
    recordkeeping and reporting requirements mandated by leave proposals
    will fall more times than not on the business owner. About 50 percent
    do payroll in-house.\12\ Adding a Federal leave mandate to existing
    State and local labor and employment law requirements would complicate
    an already difficult legal and regulatory environment for small
    businesses and would expose these businesses to legal challenges.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ NFIB Research Center, NFIB National Small Business Poll
    Business Structure (2004), available at http://www.411sbfacts.com/
    files/bizstructurepoll[1].pdf.
        \12\ NFIB National Small Business Poll Tax Complexity and the IRS
    (2017), available at NFIB: The Voice of Small Business--National Small
    Business Poll (411sbfacts.com).

        Additionally, whether an employer is subject to a paid leave
    mandate or subject to an unpaid leave mandate, leave laws generally
    impose onerous recordkeeping requirements with which small businesses
    would need to comply, including new leave tracking, notification,
    documentation, and reporting requirements. Records would need to be
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    maintained to demonstrate compliance.

        When the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed, the Senate
    debated small business exemptions from such burdensome mandates.\13\
    The Senate ultimately agreed on an exemption for small businesses with
    fewer than 50 employees. The Senate wisely understood that it would be
    more difficult for small business owners to comply with this new
    mandate and would potentially be more disruptive to the operations of
    small firms.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ S. Amdt. 1 to S. 5--103rd Congress (1993-1994) | Congress.gov
    | Library of Congress.

        As we have observed, the best way to increase employee compensation
    is through economic growth where employers must boost compensation to
    retain and attract employees. Congress must focus on policies that
    strengthen the economy and reject mandates that increase red tape and
    costs for small businesses.
                        3. death by a thousand mandates
            I am a small business with 3 employees. I would like to have a
            4th employee but because of the high taxes I already pay, I
            cannot afford to. I could easily afford a 4th employee with the
            taxes I pay now. Instituting . . . paid leave and the tax to
            pay for it would really hurt my business--maybe even having to
            go down to 2 employees. That would make it harder for me and I
            would probably consider dissolving my business. --NFIB Member--
            Little Falls, MN

        Efforts to expand labor mandates never stop. For small business
    owners, it's nearly impossible to keep up with the unprecedented number
    of changes in the past few years.\14\ A federally mandated leave
    program will further complicate the patchwork quilt of labor laws that
    are problematic and confusing for employers and create unintended
    consequences for workers, businesses, and for the economic environment.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ National Conference on State Legislatures, Paid Sick Leave
    (July 21, 2020), available at https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-
    employment/paid-sick-leave.

        Understanding and complying with the complexity of a new mandate is
    expensive, both in terms of time and money. According to the Small
    Business Administration, workplace compliance costs small businesses 36
    percent more per employee than it costs large businesses.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms, SBA Office of
    Advocacy (2010), available at https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/
    The%20Impact%20of%20Regulatory%20Costs%20on
    %20Sm.

        Additionally, any new mandates would fall on businesses during an
    unprecedented surge of regulatory costs and burdens imposed by the
    current administration. In a little over 2\1/2\ years in office, this
    administration's regulatory agenda has saddled businesses with more
    than $436 billion in new final rule costs and more than 220 million
    paperwork hours.\16\ If there ever was a time for Congress to not
    increase mandates and red tape for small businesses, that time is now.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ Dan Goldbeck, Billion-dollar Week Trend Continues Apace:
    October 10-13, American Action Forum (October 16, 2023), https://
    www.americanactionforum.org/week-in-regulation/billion-dollar-week-
    trend-continues-apace-october-10-13/.

        Federally mandated leave would add another benefit to the growing
    list of expenses that employers must absorb. In recent years, leave
    laws have passed in a dozen States.\17\ Some of these State initiatives
    were funded via payroll deductions, only to later be modified to be
    strictly employer funded. Many enacted paid leave mandates additionally
    incorporate private right of action language, which opens small
    employers up to an increased threat of litigation.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ National Conference on State Legislatures, Paid Sick Leave
    (July 21, 2020), available at https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-
    employment/paid-sick-leave.

        A federally mandated leave program will put small businesses at a
    competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining employees. In
    today's economic environment, not only are employers competing to
    attract workers, but the competition amongst States for employers and
    jobs is fierce. Businesses in States with mandated leave programs will
    not fare well.
                                   conclusion
        Small business owners understand the changing dynamics in the
    workplace--they are grandparents, parents, and caregivers, too--and
    they want to do all they can to attract and retain the best employees.
    But when it comes to benefits, flexibility is key for small businesses.
    Mandated leave laws represent a significant challenge for small
    business owners since flexibility is critical for a small business, and
    mandated leave laws are generally anything but flexible, simple to
    comply with, and affordable.

        Small business owners can and do offer support to employees in
    their lives away from work, whether it's for their own care or to care
    for a parent, child, or other family member, but they must have
    flexibility in creating a policy that works for both the employees and
    the business.

        On behalf of all the small-business owners of the NFIB, thank you
    for focusing on this important issue and inviting me to appear before
    the committee.

                                     ______

             Questions Submitted for the Record to Elizabeth Milito
                     Questions Submitted by Hon. Todd Young
        Question. I have long been supportive of finding opportunities for
    the Federal Government to partner with States and employers in
    providing greater flexibility for working parents. One of the very
    important aspects of this conversation is looking specifically at how
    small businesses are impacted by the current paid family leave system.

        What are some of the barriers that small businesses often face in
    offering paid family leave?

        Answer. Small businesses are particularly hard-hit by the current
    economic conditions. The number of small business owners who struggle
    to fill positions is at a historically high level, and leave proposals
    often envision a one-size-fits-all mandate that would handicap
    businesses' ability to attract workers at this critical time. One of
    the primary ways that small businesses attract employees--along with
    increasing compensation and benefits--is to offer flexible leave
    policies. However, mandates are expensive and inflexible; they would
    prevent businesses from being able to offer more flexible leave. Add in
    the cost of compliance--which is significantly higher for small
    businesses--and the challenge of keeping up with an ever-increasing set
    of regulatory requirements, and it becomes clear that mandatory paid
    family leave would be a massive burden on small business owners. Until
    economic conditions improve, and the existing regulatory burden
    lessens, business owners are unable to provide paid family leave.

        Question. In your view, how can Congress work to help address some
    of these barriers?

        Answer. The best way that Congress can address these barriers is by
    strengthening the economy and avoiding further regulations on small
    business--especially a one-size-fits-all paid leave mandate that would
    treat small businesses the same as large companies. Congress should
    keep in mind that 50 percent of small businesses do payroll in-house
    \1\ and most do not have HR departments to shoulder the burden of
    compliance. Instead, small businesses should be able to retain
    flexibility in creating policies that work for both them and their
    employees.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ NFIB National Small Business Poll Tax Complexity and the IRS
    (2017), available at NFIB: The Voice of Small Business--National Small
    Business Poll (411sbfacts.com).

                   Questions Submitted by Hon. Chuck Grassley
        Question. As chairman of the Finance Committee, I convened a
    bipartisan working group to study the issue of paid leave to try and
    find a bipartisan consensus on what the Federal Government's role
    should be. It's been several decades since we've updated Federal family
    leave laws. It's important to have bipartisan discussions about
    existing private and public paid family leave benefits and identify
    gaps in coverage to ensure working families have the flexibility to
    care for their loved ones.

        We know that many employers currently offer paid leave benefits. We
    should consider potential avenues to encourage more employers to begin
    offering paid leave options to workers as well as how to sustain these
    benefits in the long term.

        Can you share your thoughts on how to incentivize employers of
    different sizes to provide paid leave options to employees for the
    first time and for the long term?

        Answer. Small businesses want to provide the best compensation and
    benefits for their employees. However, instituting more regulations in
    tough economic times will have the complete opposite effect. Instead of
    growing their businesses, employing more workers, and offering more
    benefits, businesses will be forced to shrink their work force and cut
    benefits. Rather than increasing the regulatory burden on small
    businesses, Congress ought to reduce this burden. Congress must focus
    on policies that strengthen the economy and reject mandates that
    increase red tape and costs for small businesses. This will incentivize
    small businesses to continue improving employee benefits.

        Question. During my annual county meetings, I hear from businesses
    in every industry about labor shortages and finding qualified workers
    to fill open positions. How do we ensure businesses have the
    flexibility to offer the pay and benefits that fit their budgets and
    help attract and retain workers?

        Answer. Finding qualified workers is the number one cited problem
    for small business owners, surpassing all other issues, including
    inflation.\2\ The solution lies in affording small businesses the
    ability to choose their own policies. Employer-
    designed leave policies allow employees the day-to-day flexibility to
    pick their kids up from daycare or go to a doctor's appointment.
    However, if small businesses are forced to provide paid family leave,
    they will not be able to afford the flexible leave policies that bring
    in new employees. Congress should ensure that businesses can design and
    implement the policies that are most attractive to workers rather than
    having to conform to an unaffordable paid family leave mandate.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ NFIB Research Center, Small Business Economic Trends Survey
    (NFIB September SBET Survey) (October 10, 2023), https://www.nfib.com/
    content/press-release/economy/small-business-optimism-dips-in-
    september-as-inflation-remains-top-problem/.

                                     ______

                     Prepared Statement of Ben Verhoeven,
                        President, Peoria Gardens, Inc.
        Good morning, Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and members of
    the Senate Committee on Finance.

        Hello there. I'm Ben Verhoeven. I'm a second-generation farmer and
    nursery owner. I run a family-owned greenhouse in rural Albany, OR. I'm
    proud to say my 26 year-round and 24 seasonal employees receive great
    benefits which, in the big picture, don't cost me much, but mean a lot
    to everyone, and they're good for business. My workers can get paid
    family leave, which covers parental leave, medical leave and leave to
    care for a loved one. In addition to paid family leave my workers can
    get health care, paid vacation, paid sick time and a pension.

        Many industry groups claim that policies like ours will hurt
    business. That's just not true.

        Paid family leave costs me less per year than truck repairs, and
    has a much greater effect on the lives of the people I work with.

        Our farm began offering 12 weeks of full pay parental leave in
    2016. We have since worked to help pass paid family leave for all
    Oregonians. Together, we can expand these benefits to all Americans.

        Before my workers had paid family leave they told me stories of
    draining their retirement savings to care for a dying brother. This is
    now a thing of the past. I know a mother who no longer must rely on
    donated sick time to plan for a second child. I have seen a young man,
    raised by a single mother, grow into a strong and loving father of two.
    These are real stories from my workers, made possible by paid family
    leave.

        In Oregon, under our State's new Paid Leave Oregon program, my farm
    can now provide paid family leave with my workers.

        Opponents of paid leave will tell you that only workers benefit.
    Therefore, all the financial costs should fall on workers' shoulders.
    This is not true. As an independent business owner I benefit when my
    employees do not have to choose between their loved ones and a
    paycheck. As a farmer I benefit when my workers have a stable home
    life, which begets a stable work life.

        Since offering paid parental leave in 2016 we have seen a return on
    our investment as valuable employees, including many fathers, return to
    work and future promotions. This helps my business prosper and grow.

        As a business owner I also benefit from stronger, healthier, more
    resilient markets. Lessening the financial hardship of an illness, a
    birth, or a family crisis leaves more savings in people's pockets,
    savings that they can put towards homes and gardens.

        As any farmer will tell you, we are subject to the forces of Mother
    Nature. A crop failure affects our business in the same way a sudden
    illness affects a family. This is why I feel strongly that coverage
    should be expanded to include all businesses and workers. Life events
    like birth, illness and ailing parents happen to all of us, regardless
    of the size of company we work for.

        I would also add that as a farmer and a small business owner,
    national paid family leave is a good bargain. I cannot afford
    comprehensive paid family leave on my own, which is why a program like
    the one we have in Oregon, is the best way forward. Our State's program
    costs businesses like mine less than offering stand-alone plans, and I
    know that my workers are also contributing.

        As a small business owner, I am the HR department. Our State
    program has been much easier to set up than the private insurance
    options, also allowed under the new Oregon law, that we explored.
    Working with our State has been as simple as a software update to our
    payroll, and a pre-printed poster in the breakroom. Oregon's program
    manages the process, confirms a worker qualifies, and of course pays
    for the leave itself out of the fund. This is a real service, both for
    me and for my workers.

        A comprehensive and permanent paid family leave program is good for
    workers, benefits employers, and secures our economy for generations.
    It's the right thing to do for business. It's the right thing to do for
    workers.

        Thank you.

                                     ______

              Questions Submitted for the Record to Ben Verhoeven
                    Question Submitted by Hon. Maggie Hassan
        Question. According to a recent poll by the Bipartisan Policy
    Center, 72 percent of adults ages 20-54 who are not in the labor force
    say that personal health or family caregiving are their main reasons
    for not working. Guaranteed, job-protected paid leave helps attract
    people to the workforce and reduces turnover, which also saves
    businesses time and money. However, many employers struggle to provide
    paid leave to their employees--especially small businesses. This leaves
    most working people in the United States without employer-provided paid
    family leave, including nearly three-quarters of Granite Staters.

        What benefits to your company do you expect to come from Oregon's
    newly established comprehensive, guaranteed paid leave program?

        Answer. Our experience offering paid parental leave since 2016 has
    been one of improved retention, opportunities for promotion, and
    business growth. Now, thanks to our comprehensive government paid leave
    program, our company can afford to expand benefits to include paid
    medical, caregiving, and safe leave. We expect to see better retention
    not just from new parents, but now the majority of our workforce.

        Because workers will be more likely to stay at their jobs for
    longer when they have the benefit of paid leave, business owners like
    myself will save on hiring and training new employees. Oregon's new
    program will also help level the playing field for small businesses, as
    it will allow them to offer the same benefits as their larger
    competitors. Stronger small businesses and better quality jobs are key
    to economic resilience.

        The kind of events that are covered by comprehensive paid leave are
    infrequent, but important in people's lives. The poll you cite aligns
    with my experience as a small business owner. When push comes to shove,
    people will take the time to care for themselves or a loved one. The
    question is do we leave them draining their retirement and unmoored
    from employment or do we support them on a path to return to work? A
    comprehensive and permanent paid leave program is an affordable way to
    retain valuable employees who can return to work from stable homes and
    build stability in the workplace. A more stable workplace allows me to
    focus on growing my business.

                                     ______

                   Question Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell
        Question. Paid family and medical leave programs help businesses
    manage their employees, medical leave needs, and levels the playing
    field for employers of all sizes. I cosponsored the proposed Healthy
    Families Act because it would allow workers in businesses with 15 or
    more employees to earn up to 7 paid sick days each year. This would
    help workers meet their health needs and caregiving responsibilities
    without jeopardizing their employment.

        However, while many small employers want to provide paid leave
    benefits, they often struggle to do so on their own. Washington State
    was the first State to offer small business grants to help offset the
    costs of implementing a paid leave program.

        As a small business owner, can you expand on how Oregon's paid
    leave program has helped both your business and employees? How could
    the paid leave system be improved to better support you and your
    workers?

        Answer. Thank you for working to provide paid sick leave to
    workers.

        At our farm we are proud that we began offering 12 weeks of full
    pay parental leave beginning in 2016. However, I cannot afford
    comprehensive paid family and medical leave on my own. In Oregon, our
    government-run program now gives me a very affordable way to expand the
    benefits that I can offer to my workers. These include not just
    parental leave, but also paid medical leave, paid caregiving leave and
    paid safe leave. It still costs me less than truck repairs. To be
    exact, it costs me four-tenths of one one-hundredth of my payroll, a
    fraction of a fraction. This is a small price to pay for such an
    important benefit. Additionally, I know that my workers are also
    contributing. By sharing the cost, everyone benefits.

        Most workers, when forced to choose between their loved ones and a
    paycheck, will choose their loved ones. At the same time, most workers
    cannot financially cover that gap. That leaves people in financial
    hardship while at the same time disconnecting them from the workforce.
    When someone leaves the workforce it means businesses like mine must
    pay the high cost of hiring and training new employees. Oregon's paid
    family leave program keeps folks in the workforce and helps me retain
    valuable employees.

        Some opponents of government-run paid leave have claimed that
    employers are best suited to make the decision if a worker qualifies
    for leave. This is not true. As a small business owner, I am the HR
    department. Our government-run program has been as simple to work with
    as a software update to our payroll and a preprinted poster in the
    break room. Not only has it been simple to set up, it takes a
    significant HR burden off my plate. I do not want to be the gatekeeper
    for these benefits. I am a farmer. I do not have the time or the
    expertise to develop my own program rules for paid leave criteria.
    Neither do I have the time or the expertise to evaluate each request.
    Thanks to our State program, I know the government manages the process,
    confirms if a worker qualifies, and of course pays for the leave itself
    out of the fund. That is a real service, both for me and for my
    employees.

        As for how a paid leave system could be improved in our State, I
    would suggest doing away with options to provide leave through private
    insurance. This is currently allowed in Oregon, but the private
    insurance options we looked into had significantly higher HR
    requirements for our business, both in setup and ongoing maintenance.
    They also create a confusing patchwork of benefits. In Oregon the State
    program has seen Oregon workers submit leave requests only to be
    informed that their employer opted out of the government program. The
    worker then needs to ask their employer for guidance on how to apply
    elsewhere. Ultimately in this scenario the worker's benefits are
    delayed and the business that chose to opt out has further HR strain.
    Anything that can be done to avoid this kind of confusion is good for
    workers and good for business.

        A government program like we have in Oregon allows businesses and
    farms like mine a simple and affordable way to provide comprehensive
    paid family and medical leave to workers. We will continue to see
    improved retention of valuable employees. Our workers will continue to
    have stability in the home, which begets stability in the workplace. A
    comprehensive and permanent paid family leave program is the right
    thing to do for business and the right thing to do for workers.
                     Prepared Statement of Hon. Ron Wyden,
                           a U.S. Senator From Oregon
        The Finance Committee meets this morning to talk about a pressing
    issue--paid leave.

        Why are we holding this hearing? Because low- and middle-income
    workers are falling through the cracks--people like construction
    workers, nurses, or cashiers who are trying to juggle work obligations
    with families who need them.

        The American people understand this and know what is needed to make
    sure everyone has a chance to get ahead. According to poll after poll,
    over 70 percent of Americans want national paid leave. They know that
    too often, without it, workers are forced to make the impossible choice
    of a paycheck or caring for a loved one in need.

        Paid leave is so crucial for American workers that a recent poll
    from the Bipartisan Policy Center showed that paid family and medical
    leave benefits are just as important as pay when considering starting
    or returning to work. Americans want to work. They want to pay their
    bills and provide for their families. But life can intervene, and
    sometimes family has to come first. In fact, that same Bipartisan
    Policy Center poll shows that 72 percent of Americans who are not
    currently working say that it's because of a personal health or family
    caregiving situation. Congress talks lots about America's worker
    shortage crisis. This is an opportunity to do something about it.

        In a nation as powerful and prosperous as ours, somehow the United
    States is the only developed nation in the world without a national
    paid leave program. Today, only one in four workers in America have
    access to paid leave. Progress has been made. Fourteen States and the
    District of Columbia now have comprehensive paid leave laws on the
    books, but major gaps still remain.

        It doesn't have to be this way, and it shouldn't be this way.
    America has an opportunity to better support America's workers--and
    better support America's economy. We just need to roll up our sleeves
    and do what my mother always said--take out our sharpest pencils--and
    get to work on paid leave.

        And because Oregon is a small business State, I'm happy that today
    the Finance Committee will have the opportunity to hear from Ben
    Verhoeven, who owns a small family farm in Albany, OR. If you are
    looking for a community that encapsulates taking out a sharp pencil and
    making things work, look no further than Albany.

        Colleagues, today you will hear Mr. Verhoeven say that providing
    paid leave has helped him hang onto incredible employees and helped his
    business to grow and thrive. He will also tell us how new government
    programs back home have made providing paid leave to his employees easy
    and affordable. In the Finance Committee, let's work together to make
    sure all small businesses across America can do what Mr. Verhoeven has
    done. When small businesses thrive, our economy thrives.

        I'm looking up and down the dais and have heard members on both
    sides talk about how America needs to successfully compete against
    China. Well, if you want to compete, we've got to be in a position to
    have people go to work. Guaranteed paid leave is a missing piece of the
    puzzle.

        When you're competing against China, every dollar counts. The
    National Partnership for Women and Families estimates overall that our
    economy is missing out on $650 billion in economic activity by not
    providing paid leave and other caregiving supports to women. If we are
    going to out-compete China, we need to put policies in place that
    leverage our economy at all levels.

        Our country is strong enough and good enough to make paid leave
    happen for all Americans, so let's get out our sharpest pencils.

                                     ______

                                 Communications

                                  ----------

                                A Better Balance

                         250 W. 55th Street, 17th Floor

                               New York, NY 10019

                               tel: 212-430-5982

                               abetterbalance.org

       Statement Submitted by Sherry Leiwant, Co-President and Co-Founder

    A Better Balance (ABB), is a legal advocacy organization whose mission
    is to fight for policies that protect American workers from having to
    choose between caring for themselves and their families and maintaining
    their economic security. We have helped draft and pass paid family and
    medical leave (PFML) laws in states around the country and have
    assisted in the implementation of those laws. There are now 14 laws
    that guarantee PFML benefits to almost all workers in those states. Our
    chart outlining these laws can be found here: https://
    www.abetterbalance.org/resources/paid-family-leave-laws-chart/.

    ABB runs a free and confidential legal helpline to assist workers in
    balancing work, health, and family. Through that helpline we hear from
    thousands of workers about their real-life problems in states where
    PFML is not available and about how important this benefit is to
    workers in states that do have such programs. From our experience in
    the states and from our callers, we know that there are certain key
    elements that must be included for a strong paid family and medical
    leave program. The federal program should learn from the experience of
    the states and craft a federal law along the same lines as these
    successful state programs.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ For more detailed information on state paid family and medical
    leave laws, please see our comparative chart at https://
    www.abetterbalance.org/resources/paid-family-leave-laws-chart/.

    I. State PFML programs have been extremely successful in supporting
    families.
    Some statements at the hearing by those opposed to a strong PFML
    program sought to characterize state programs as having multiple
    problems. Those statements are unfounded. State programs have been
    successful with strong administration, strong uptake and strong
    positive impact on families. Specifically:

    Those eligible have been able to access state PFML programs and it has
    made a difference in their lives. The newest state PFML laws are
    already showing significant success meeting the needs of workers who
    experience a serious illness (personal or family) or welcome a new
    child. State birthrate data shows that PFML laws are helping to reach
    those who need leave to bond with a new child, which is the second
    highest use of leave after a worker's own serious illness. A comparison
    of state birthrates to bonding claims shows that PFML laws have
    extremely strong utilization by new parents (with the number of annual
    applications to bond with a new child in WA, NY, and MA representing
    approximately 50-82% of the total number of annual births in the
    respective state). See attached analysis from A Better Balance.

    In addition, through our national legal helpline, we have heard
    directly from callers who have used their state programs and for whom
    those programs have been a lifeline. One worker, KeiLani, from Diamond,
    Washington called in February 2023 when she fell ill with a condition
    her doctors could not diagnose, and found herself frequently in and out
    of the emergency room. KeiLani was able to take Washington PFML while
    she sought a diagnosis. She ultimately learned that she was pre-
    diabetic and had an auto-immune disorder. ``Having Paid Family Leave
    allowed me to keep a roof over my head, bills in good standing and
    helped me pay for the medical attention and medications I was
    needing,'' KeiLani told us.

    ``Paid Family Leave not only assisted me financially, but it granted me
    the time I needed to undergo the series of appointments, tests and even
    procedures I was required to complete. Without Paid Family Leave, I
    don't know where I would have been, especially since I've spent over
    $5,000 dollars in medical expenses this year alone and that does not
    include my medications. When you factor that unexpected expense in, no
    one is prepared to be able to cover that when they're in my current
    situation. I hope that my testimony attests why Paid Family Leave is
    important for not only people like me, but for others who may face this
    situation in the future.'' Emilie, who works for a software company in
    Washington State, called us because she will be undergoing chemotherapy
    for 6+ months as part of her cancer treatment. She has been approved to
    use Washington PFML intermittently while she undergoes treatment.
    Emilie contacted ABB's helpline for clarification about her rights and
    told us, ``Washington PFML has been extremely important to me because I
    started treatment at 25, living with three roommates, with my fixed
    expenses like rent and car loan there to stay. I can only work part
    time with my chemo schedule, so having my income replaced even at a
    lower rate was life saving.'' Paige, from New York, said, ``After
    speaking with ABB, my nerves were put at ease for what I am entitled to
    while preparing to give birth. Having the short term disability and NY
    PFL benefits is the only way I was able to stay home with my newborn,
    bond and recuperate myself. It greatly lessened the financial stress of
    not working and having a newborn, but also let myself and my husband
    focus on what was important, our new member of our family.''

    PFML state programs are benefiting low-wage workers and their families.
    In Washington State, 44% of approved PFML claims from July 1, 2021 to
    June 30, 2022, were by workers making $26/hour or less.\2\ In New York,
    the State Comptroller reported that ``[e]mployees earning less than
    $40,000 per year accounted for the largest number of claims, with the
    number decreasing as income rises, suggesting paid family leave is a
    particularly important benefit to low- to moderate-
    income employees.''\3\ For example, Luisa, a low-wage farmworker in
    upstate New York, had this to say about New York's paid family leave
    program: ``I was pregnant and wanted to take paid leave to spend time
    with my new baby. I wasn't sure if I qualified for [NYPFL], and had
    heard from my coworkers that our employer wouldn't provide it. I saw
    that ABB's helpline provides information in Spanish, so I called to
    receive more information. They explained to me the eligibility
    requirements for NYPFL, and shared information that helped me speak
    with my employer about my leave options. I was able to take my full
    twelve weeks of NYPFL and successfully returned to work. I'm grateful
    to have been able to spend time bonding with my baby, and that I didn't
    need to risk my paycheck to do so.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ See, Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, 2022 Annual
    Report to the Legislature, at p. 42, https://app.leg.wa.gov/
    ReportsToTheLegislature/Home/GetPDF?fileName=paid-family-and-medical-
    leave-2022-annual-report-to-legislature_6a68f749-2d7d-4566-bc4f-
    6094bcca44d2.
    pdf; Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, 2021 Annual Report to
    the Legislature (https://media.esd.wa.gov/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/
    newsroom/Legislative-resources/2021-paid-family-and-medical-leave-
    annual-report-to-legislature.pdf); CDC, Vital Statistics Rapid Release,
    Births: Provisional Data for 2021, (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/
    vsrr020.pdf).
        \3\ Office of the New York State Comptroller, DiNapoli: State's
    Paid Family Leave Program Helping Millions of New Yorkers: Employees
    Earning Under $40k Had Largest Number of Claims, (April 28, 2023),
    https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2023/04/dinapoli-states-
    paid-family-leave-program-helping-millions-new-
    yorkers#::text=An%20analysis%20of%20claims
    %20data,%2Dto%20moderate%2Dincome%20employees. CDC, Vital Statistics
    Rapid Release, Births: Provisional Data for 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/
    nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr020.pdf.

    State PFML programs address the maternal and infant mortality health
    crisis, address racial inequities, cement women's attachment to the
    labor force and help workers navigate the COVID-19 crisis. PFML has
    been documented to provide a critically important safety net for
    workers welcoming a child and those who have a personal or family
    member serious illness. For example: A 2020 journal article showed
    that, ``[i]mplementation of paid family leave policies in California
    was associated with a 12 percent reduction in postneonatal mortality
    after adjusting for maternal and neonatal factors.''\4\ This outcome is
    consistent with a study of 141 countries that--controlling for other
    factors--found that an increase of 10 full-time-equivalent weeks of
    paid maternal leave reduced neonatal and infant mortality rates by 10%
    and the mortality rate of children younger than 5 by 9%.\5\ Conversely,
    a 2021 journal article on paid parental leave access concluded that
    ``[i]nequitable access to paid parental leave through both employers
    and government programs exacerbates racial inequities at birth. This
    form of structural racism could be addressed by policies expanding
    access to paid leave.''\6\ Moreover, a recent study found that state
    PFML programs have significantly increased women's attachment to the
    workforce after giving birth: ``The analysis of states that have
    implemented paid leave policies found a 20 percent reduction in the
    number of women leaving their jobs in the first year after welcoming a
    child, and up to a 50 percent reduction after five years.''\7\ AARP has
    detailed the common disruptions in employment for family caregivers,
    leading to short-term and long-term financial struggles, and called for
    PFML as one way to support family caregivers and their attachment to
    the workforce.\8\ PFML can also address unexpected crises. The Urban
    Institute showed that state PFML programs successfully absorbed and
    provided critical support to a surge of workers affected by COVID-
    19.\9\ Furthermore, paid leave programs are critical for young workers,
    especially temporary and seasonal workers, foster families, young
    parents, LGTBQ youth, and youth with disabilities.\10\ For more on the
    incredibly robust--and growing--body of research on the health benefits
    of paid family and medical leave to new parents, infants and children,
    family caregivers, and individuals with disabilities, see our fact
    sheet.\11\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Diana Montoya-Williams et al., The Impact of paid family leave
    in the United States on birth outcomes and mortality in the first year
    of life, 55 Health Services Research 52, 807-814, at 812 (April 5,
    2020), https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6773.13288.
        \5\ Jody Heymann et al., Creating and Using New Data Sources to
    Analyze the Relationship Between Social Policy and Global Health: The
    Case of Maternal Leave, 126 Public Health Rep. Suppl. 3, 127-134
    (2011), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150137/.
        \6\ Julia M. Goodman et al., Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Paid
    Parental Leave Access, 5 Health Equity 1, 738-749 at 738, https://
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8665807/pdf/heq.
    2021.0001.pdf.
        \7\ March of Dimes Center for Social Science Research, New Study
    Reveals Paid Family Leave Policies Lead to 20% Fewer Women Leaving the
    Workforce, (Jan. 3, 2020), https://www.
    marchofdimes.org/about/news/new-study-reveals-paid-family-leave-
    policies-lead-to-20-fewer-women-leaving-workforce.
        \8\ Susan C. Reinhard et al., Valuing the Invaluable: 2023 Update,
    Strengthening Supports for Family Caregivers, AARP Public Policy
    Institute, (March 2023), https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/
    2023/3/valuing-the-invaluable-2023-update.doi.10.26419-
    2Fppi.00082.006.pdf.
        \9\ Chantel Boyens, State Paid Family and Medical Leave Programs
    Helped a Surge of Workers Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Urban
    Institute, (June 2020), https://www.
    urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/102325/state-paid-family-and-
    medical-leave-programs-helped-a-surge-of-workers-affected-by-the-covid-
    19-pandemic.pdf.
        \10\ For a series of fact sheets related to the need for paid
    family and medical leave for young workers, specifically, see List all
    the fact sheets in the series, e.g., https://www.
    abetterbalance.org/resources/fact-sheet-importance-of-paid-family-and-
    medical-leave-for-young-breastfeeding-lactating-workers/.
        \11\ A Better Balance, The Health Case for Paid Family and Medical
    Leave (Nov. 30, 2021), https://www.abetterbalance.org/resources/the-
    health-case-for-paid-family-and-medical-leave.

    State PFML programs are good for business and are uniformly popular
    once enacted. In a study of California businesses after PFML was passed
    a vast majority reported a positive or neutral effect on their
    business.\12\ Small business owners in New York and New Jersey report
    similar satisfaction with PFML in their states.\13\ The benefits to
    business are numerous, as PFML allows small businesses especially to
    attract and retain top talent. Small businesses have the most to gain
    from state programs, as they are able to offer benefits they would not
    be able to afford on their own, and these policies are shown to be
    incredibly important to workers when selecting employment, and when
    choosing to stay with an employer.\14\ PFML programs are empirically
    shown to reduce turnover and increase recruitment,\15\ which results in
    major savings for employers, who are spared the cost of replacing
    employees.\16\ Businesses also report increases in employee
    productivity and profitability, with one cross-industry analysis
    finding increases of more than 50% in productivity implementing PFML
    programs.\17\ Fortune 500 companies also report an increase in share
    prices after implementing PFML programs.\18\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Small Business Majority, California Small Business Owners
    Support Expanding Paid Family Leave Protections, Increasing Paid Sick
    Days (July 12, 2023), https://smallbusinessmajority.org/sites/default/
    files/research-reports/ca-small-business-support-paid-family-leave-and-
    paid-sick-days.pdf.
        \13\ Ann P. Bartel et al., Support for Paid Family Leave among
    Small Employers Increases during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Dec. 2021),
    Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, https://
    journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23780231211061959.
        \14\ Joan Williams, Unbending Gender: Why Work and Family Conflict
    and What to Do About It (2001).
        \15\ Benjamin Bennett et al., Paid Leave Pays Off: The Effects of
    Paid Family Leave on Firm Performance (Nat'l Bureau of Econ. Rsch.,
    Working Paper No. 27788, 2021), https://www.nber.org/system/files/
    working_papers/w27788/w27788.pdf.
        \16\ Id.
        \17\ Panorama & Am. Sustainable Business Council, The Business
    Impacts of Paid Leave (2019), https://www.asbcouncil.org/sites/main/
    files/file-attachments/panorama_report_-_business_
    impacts_of_paid_leave.pdf.
        \18\ Michelle M. Arthur & Alison Cook, Taking Stock of Work-Family
    Initiatives: How Announcements of ``Family-Friendly'' Human Resource
    Decisions Affect Shareholder Value, 57 Industrial & Labor Relations
    Review, 608-10 (2004).

    II. Workers without paid family and medical leave are suffering, as are
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    their families.

    Access to paid family and medical leave should not depend on luck or
    location. While KaiLani, Emilie, and Luisa were able to get the pay and
    job protection they needed to care for their loved ones and maintain
    economic security, far too many workers we hear from on our helpline do
    not have that same right. Below are just a few of their stories:

          Brenda Castillo, from Erie, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with
    cancer this year and has not received a paycheck since August 19th due
    to her undergoing needed treatment. As a result, she has been left with
    no income to pay for her rent, utilities, or other basic needs. When
    she contacted our helpline, we had to inform her that unfortunately her
    state does not guarantee the right to paid medical leave. Brenda told
    us it is ``hard with no funds to live on'' and that there is ``no
    reason'' why someone in her situation should be ``on the verge of
    homelessness.''

          Deanna is a 29-year-old counselor in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
    Earlier this year, Deanna's daughter was born two months prematurely
    and spent the first weeks of her life in the NICU. While Deanna
    qualified for 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected time off to bond with
    her baby under the federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), she could
    not afford to actually take that time. Deanna told us, ``Since my child
    spent the majority of my 6 week leave in the NICU, I was not able to
    fully bond with my child. When it was time for her to come home, it was
    not possible financially to stay at home without income due to
    additional hospital expenses.''

          Alexzandria, from Michigan, worked as a studio manager at a
    massage studio in Michigan. After she announced her plans to start a
    family, her boss handed her an agreement to sign indicating that if she
    were ever to take leave for more than two days at a time, her salary
    would be suspended. Alexzandria was very concerned about receiving
    income while recovering from childbirth, as she did not have access to
    short-term disability benefits through her company. She was also
    concerned that there was no guarantee her job would be held while she
    was on maternity leave. She ultimately made the difficult decision to
    resign and accept another job offer after her boss told her that
    maternity benefits ``can't be that important.''

          Nathaniel Cunningham is a public utility worker in the Montrose,
    Colorado area. He is a father of four daughters and recently needed to
    take time off work to care for his wife after a complicated delivery of
    their youngest daughter. Nathaniel exhausted his employer's vacation
    policy to take care of his wife after her emergency c-section. His
    newborn child is currently in the NICU, and Nathaniel's employer told
    him that if he did not return to work, he would be fired. Nathaniel was
    forced to choose between his job and taking care of his family.
    Nathaniel could not afford to lose his job, so he returned to work and
    was unable to take care of his wife. Colorado's Family and Medical
    Leave Insurance program will allow Colorado workers to take paid leave
    to take care of themselves or their family members. Nathaniel would be
    eligible for this law; however, the act does not go into effect until
    January 2024.

          Nicole, from Maryland, was terminated from her retail job on
    December 26, 2021 when she needed to be absent for medical reasons due
    to severe pre-
    menopausal bleeding, despite informing her manager of the medical
    problems she was having, and indicating that the absence was for
    medical issues when she called out from work. She was denied FMLA leave
    since she had not yet been working there for a year.

          Samuel \19\ from North Dakota, called and shared his story with
    us: ``I have almost 2 decades of experience working in the truck
    driving industry with a pristine driving record and multiple driving
    safety awards to my name. Last year, I started a new job as a driver
    for a trucking company in North Dakota. With this job, I felt like I'd
    finally found my niche. I loved getting to travel to dairy farms across
    the region where I would often be welcomed with home-cooked meals by
    the farmers and their families after delivering my load. This was truly
    an awesome job, yet I lost it because I chose to be there for my
    elderly father when he was ill and needed me. My father, a Korean War
    veteran, suffered a stroke last summer. At first, I tried to manage
    visiting him in the hospital while continuing to perform my job, but
    his condition was deteriorating, and it eventually got to a point where
    I had to make a decision. I told my employer that I needed to go home
    to say goodbye to my dad. I knew that if he passed away while I was on
    the road, and not there with him, I would regret it for the rest of my
    life. My company informed me that if I left my job to care for my
    father, I would be terminated, but I could `reapply' when I was ready
    to come back. Now that I am able to return to work, my employer is not
    willing to even consider bringing me back because they are so angry
    with me for leaving. I believe everyone should have the right to take
    time off work to be with their loved ones in critical moments, and no
    one should be made out to be a `bad' employee for doing so.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ Name changed to protect the worker's anonymity.

          Caryn \20\ works in the healthcare industry in Idaho. She
    underwent an invasive major surgery mere months after having a growth
    removed. Initially, Caryn anticipated having only one procedure. She
    and her husband--who care for their five minor children currently
    living at home--made financial plans for it. When it became apparent
    that Caryn needed a second surgery as soon as possible, she felt she
    had no choice but to delay it due to financial reasons, even though she
    was in extreme pain. ``This surgery should've been done 6 months ago
    when I had the original surgery,'' Caryn said, ``but I had to wait to
    accrue more sick leave and PTO to cover this [recovery period].''
    Still, Caryn will only be paid for the first 2 weeks of what will be a
    5-8 week recovery period. ``This has definitely impacted us
    financially,'' Caryn said, ``I'm going to have medical bills rolling
    in, student loan repayments, mortgage payments, our farm. We will just
    have to make it work, whether that means tightening our budget when it
    comes to groceries, animal care, livestock feed. We're going to have to
    pinch pennies in order to accommodate for it. People shouldn't have to
    choose between their health and well-being or necessary medical
    procedures, and their income. People should never be in that position
    to where they are waiting [to have necessary medical treatment] for
    fear of financial repercussions.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \20\ Name changed to protect the worker's anonymity.

          Arthur,\21\ from Wisconsin, shared with us: ``I live and work in
    the state of Wisconsin. I have a family of four, and taking care of my
    family is my priority. I have been a dedicated employee at my company,
    where I work as a mechanic, for 13 years. This year, I started feeling
    more ill than I ever had before, and eventually I learned that I had an
    infection which developed into sepsis, and I needed to stay in the
    hospital for nearly a week, plus 2 weeks of recovery time. When I was
    well enough to return to work, my employer informed me that my pay was
    going to be reduced by $100 per week for numerous weeks, as punishment
    for `missing too many hours' . . . This very unfortunate reduction in
    pay came at a time when my family was already struggling financially
    and going through some other very serious hardships.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ Name changed to protect the worker's anonymity.

          Kathryn Vaughn, from Tennessee, told us: ``I have been blessed
    to serve as a Tennessee elementary teacher for the last seventeen years
    and in the Fall of 2021 my husband, a proud Air Force combat veteran,
    and I welcomed our first child, a son we named Wyn. He was our greatest
    win after a decade of failed infertility treatments and a beautiful
    surprise after relinquishing our dreams of ever becoming parents. What
    should have been the happiest time was soon disrupted because after
    teaching through a pandemic and years using my sick and personal days,
    I was left with just 3 weeks of paid sick leave to spend with my son
    once he was born. . . . I returned to work before my body even had time
    to heal. I dove head first into teaching and working the after-school
    program, only seeing my newborn in the daylight on the weekends. It was
    a struggle, trying to recover, adjust to being a working mother, and
    find breaks to pump and send home breast milk to feed my child. I carry
    a lot of guilt about that time. I was unable to be there for feedings,
    naptimes, doctors' appointments, and tragically missed so many of our
    child's development milestones. . . . Every day we are losing highly
    qualified Tennessee teachers to other states and other professions that
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    offer paid parental leave.''

    These stories typify the struggle millions of workers are facing in
    this country. They also underscore the need for a comprehensive PFML
    program, one that allows workers to address personal medical needs,
    care for an ill loved on, and bond with a new child. Outlined below are
    the components of what comprises a successful and meaningful right to
    PFML.

    III. State programs include key policies that any Federal paid leave
    program should also include. See our fact sheet: https://
    www.abetterbalance.org/resources/key-components-the-essential-elements-
    of-strong-paid-family-and-medical-leave-law/.

    All workers should be covered, with achievable and equitable
    eligibility standards. First and foremost, universal coverage is a key
    principle for a national paid leave system. All American workers
    deserve access to the paid family and medical leave they need.
    Requirements of attachment to the workforce should mirror state
    programs for PFML, which generally require a minimum amount of total
    earnings across a base period.\22\ These state requirements allow
    workers to combine income from multiple employers. Any worker meeting
    those requirements should be eligible to receive benefits. Carveouts
    based on employer size or type make no sense in a program like this,
    which should be a basic benefit for all workers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \22\ 28 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-11(b) (West 2019); Cal.
    Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. Sec. 3302(n), 2652 (West 2019); N.J. Stat. Ann.
    Sec. 43:21-27(i)(4), -41(d) (West 2019); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M,
    Sec. 1 (West 2019); id. at ch. 151 A, Sec. 24; S.B. 1, 2019 Gen.
    Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 1(4) (Conn. 2019); H.B. 2005, 80th Legis.
    Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 2(11) (Or. 2019). In some states, these
    earnings must be spread out over a certain period of time within the
    four-quarter base period. 28 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-11(b)(1)
    (West 2019); N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-27(i)(4), -41(d) (West 2019);
    Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 1 (West 2019); id. at ch. 151 A,
    Sec. 24. Washington, uniquely, uses a minimum number of hours worked
    (from any combination of employers) over a similar four-quarter base
    period, reflecting the state's distinctive unemployment insurance
    eligibility standard. Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 50A.30.020(1) (West
    2020). New York uses a non-
    earnings based system. See N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law Sec. 203 (McKinney
    2019). Washington, DC has no minimum workforce attachment standard for
    paid leave benefits, but those who have been employed in the District
    for less than a year receive a pro-rated benefit. D.C. Code Ann.
    Sec. 32-541.01(3)-(6) (West 2020).

    Workers need a decent wage replacement in order to be able to take time
    off, especially workers at the bottom of the economic spectrum. The
    wage replacement rate (the percentage of their own income workers
    receive while on leave) is an important element of a PFML law: if the
    rate is too low, workers will not be able to afford to take the leave
    they need. This problem is especially acute for low-income workers
    living paycheck to paycheck, who need every dollar of their income to
    pay their bills. Though low-income workers are the most vulnerable,
    workers of any income level can find themselves unable to afford to
    take leave if the wage replacement rate is too low. In a major
    California study, workers across income levels reported that the 55%
    wage replacement level made it difficult to afford to use the program,
    potentially contributing to low rates of use.\23\ For this reason,
    California amended their statute to raise the wage replacement rate,
    especially for low-wage workers. Congress can learn from the experience
    of existing programs and create a benefit level that works for workers.
    Most state PFML laws provide a progressive wage replacement rate.\24\
    Typically, this means that the program replaces a higher percentage of
    income up to a threshold amount, then replaces a lower percentage of
    income above that amount. This creates a sliding scale of income
    replacement. For example, the PFML program in Washington State provides
    90% of workers' wages up to 50% of the state average weekly wage
    (currently, approximately $627.50) and provides 50% of workers' wages
    above that amount,\25\ with benefits capped at $1,000 per week, to be
    adjusted in subsequent years.\26\ Washington, D.C.; Massachusetts;
    Connecticut; and Oregon will all use progressive wage replacement
    systems following this model, though their exact bend points and rates
    of replacement vary.\27\ California already provides progressive wage
    replacement benefits.\28\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \23\ Andrew Chang & Co, supra note 40, at 70.
        \24\ Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. Sec. 3301(b), 2655(e) (West 2019);
    D.C. Code Ann. Sec. 32-541.04(g)(1)-(2) (West 2020); Wash. Rev. Code
    Ann. Sec. 50A.15.020(4) (West 2020); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M,
    Sec. 3(b) (West 2019); S.B. 1, 2019 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess.
    Sec. 3(c)(2) (Conn. 2019); H.B. 2005, 80th Legis. Assemb., Reg. Sess.
    Sec. 7 (Or. 2019).
        \25\ Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 50A.15.020(4) (West 2020).
        \26\ Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 50A.15.020(5)(a) (West 2020).
        \27\ D.C. Code Ann. Sec. 32-541.04(g)(1)-(2) (West 2020) (provides
    90% of a worker's average weekly wage up to an amount equal to 40 times
    150% of the D.C. minimum wage and 50% of a worker's average weekly wage
    above an amount equal to 40 times 150% of the D.C. minimum wage); Mass.
    Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 3(b) (West 2019) (provides 80% of a
    worker's average weekly wage up to an amount equal to 50% of the
    statewide average weekly wage and 50% of a worker's average weekly wage
    above an amount equal to 50% of the statewide average weekly wage);
    S.B. 1, 2019 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 3(c)(2) (Conn. 2019)
    (provides 95% of a worker's average weekly wage up to an amount equal
    to 40 times the state minimum wage and 60% of a worker's average weekly
    wage above an amount equal to 40 times the state minimum wage); H.B.
    2005, 80th Legis. Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 7 (Or. 2019) (provides 100%
    of a worker's average weekly wage up to an amount equal to 65% of the
    statewide average weekly wage and 50% of a worker's average weekly wage
    above an amount equal to 65% of the statewide average weekly wage).
        \28\ California uses a system that creates three tiers of wage
    replacement. The first tier applies to workers who earn less than a
    fixed amount set in statute (approximately $71.46 per week); workers in
    this tier receive $50 per week. The second tier applies to workers who
    earn at least as much as a fixed amount set in statute (approximately
    $71.46 per week) but less than approximately 33% of the state average
    weekly wage (for 2019, this works out to approximately $414.26 per
    week); workers in this tier receive 70% of their total average weekly
    wage. The third tier applies to workers who earn at least approximately
    33% of the state average weekly wage (for 2019, this works out to
    approximately $414.26 per week); workers in this tier receive either
    approximately 60% of the worker's total average weekly wage or an
    amount equal to 23.3% of the state average weekly wage (for 2019, this
    works out to approximately $289.57), whichever is greater. See Cal.
    Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. Sec. 3301(b), 2655(e) (West 2019).

    Job protection is critical to the ability of a worker to take this
    benefit. A strong PFML law protects the jobs of workers taking leave by
    ensuring they have the right to return to work following their leave.
    Job protection for all employees covered by the program is an essential
    element--without it, although it is a money benefit, it's not leave.
    This is especially important for low-income workers, who will often
    have less job security than other workers, because they change jobs
    more often than other workers \29\ and are more likely to be working
    part time \30\ (including many part-time workers who would prefer to be
    working full time).\31\ States are leading the way in providing paid
    leave with job protection. Massachusetts provides job protection to all
    employees covered by its paid family and medical leave law.\32\
    Connecticut and Oregon provide job protection to workers who have been
    employed for approximately three months.\33\ New York and Rhode Island
    provide job protection to all employees covered by their paid family
    leave laws.\34\ Colorado, Minnesota and Maine will also provide job
    protection when their programs go into effect.\35\ The need for job
    protection for workers in a PFML program cannot be overstated. The need
    for such leave occurs at some of the most stressful times in a person's
    life: the arrival of a new child, a health crisis in the family, or a
    looming deployment. At these times, workers shouldn't have to worry
    whether they will have a job to return to after their leave. Without a
    legal right to get their job back, many workers will be unwilling to
    risk their livelihood by taking the leave they need, as the risk to
    their long-term economic security will be too great. In one California
    study, fear of being fired was a commonly cited reason workers who were
    eligible for paid family leave under that state's program did not take
    it.\36\ In Rhode Island, 45% of workers who took leave under their
    state's paid family leave law (which provides job protection) said that
    without the law they would not have taken leave for fear of losing
    their job.\37\ Job protection keeps workers attached to the workforce.
    When workers are unable to take short-term leave and then return to
    their job, they are often pushed out of the workforce altogether. One
    study estimated that men who leave the labor force early due to caring
    for an aging parent lose almost $90,000 in wages, while women who do so
    lose over $140,000 in wages.\38\ Women who take paid leave after having
    a baby are more likely to be working 9 to 12 months after the birth
    than women who take no leave.\39\ And keeping workers on the job saves
    taxpayers money. Both men and women who return to work after taking
    paid leave are much less likely to be receiving public assistance or
    food stamps in the year following their child's birth than those who
    return to work without taking family leave.\40\ A strong PFML law would
    also ensure that all workers are protected against retaliation for
    using their rights under the law. This protection is especially
    important in light of the rise of punitive absence control policies,
    where workers are assigned points for each absence and subject to
    punishment when they receive too many points.\41\ States are also
    leading the way in prohibiting retaliation. For example,
    Massachusetts's paid family and medical leave law offers particularly
    robust protections against retaliation. The law includes a rebuttable
    presumption that any adverse action taken within six months of the
    exercise of a protected right was retaliatory.\42\ Similarly, as part
    of a set of recent amendments to expand and improve their paid family
    and medical leave law, New Jersey added new strong anti-retaliation
    protections.\43\ In addition, a strong PFML program also should ensure
    that workers won't lose their health insurance coverage while they are
    on leave. Massachusetts and Oregon guarantee continuation of health
    insurance coverage as long as they have been employed by their employer
    for at least 90 days prior to taking leave.\44\ New York and Rhode
    Island guarantee continuation of coverage to all workers taking paid
    family leave.\45\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \29\ Jacquelyn Anderson et al., A New Approach to Low-Wage Workers
    and Employers, MDRC 5 (Mar. 2006), https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/
    files/full_9.pdf.
        \30\ Pamela Loprest et al., Who Are Low-Wage Workers?, U.S. Dep't
    Health & Hum. Servs. (Feb. 2009), https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/
    pdf/180021/rb.pdf.
        \31\ Lonnie Golden, Still Falling Short on Hours and Pay: Part-time
    Work Becoming New Normal, Econ. Policy Inst. (Dec. 5, 2016), http://
    www.epi.org/publication/still-falling-short-on-hours-and-pay-part-time-
    work-becoming-new-normal/.
        \32\ Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 2(e) (West 2019).
        \33\ Oregon will provide job protection to all covered workers who
    have been employed with their current employer for at least 90 days.
    H.B. 2005, 80th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 10(1), (7) (Or. 2019).
    Connecticut made substantial amendments to its existing state unpaid
    leave law as part of the same bill that created its paid leave program.
    The amended unpaid leave law provides job protection to nearly all
    private sector employees in the state who have been employed with their
    employer for at least three months. Workers receiving benefits for
    domestic violence-related purposes do not have job protection under
    that law, although they may have employment protection under
    Connecticut's family violence leave law. Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. Sec. 31-
    51nn(a) (West 2019).
        \34\ N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law Sec. 203-b (McKinney 2019); 28 R.I.
    Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-35(f) (West 2019).
        \35\ Colo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 8-13.3-509; Minn. Stat. 268B.09 (2023);
    1 M.R.S. Sec. 850-J (2023).
        \36\ Appelbaum & Milkman, supra note 33.
        \37\ Barb Silver, Helen Mederer, & Emilija Djurdjevic, Rhode
    Island's Temporary Caregiver Insurance Program: Findings from the First
    Year (2015).
        \38\ MetLife Mature Mkt. Inst., The Metlife Study of Caregiving
    Costs to Working Caregivers (2011), https://www.caregiving.org/wp-
    content/uploads/2011/06/mmi-caregiving-costs-working-caregivers.pdf.
        \39\ Houser & Vartanian, supra note 8.
        \40\ Cal. Senate Office of Research, California's Paid Family Leave
    Program: Ten Years After the Program's Implementation, Who Has
    Benefited and What Has Been Learned? 6 (July 1, 2014), http://
    sor.senate.ca.gov/sites/sor.senate.ca.gov/files/
    Paid_Family_Leave_FINAL_A1b.
    pdf; Andrew Chang & Co., Paid Family Leave Market Research, Cal. Emp.
    Dev. Dep't 86 (July 13, 2015), https://www.edd.ca.gov/Disability/pdf/
    Paid_Family_Leave_Market_Research_Report
    _2015.pdf.
        \41\ See A Better Balance, Pointing Out: How Walmart Unlawfully
    Punishes Workers for Medical Absences (June 2017), https://
    www.abetterbalance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pointing-Out-Walmart-
    Report-FINAL.pdf (explaining that Walmart, the world's largest private
    employer, has used point-based absence control policies).
        \42\ Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 9(c) (West 2019).
        \43\ N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-55.2 (West 2019).
        \44\ Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 2(f) (West 2019); H.B.
    2005, 80th Legis. Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 10(2), (7) (Or. 2019).
        \45\ N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law Sec. 203-c (McKinney 2019); 28 R.I.
    Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-35(g) (West 2019).

    A strong paid family and medical leave bill reflects and protects the
    diversity of today's American families. Families today take many forms:
    they are multi-generational, blended,\46\ LGBTQ,\47\ and increasingly
    include close loved ones who aren't biologically or legally
    related.\48\ To work for all American families, a strong paid leave law
    would include a broad family definition that specifically covers
    spouses, domestic partners, children (regardless of age), parents,
    parents of a spouse or domestic partner, grandchildren, grandparents,
    siblings, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and any other
    individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with
    the worker is the equivalent of a family relationship. Nationwide
    trends regarding family structures show that broad family coverage is
    imperative for strong paid leave laws. Today, adults ages 18 to 44 are
    more likely to have lived with an unmarried significant other than to
    have ever been married,\49\ and as of 2016, the rising number of
    cohabiting adults in the U.S. reached about 18 million.\50\ Thus,
    coverage of domestic partners and significant others is critical to
    many workers in long-term, committed relationships. In addition to
    caring for spouses, children, and parents, workers often provide care
    to--or rely on care from--other biological, legal, and extended
    relatives with whom they share a close relationship. Since 1980, for
    example, the number of Americans living in multi-generational
    households has doubled to 57 million.\51\ Given the prevalence of
    multi-generational households across the country, it is extremely
    important that any paid family and medical leave program cover
    grandparents and grandchildren. Furthermore, children of all ages
    should be covered because adult children with a serious illness are no
    less in need of care from their parents than any other adult to whom
    the worker is related; and older children, especially those who have
    not formed a family, will still rely on their parents for care in the
    face of a serious illness. Nationwide, 82% of children under the age of
    18 live with at least one sibling, and as a long-lasting family
    relationship, many siblings look to their sisters or brothers as the
    first person to whom they would turn for care in the event of a serious
    illness.\52\ This is often true for people with disabilities; as more
    people with disabilities outlive their parents, an increasing number of
    individuals are receiving primary care from siblings and extended
    family.\53\ When an individual is sick or has a medical emergency, they
    often rely on individuals they live with--even absent a blood or legal
    relationship--for help and caregiving. While relationships with such
    close loved ones are important to many workers, a 2016 national survey
    showed that they are even more significant for LGBTQ people and people
    with disabilities.\54\ An inclusive family definition is also important
    to members of the armed forces because many of those injured or ill as
    a result of their military service rely on friends or neighbors for
    care, particularly true for those who were ill or injured as a result
    of their service after September 11, 2001, as those service members are
    nearly twice as likely as their civilian counterparts to rely on care
    from friends and neighbors.\55\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \46\ According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 16% of children live in
    ``blended families,'' or households with a stepparent, stepsibling, or
    half-sibling. Parenting in America: Outlook, Worries, Aspiration Are
    Strongly Linked to Financial Situation, Pew Research Center 19 (2015),
    https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/2015-12-
    17_parenting-in-america_FINAL.pdf.
        \47\ It is estimated that 4.5% of Americans, or over 11 million
    people, self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Frank
    Newport, In U.S., Estimate of LGBT Population Rises to 4.5%, Gallup
    (May 22, 2018), https://news.gallup.com/poll/234863/estimate-lgbt-
    population-rises.aspx. Additionally, estimates show that between 2
    million and 2.7 million minor children have an LGBTQ parent. Gary J.
    Gates, Marriage and Family: LGBT Individuals and Same-Sex Couples,
    Future Child., Fall 2015, at 67, 72.
        \48\ Nearly 33 million households in the United States, or 28% of
    all households, consist of an individual who lives alone, and in an
    emergency or during an illness, many of these individuals rely on care
    from close loved ones. See Selected Social Characteristics in the
    United States, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates,
    U.S. Census Bureau, https://factfinder.
    census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/
    productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_5YR_DP02&prodType
    =table%20c%20(last%20accessed%20September%202018 (last visited Jan. 30,
    2020). Additionally, in a 2016 national survey, 32% of people in the
    U.S. reported that they took time off work to provide care for a chosen
    family member. Katherine Gallagher Robbins et al., People Need Paid
    Leave Policies That Cover Chosen Family, Center for American Progress 2
    (2017), https://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2017/10/
    26135206/UnmetCaregivingNeed-brief.pdf.
        \49\ ``[T]he share of adults ages 18 to 44 who have ever lived with
    an unmarried partner (59%) has surpassed the share who has ever been
    married (50%). . . .'' Juliana Menasce Horowitz et al., Marriage and
    Cohabitation in the U.S., Pew Research Center (Nov. 6, 2019), https://
    www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/11/06/marriage-and-cohabitation-in-the-u-
    s/.
        \50\ Renee Stepler, Number of U.S. Adults Cohabiting with a Partner
    Continues to Rise, Especially Among Those 50 and Older, Pew Research
    Center (Apr. 6, 2017), https://www.
    pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/06/number-of-u-s-adults-cohabiting-
    with-a-partner-continues-to-rise-especially-among-those-50-and-older/.
        \51\ Richard Fry & Jeffrey S. Passel, In Post-Recession Era, Young
    Adults Drive Continuing Rise in Multi-generational Living, Pew Research
    Center (July 17, 2014), https://www.
    pewsocialtrends.org/2014/07/17/in-post-recession-era-young-adults-
    drive-continuing-rise-in-multi-generational-living/#fn-19695-1. Multi-
    generational households are particularly prevalent in communities of
    color; approximately 25% of Latinx and Black Americans, and 27% of
    Asian Americans live in a multi-generational household. Id.
        \52\ Rachel Dunifon et al., Siblings and Children's Time Use in the
    United States, 37 Demographic Res. 1611, 1612 (2017).
        \53\ As more people with disabilities outlive their parents, an
    increasing number of adult siblings have taken on primary caregiving
    responsibilities. Rajan A. Sonik et al., Sibling Caregivers of People
    With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Sociodemographic
    Characteristics and Material Hardship Prevalence, 54 Intell. &
    Developmental Disabilities 332 (2016). Over 50% of sibling caregivers
    report having an annual income of less than $25,000, making paid leave
    crucial. John Reagan et al., Research Brief: Sibling Caregivers
    Experience Less Choice and Control, Family Support Research and
    Training Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2016),
    https://fsrtc.ahslabs.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2016/11/FSRTC-
    Data-Brief_1
    _2016-3-3.pdf.
        \54\ 42% of LGBT individuals and people with disabilities reported
    ``taking time off to care for chosen family,'' compared with 31% of
    non-LGBT people and 30% of people without disabilities. Gallagher
    Robbins et al., supra note 3, at 3. Family networks are particularly
    important to older LGBTQ adults who are especially likely to rely on
    those loved ones. MetLife Mature Mkt. Inst. & Am. Soc'y of Aging, Still
    Out, Still Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
    Transgender Baby Boomers 15-17 (Mar. 2010), https://www.asaging.org/
    sites/default/files/files/mmi-still-out-still-aging.pdf.
        \55\ Rajeev Ramchand et al., Hidden Heroes: America's Military
    Caregivers, RAND Corp. 34 (2014), https://www.rand.org/pubs/
    research_reports/RR499.html (explaining that nearly a quarter of
    caregivers for post-9/11 military care recipients are friends or
    neighbors, while nearly 13% of caregivers for civilian care recipients
    are friends or neighbors).

    States with paid family and medical leave laws understand the
    demographics of working families and have led the way with inclusive
    family definitions. All paid family leave jurisdictions cover at least
    workers' parents, spouses, children, grandparents, and parents-in-
    law.\56\ Additionally, in all jurisdictions the definition of ``child''
    includes adult children,\57\ and in eight of nine states with paid
    family and medical leave, domestic partners are explicitly covered.\58\
    California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Washington
    State, Connecticut, and Oregon also cover workers' siblings.\59\
    California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington State,
    Connecticut, and Oregon also cover workers' grandchildren.\60\ In New
    Jersey, Connecticut, and Oregon workers can also take leave to care for
    other loved ones--whether biologically or legally related or not--to
    whom the worker has a close association that is the equivalent of a
    family relationship, though their exact definitions slightly differ.
    This definition includes close relationships with biological or legally
    related family members (such as aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews), as
    well as close loved ones with whom the worker lacks a biological or
    legal relationship (such as a significant other or a best friend who is
    like a sibling).\61\ When they take effect, the new programs enacted in
    Colorado, Minnesota, and Maine will also all have inclusive definitions
    of family that will protect most members of workers' extended and
    chosen families.\62\ The federal government also has a successful track
    record of providing essential protections for the varied forms of
    working families--the expanded definitions of family used in PFML laws
    around the country borrow from a federal definition of family that
    includes workers' spouses, domestic partners, adult and minor children,
    parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and those whose close
    association with the employee is the equivalent of a family
    relationship and those definitions have been used since 1969.\63\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \56\ Nine states have passed paid family and medical leave laws
    with inclusive family definitions that can be found at: Rhode Island
    (28 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-34 (West 2019)); California (Cal.
    Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. 3302(f) (West 2019)); New Jersey (N.J. Stat. Ann.
    Sec. 43:21-27(n) (West 2019)); New York (N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law
    Sec. 201(20) (McKinney 2019)); Washington, D.C. (D.C. Code Ann.
    Sec. 32-541.01(7) (West 2020)); Washington State (Wash. Rev. Code Ann.
    Sec. 50A.05.010(10) (West 2020)); Massachusetts (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann.
    ch. 175M, Sec. 1 (West 2019)); Connecticut (S.B. 1, 2019 Gen. Assemb.
    (Conn. 2019). The law is only partially codified. The full text of the
    law can be found at https://www.cga.ct.gov/2019/lcoamd/pdf/
    2019LCO09302-R00-AMD.pdf.); Oregon (H.B. 2005, 80th Legis. Assemb.,
    Reg. Sess. (Or. 2019). The full text of the law can be found at https:/
    /olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2005/
    Enrolled).
        \57\ 28 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-34(1) (West 2019); Cal.
    Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. 3302(c); N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-27(k) (West
    2019); N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law Sec. 201(16) (McKinney 2019); D.C. Code
    Ann. Sec. 32-541.01(7)(A) (West 2020); Wash. Rev. Code Ann.
    Sec. 50A.05.010(1) (West 2020); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 1
    (West 2019); 458 Mass. Code Regs. 2.02 (2019); S.B. 1, 2019 Gen.
    Assemb. Sec. 17(6), (15) (Conn. 2019); H.B. 2005, 80th Legis. Assemb.,
    Reg. Sess. Sec. 2(18)(b), (6) (Or. 2019).
        \58\ While Rhode Island, California, New Jersey, Washington, D.C.,
    Washington State, and Oregon require that domestic partners be
    registered, New York and Massachusetts both have flexible domestic
    partner definitions that do not require legal registration. 28 R.I.
    Gen. Laws Ann. Sec. 28-41-34(6) (West 2019); Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code
    Sec. 3302(d) (West 2019); N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-27(l) (West 2019);
    D.C. Code Ann. Sec. 32-541.01(7)(C) (West 2020); Wash. Rev. Code Ann.
    Sec. 50A.05.010(22) (West 2020); H.B. 2005, 80th Legis. Assemb., Reg.
    Sess. Sec. 2(18)(g), (9) (Or. 2019); N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law
    Sec. 201(17) (McKinney 2019); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 1
    (West 2019); 458 Mass. Code Regs. 2.02 (2019).
        \59\ Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. 3302(f) (West 2019); Mass. Gen.
    Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 1 (West 2019); N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-
    27(n) (West 2019); D.C. Code Ann. Sec. 32-541.01(7)(E) (West 2020);
    Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 50A.05.010(10) (West 2020); S.B. 1, 2019 Gen.
    Assemb. Sec. 17(6) (Conn. 2019); H.B. 2005, 80th Legis. Assemb., Reg.
    Sess. Sec. 2(18)(d) (Or. 2019).
        \60\ Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code Sec. 3302(f) (West 2019); Mass. Gen.
    Laws Ann. ch. 175M, Sec. 1 (West 2019); N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-
    27(n) (West 2019); N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law Sec. 201(20) (McKinney
    2019); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 50A.05.010(10) (West 2020); S.B. 1,
    2019 Gen. Assemb. Sec. 17(6) (Conn. 2019); H.B. 2005, 80th Legis.
    Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 2(18)(f) (Or. 2019).
        \61\ N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 43:21-27(n) (West 2019) (`` `Family
    member' means . . . any other individual that the employee shows to
    have a close association with the employee which is the equivalent of a
    family relationship.''); S.B. 1, 2019 Gen. Assemb. Sec. 17(6) (Conn.
    2019) (`` `Family member' means . . . an individual related to the
    employee by blood or affinity whose close association the employee
    shows to be the equivalent of those family relationships.''); H.B.
    2005, 80th Legis. Assemb., Reg. Sess. Sec. 2(18)(h) (Or. 2019) (``
    `Family member' means . . . [a]ny individual related by blood or
    affinity whose close association with a covered individual is the
    equivalent of a family relationship'').
        \62\ Colo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 8-13.3-503(11); Minn. Stat. 268B.01(23)
    (2023); 1 M.R.S. Sec. 850-A(19) (2023).
        \63\ The relevant language covers ``any individual related by blood
    or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent
    of a family relationship.'' Absence and Leave: Funeral Leave, 34 Fed.
    Reg. 13,655 (Aug. 26, 1969) (codified at 5 C.F.R. pt. 630) (first
    implemented during the Vietnam War, allowing federal workers to take
    funeral leave for the combat-related deaths of loved ones); Absence and
    Leave; Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, 54 Fed. Reg. 4749 (Jan. 31,
    1989) (codified at 5 C.F.R. pt. 630); Absence and Leave; Sick Leave, 59
    Fed. Reg. 62,266 (Dec. 2, 1994) (codified at 5 C.F.R. pt. 630).

    Thank you for your consideration and your attention to this important
    issue. We welcome the opportunity to continue working with you to pass
    the strong, comprehensive paid family and medical leave law America's
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    working families need.

                                     ______

                            A Better Balance et al.

                          815 16th St., NW, Suite 4162

                              Washington, DC 20005

                                 Submitted by:

                        Alliance for Safety and Justice
              1624 Franklin Street, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612

                            Clayton Early Learning
                     3801 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd, Denver, CO 80205

                    Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
              1624 Franklin Street, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612

                             Family Values @ Work
              207 E Buffalo Street, Suite 501, Milwaukee, WI 53202

                           Futures Without Violence
          1101 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036

                               Legal Aid at Work
             180 Montgomery St., Ste. 600, San Francisco, CA 94104

         Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund
                  32 Broadway, Suite 1801, New York, NY 10004

                    The National Domestic Violence Hotline
                         PO Box 90249, Austin, TX 78709

                   National Network to End Domestic Violence
          1325 Massachusetts Ave., NW, 7th floor, Washington, DC 20005

    The signed organizations commend the Senate Committee on Finance for
    holding the hearing titled, Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and
    Impact on the Workforce. Paid leave is necessary for survivors of
    violence, just as it is for all workers. However, survivors of violence
    have additional, critical needs. As the Committee explores paid leave,
    we urge you to include paid safe leave to take time away from work to
    seek services or safety for workers who are, or whose family members
    are, victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault,
    stalking, trafficking, or other forms of gender-based violence and/or
    harassment.

    Millions of workers experience domestic violence, sexual assault,
    trafficking, stalking, sexual harassment, and other forms of violence
    every day.\1\ Millions more are supporting family members, grieving the
    loss of a loved one, or seeking healing and safety due to violence.\2\
    In 2016, nearly half of all women, and four out of ten men reported
    experiencing domestic violence in their lifetime.\3\ Across the
    country, Americans experience rape, trafficking, gun violence or other
    forms of violent victimization, at a rate of 23.5 victimizations per
    1,000 persons age 12 or older.\4\ This violence impacts every
    workplace, every industry and nearly every American family.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Logan, T.K., Lisa Shannon, Jennifer Cole, and Jennifer
    Swanberg. ``Partner Stalking and Implications for Women's Employment.''
    Journal of Interpersonal Violence 22, no. 3 (March 1, 2007): 268-91.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506295380.
        \2\ See Schumacher, Shannon, Marley Presiado, Isabelle Valdes, and
    2023. ``Americans' Experiences With Gun-Related Violence, Injuries, and
    Deaths.'' KFF (blog). Accessed September 14, 2023. https://www.kff.org/
    other/poll-finding/americans-experiences-with-gun-related-violence-
    injuries-and-deaths/.
        \3\ Kathleen C. Basile, Ashley S. D'Inverno, and Jing Wang,
    ``National Prevalence of Sexual Violence by a Workplace-Related
    Perpetrator,'' American Journal of Preventive Medicine 58, no. 2
    (February 2020): 216-23, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2019.09.011;
    K.C. Basile et al., ``The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
    Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Sexual Violence,'' Atlanta, GA: National
    Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control
    and Prevention, 2022.
        \4\ See Thompson, Alexandra. ``Criminal Victimization, 2022.'' NCJ
    307089. Washington (DC): Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022. https://
    bjs.ojp.gov/document/cv22.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Definition of Safe Leave

    ``Safe leave'' generally refers to paid time away from work that a
    worker may use to address impacts of abuse and the needs that a worker
    may need to address because of domestic violence, dating violence,
    sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, other forms of gender-based
    violence or harassment, or other forms of violent victimization. As
    survivors of violence navigate their lives, they sometimes need time
    off of work to keep themselves and their families safe and secure.

    Survivors might need to take time away from work for a wide variety of
    reasons connected to the violence they have experienced.\5\ For
    example, survivors may need time for legal proceedings to seek safety
    for themselves and their families, such as to get a restraining order,
    file for separation/divorce and child custody, or participate in
    criminal proceedings. They may also need to seek supportive services,
    enroll their children in a new school, find child care, or move to a
    new home for safety reasons. Survivors may have needs related to their
    physical or mental health which are not fully addressed by other kinds
    of leave. In many cases, these needs may be extremely urgent or only
    possible to address during working hours. Violence often co-occurs
    alongside other needs, such as medical conditions, meaning that
    existing laws do not offer survivors sufficient time to heal.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ See Swanberg, Jennifer E., Mamta U. Ojha, and Caroline Macke.
    ``State Employment Protection Statutes for Victims of Domestic
    Violence: Public Policy's Response to Domestic Violence as an
    Employment Matter.'' Journal of Interpersonal Violence 27, no. 3
    (February 1, 2012): 587-619. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260511421668.
        \6\ See William, Jananie, Bronwyn Loong, Dana Hanna, Bonny
    Parkinson, and Deborah Loxton. ``Lifetime Health Costs of Intimate
    Partner Violence: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study with Linked
    Data for out-of-Hospital and Pharmaceutical Costs.'' Economic Modeling
    116 (November 1, 2022): 106013. https://doi.org/10.1016/
    j.econmod.2022.106013.

    In addition, people close to survivors may need to leave to support
    their loved ones, providing critically needed, and often unscheduled,
    assistance. A close friend might accompany a sexual assault survivor to
    obtain emergency health care \7\ or assist with moving to a safer home.
    A family member may be called to provide a victim impact statement in a
    legal proceeding or to care for a survivor's children while the
    survivor is getting needed assistance. In tragic cases where a victim
    is killed in a violent act, a loved one reeling from unexpected violent
    loss may need time to make funeral arrangements and grieve, and take
    other safety-related measures where there is an ongoing threat.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ See Alliance for Safety and Justice. ``Crime Survivors Speak:
    National Survey of Victims' Views on Safety and Justice.'' Crime
    Survivors Speak. Alliance for Safety and Justice, September 2022.
    https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/
    Alliance-for-Safety-and-Justice-Crime-Survivors-Speak-September-
    2022.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Current Access to Safe Leave

    Unfortunately, many Americans do not have access to any paid time off
    from work, let alone paid safe time or paid sick time, even to recover
    from violence. As of March 2023, 78 percent of all private sector
    workers had access to paid sick leave--in other words, more than one in
    five workers are excluded.\8\ Among part-time workers, half had no paid
    sick leave. Among the lowest-paid ten percent of private sector
    workers, more than 60 percent had no access to paid sick leave.\9\ Low-
    income and part-time workers are also disproportionately likely to lack
    access to paid vacation time or other sources of paid time off, meaning
    that many vulnerable workers may have no paid time off at all.
    Moreover, even where workers have access to paid sick leave or other
    forms of paid time off, they may not be able to use it to address all
    their needs in relation to violence, particularly for non-medical
    needs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ Bureau of Labor Statistics. ``Table 6. Selected Paid Leave
    Benefits: Access--2023 A01 Results.'' Accessed September 26, 2023.
    https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.t06.htm.
        \9\ Bureau of Labor Statistics. ``Table 6. Selected Paid Leave
    Benefits: Access--2023 A01 Results.'' Accessed September 26, 2023.
    https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.t06.htm.

    A growing number of workers have access to job-guaranteed safe time,
    but most do not have the full range of protections they need. At the
    federal level, Executive Order 1370634, issued by President Obama,
    ensures the right to paid sick and safe leave for many employees of
    federal contractors.\10\ However, no federal law guarantees the right
    to paid safe leave for any other employees.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ See U.S. Department of Labor. ``Executive Order 13706,
    Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors.'' Accessed
    January 24, 2023. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-
    contracts/sick-leave.

    Eighteen states and the District of Columbia guarantee a right to paid
    time away from work that can be used for safe leave purposes. Fifteen
    states and the District of Columbia provide explicit paid safe leave
    protections under their state paid sick time laws, though exact
    coverage varies by state.\11\ These laws guarantee covered employees
    the right to earn and use paid time off based on how much they work,
    typically up to around 40 hours per year.\12\ In addition, Maine,
    Nevada, and most recently Illinois have passed laws allowing covered
    employees to earn and use a limited amount of paid time off for any
    purpose, which can include safe leave needs.\13\ For more extended
    needs, five states provide or will provide paid safe leave protections
    for some survivors through their state paid family and medical leave
    laws, which provide benefits for up to several weeks through social
    insurance systems.\14\ One state, Maine, will provide safe leave for
    survivors of a broader range of violence through their new paid family
    and medical leave law.\15\ Note that all six of these states also have
    paid sick time or paid time off laws, such that workers in those states
    have additional important protections. These states provide an example
    of how to include survivors of violence in a broader ecosystem of
    workplace protections.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Those states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
    Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
    Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington State. Minnesota's paid
    sick time law will go into effect on January 1, 2024; all other laws
    are fully in effect. For more detail, please see A Better Balance.
    ``Overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the United States.'' A Better
    Balance, 2023. https://www.abetterbalance.org/paid-sick-time-laws/
    ?export.
        \12\ A Better Balance. ``Overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the
    United States.'' A Better Balance, 2023. https://
    www.abetterbalance.org/paid-sick-time-laws/?export.
        \13\ A Better Balance. ``Overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the
    United States.'' A Better Balance, 2023. https://
    www.abetterbalance.org/paid-sick-time-laws/?export.
        \14\ New Jersey, Connecticut, and Oregon are already providing paid
    family and medical leave benefits, including for safe time. Benefits
    will begin in 2024 in Colorado and in 2026 in Minnesota. Please see
    pages 3 through 5 of National Partnership for Women and Families.
    ``State Paid Family & Medical Leave Insurance Laws.'' Chart. Washington
    D.C.: National Partnership, September 2023. https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/state-paid-family-
    leave-laws.pdf.
        \15\ 26 M.R.S. Sec. 850-A(26). Benefits will begin in 2026 in
    Maine.

    Beyond these laws, some states have laws that guarantee the right to
    unpaid leave in connection with various forms of violence. These
    protections are critical but are all too often out of reach for those
    who cannot afford to go without a paycheck, especially at particularly
    difficult or vulnerable moments.\16\ Some states only offer unpaid safe
    leave for survivors of specific crimes, usually domestic violence and
    sexual assault. And, many of these laws narrowly define violence or
    require specific ``certifications'' or proof of violence from law
    enforcement agencies.\17\ The requirement to report to law enforcement
    to qualify creates barriers, as many survivors of crime do not report
    to police.\18\ Nearly 6 in 10 violent victimizations are never reported
    to law enforcement.\19\ Reporting rates are especially stark when it
    comes to sexual violence--nearly 8 in 10 sexual assaults are not
    reported to law enforcement.\20\ Most states also have laws
    guaranteeing some form of unpaid leave or job protection for crime
    victims or witnesses, but these laws are often limited to very specific
    actions in relation to the criminal legal system, such as responding to
    a subpoena.\21\ And 15 states do not even guarantee unpaid leave for
    any crime victims.\22\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ See generally FreeFrom. ``Support Every Survivor.'' Los
    Angeles, CA: FreeFrom, 2023. https://www.freefrom.org/wp-content/
    uploads/2022/10/Support-Every-Survivor-PDF.pdf.
        \17\ Legal Momentum, and Futures Without Violence. ``State Guide on
    Employment Rights for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault,
    and Stalking.'' Washington D.C.: Workplaces Respond National Resource
    Center, November 2022. https://www.workplacesrespond.org/wp-content/
    uploads/2017/01/State-Employment-Guide.pdf.
        \18\ See Espinoza, Lucas Enrique, Luis Enrique Espinoza, Rosalva
    Resendiz, Noe Leal, Jennifer L. Talleff, Zoraya Berlanga Aguilar,
    Rebecca Rouse, and Kathleen Ayako Anangwe. ``Intimate Partner Violence
    Incidents Reporting by Female Minorities in the United States.''
    Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice 20, no. 3 (July 3, 2022): 209-
    26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377938.2022.2096735.; Lonsway, Kimberly
    A., and Joanne Archambault. ``The `Justice Gap' for Sexual Assault
    Cases: Future Directions for Research and Reform.'' Violence Against
    Women 18, no. 2 (February 1, 2012): 145-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/
    1077801212440017; Lapsey, David S., Bradley A. Campbell, and Bryant T.
    Plumlee. ``Focal Concerns and Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault
    Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.'' Trauma, Violence, &
    Abuse 23, no. 4 (October 1, 2022): 1220-34. https://doi.org/10.1177/
    1524838021991285.
        \19\ Thompson, A. and Tapp, S.N. (2023). ``Criminal Victimization,
    2022.'' US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
        \20\ See Thompson, A. and Tapp, S.N. (2023). ``Criminal
    Victimization, 2022.'' US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
    Statistics.
        \21\ See Legal Momentum, and Futures Without Violence. ``State
    Guide on Employment Rights for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual
    Assault, and Stalking.'' Washington D.C.: Workplaces Respond National
    Resource Center, November 2022. https://www.workplacesrespond.org/wp-
    content/uploads/2017/01/State-Employment-Guide.pdf.
        \22\ As of November 2022, states with no guaranteed leave for crime
    victims include Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, North
    Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
    Utah, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands. Some of these states,
    such as North Carolina and North Dakota, do have limited GBV Safe
    Leave, but this leave does not cover all crime victims. The states that
    have no GBV Safe Leave to address domestic violence, sexual assault or
    stalking include; Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho,
    Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New
    Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota,
    Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the US Virgin
    Islands. Survivors in some of those states may be able to use crime
    victim leave but this access often requires legal documentation. For
    detailed information on state specific statutes please see; Legal
    Momentum, and Futures Without Violence ``State Guide on Employment
    Rights for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and
    Stalking.'' Washington D.C.: Workplaces Respond National Resource
    Center, November 2022. https://www.
    workplacesrespond.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/State-Employment-
    Guide.pdf.

    The result is an incomplete and inadequate set of protections, despite
    important gains in recent years. Even where they have protections, many
    survivors are unaware of the availability of paid or unpaid safe leave
    until it is too late to meaningfully exercise that right.\23\ Thus, the
    millions of workers whose lives are touched by violence each year in
    the U.S. are forced to make impossible choices between employment and
    safety and recovery from violence. This is why all American families
    deserve access to safe leave.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \23\ See generally; Swanberg, Jennifer E., Mamta U. Ojha, and
    Caroline Macke. ``State Employment Protection Statutes for Victims of
    Domestic Violence: Public Policy's Response to Domestic Violence as an
    Employment Matter.'' Journal of Interpersonal Violence 27, no. 3
    (2012):587-619. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260511421668.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Lack of Safe Leave Harms Families

    Experiencing violence can mean missing work.\24\ Without paid safe
    leave, it also means missing a paycheck or losing a job. Across the
    board, those who experience sexual and domestic violence, stalking, and
    other forms of harassment and violence miss work and lose their jobs as
    a consequence of their experiences. Many survivors report being demoted
    or even losing their jobs as a result of absences due to violence and
    harassment.\25\ A 2020 survey found that 76 percent of survivors of
    domestic violence said that their partners made it hard to keep a
    job.\26\ A 2022 survey of survivors of crime found that one-third
    reported difficulty with school or work as a direct result of their
    victimization.\27\ One in six survivors of violence lost a job or were
    demoted due to needing time off work. Another study found that victims
    who were stalked lost an average of 10.1 days of paid work per year,
    those who were raped lost an average of 8.1 days per year, and those
    who experienced physical violence lost 7.2 days per year.\28\ Some of
    those absences may be paid, but many are not, depriving workers of the
    income they need to support themselves and their families. Paid safe
    leave will keep survivors in the workforce while limiting the economic
    harms of abuse.\29\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \24\ According to a forthcoming analysis by the Alliance for Safety
    and Justice of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey,
    190,000 people report missing work each year after experiencing a
    direct physical attack. These include survivors of domestic violence,
    sexual assault, gun violence, robbery, and other assaults. This figure
    does not capture the many thousands more who miss work when a loved one
    is victimized or killed, and does not fully capture the impact of harm
    such as stalking or intimate partner violence.
        \25\ Showalter, K., & McCloskey, R.J. (2021). A Qualitative Study
    of Intimate Partner Violence and Employment Instability. Journal of
    Interpersonal Violence, 36(23-24), NP12730-NP12755.
        \26\ CSAJ, Adrienne E. Adams, and Sara Wee. ``Domestic Violence and
    Economic Well-being Study.'' SERVICE PROVIDER REPORT. Center for
    Survivor Agency and Justice, n.d. https://csaj.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2022/05/DV__EWB_Study-Service_Provider_Report_FINAL.pdf
        \27\ See Alliance for Safety and Justice. ``Crime Survivors Speak:
    National Survey of Victims' Views on Safety and Justice.'' Crime
    Survivors Speak. Alliance for Safety and Justice, September 2022.
    https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/
    Alliance-for-Safety-and-Justice-Crime-Survivors-Speak-September-
    2022.pdf.
        \28\ See Gladys McLean and Sarah Gonzalez Bocinski, ``The Economic
    Cost of Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual and Stalking,'' IWPR 2020
    (blog), August 14, 2017, https://iwpr.org/iwpr-general/the-economic-
    cost-of-intimate-partner-violence-sexual-assault-and-stalking.
        \29\ Moe, Angela M., and Myrtle P. Bell. ``Abject Economics: The
    Effects of Battering and Violence on Women's Work and Employability.''
    Violence Against Women 10, no. 1 (January 1, 2004): 29-55. https://
    doi.org/10.1177/1077801203256016.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Economic Insecurity Endangers Survivors and Community Safety

    A primary reason domestic violence survivors are unable to leave an
    abusive relationship is a lack of economic security to support
    themselves.\30\ Compounding this, deepening economic insecurity
    increases vulnerability to violence and makes it more difficult to
    leave a violent relationship.\31\ Survivors of violence are often
    caught between two barriers; they need work to be able to leave a
    violent situation but the violence they're subjected to severely
    impacts their ability to work. The consequences of violence compromise
    economic security--and with it, safety.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \30\ See Cynthia Hess and Alona Del Rosario, ``Dreams Deferred: A
    Survey Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Survivors' Education,
    Careers, and Economic Security'' (Washington, D.C.: Institute for
    Women's Policy Research, 2018), https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2018/10/C475_IWPR-Report-Dreams-Deferred.pdf.
        \31\ See Heron, Rebecca L., Maarten Eisma, and Kevin Browne. ``Why
    Do Female Domestic Violence Victims Remain in or Leave Abusive
    Relationships? A Qualitative Study.'' Journal of Aggression,
    Maltreatment & Trauma 31, no. 5 (May 28, 2022): 677-94. https://
    doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2021.2019154.

    Life stressors like job insecurity are among the factors that can
    increase a survivor's risk of developing PTSD, and can have lasting
    impacts on employment and housing stability for people who have
    experienced violent victimization.\32\ According to a 2022 survey, more
    than 9 in 10 people with an arrest or conviction record have been a
    victim or a crime, compared to less than half of people (44%) who do
    not have a record.\33\ Eighty-six percent of incarcerated women were
    victims of violence prior to incarceration.\34\ Experiencing violence
    is also a central risk factor for chronic houselessness and substance-
    use disorder.\35\ These effects are not limited to the survivor but
    also impact community safety. One study found that more than half (59%)
    of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 were related to domestic
    violence, where at least one of the victims was a partner or family
    member of the shooter.\36\ Thus, providing survivors of violence with
    adequate time to heal and get to safety is violence prevention and a
    way to make us all safer.\37\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \32\ See Kelly, Vanessa G., Gregory S. Merrill, Martha Shumway,
    Jennifer Alvidrez, and Alicia Boccellari. ``Outreach, Engagement, and
    Practical Assistance: Essential Aspects of PTSD Care for Urban Victims
    of Violent Crime.'' Trauma, Violence & Abuse 11, no. 3 (July 2010):
    144-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838010374481.
        \33\ See Alliance for Safety and Justice (2022). ``Voices of
    Redemption: A Survey of People with Records.'' https://
    asj.allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-05-
    15-2023-TimeDoneSurvey-Full.pdf.
        \34\ See Vera Institute of Justice. ``Overlooked: Women and Jails
    in an Era of Reform,'' July 7, 2018. https://www.vera.org/publications/
    overlooked-women-and-jails-report.
        \35\ See Baker, Charlene K., Kris A. Billhardt, Joseph Warren,
    Chiquita Rollins, and Nancy E. Glass. ``Domestic Violence, Housing
    Instability, and Homelessness: A Review of Housing Policies and Program
    Practices for Meeting the Needs of Survivors.'' Aggression and Violent
    Behavior 15, no. 6 (November 1,2010): 430-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/
    j.avb.2010.07.005; Pallatino, Chelsea, Judy C. Chang, and Elizabeth E.
    Krans. ``The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and Substance
    Use among Women with Opioid Use Disorder.'' Substance Abuse 42, no. 2
    (April 1, 2021): 197-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/
    08897077.2019.1671296.
        \36\ See Geller, Lisa B., Marisa Booty, and Cassandra K. Crifasi.
    ``The Role of Domestic Violence in Fatal Mass Shootings in the United
    States, 2014-2019.'' Injury Epidemiology 8, no. 1 (May 31, 2021): 38.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-021-00330-0.
        \37\ See Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali, Julia P. Schleimer, Caitlin A. Moe,
    Frederick P. Rivara, and Heather D. Hill. ``Income Support Policies and
    Firearm Violence Prevention: A Scoping Review.'' Preventive Medicine,
    Epidemiology and Prevention of Gun Violence, 165 (December 1, 2022):
    107133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107133; Tankard, Margaret
    E., and Radha Iyengar. ``Economic Policies and Intimate Partner
    Violence Prevention: Emerging Complexities in the Literature.'' Journal
    of Interpersonal Violence 33, no. 21 (November 1, 2018): 3367-87.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518798354.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Safe Leave Can Make Justice a Meaningful Choice

    The economic impacts of violence also affect a survivor's ability to
    meaningfully pursue their versions of justice and accountability.
    Researchers have found that job loss and economic pressure are the
    primary reasons survivors of violence decline to pursue protection
    orders and other safety measures.\38\ Safe leave promotes consistency
    and participation in the legal system, giving survivors further options
    for justice.\39\ As 15 states do not guarantee unpaid leave for any
    crime victims, many survivors are forced to choose between working and
    participating in the justice process.\40\ Ensuring the survivors of
    crime can actually attend court will save the courts and criminal legal
    system resources lost due to rescheduled hearings and dismissed cases.
    Furthermore, by facilitating the logistics of participating in the
    justice system, paid safe leave gives survivors a meaningful choice.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \38\ Ann Malecha et al., ``Applying for and Dropping a Protection
    Order: A Study with 150 Women,'' Criminal Justice Policy Review 14, no.
    4 (December 1, 2003): 486-504, https://doi.org/10.1177/
    0887403403255496.
        \39\ De La Rue, Lisa, Lilyana Ortega, and Gena Castro Rodriguez.
    ``System-Based Victim Advocates Identify Resources and Barriers to
    Supporting Crime Victims.'' International Review of Victimology 29, no.
    1 (January 1, 2023): 16-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580221088340;
    Heffernan, Liz. ``The Participation of Victims in the Trial Process.''
    Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 68 (2017): 491.
        \40\ As of November 2022, states with no guaranteed leave for crime
    victims include Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, North
    Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
    Utah, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands. Some of these states,
    such as North Carolina and North Dakota, do have limited GBV Safe
    Leave, but this leave does not cover all crime victims. The states that
    have no GBV Safe Leave to address domestic violence, sexual assault or
    stalking include; Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho,
    Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New
    Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota,
    Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the US Virgin
    Islands. Survivors in some of those states may be able to use crime
    victim leave but this access often requires legal documentation. For
    detailed information on state specific statutes please see: Legal
    Momentum, and Futures Without Violence ``State Guide on Employment
    Rights for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and
    Stalking.'' Washington D.C.: Workplaces Respond National Resource
    Center, November 2022. https://www.
    workplacesrespond.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/State-Employment-
    Guide.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Leave Advances Equity in the Workforce

    Some communities, such as American Indian or Alaska Native women,
    people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people, experience
    disproportionate rates of violence, which can make it harder for these
    populations to obtain and maintain employment or education.\41\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \41\ See ``Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Abuse Among LGBT
    People.'' Williams Institute. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://
    williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/ipv-sex-abuse-lgbt-
    people/.; Fedina, Lisa, Yuliya Shyrokonis, Bethany Backes, Katie
    Schultz, Louise Ashwell, Steven Hafner, and Andre Rosay. ``Intimate
    Partner Violence, Economic Insecurity, and Health Outcomes Among
    American Indian and Alaska Native Men and Women: Findings From a
    National Sample.'' Violence Against Women 29, no. 11 (September 1,
    2023): 2060-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012221127725.

    Experiencing violence often forces survivors into part-time or low-wage
    work.\42\ Workers in low-wage jobs, including undocumented immigrants,
    women, and people of color--some the same workers who face higher risks
    of experiencing violence and greatest barriers to accessing help \43\--
    are less likely to have access to paid time away from work.\44\ Paid
    safe leave will support our economies' most vulnerable workers,
    advancing economic equity and decreasing future risk of violence.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \42\ See Tolman, Richard M., and Hui-Chen Wang. ``Domestic Violence
    and Women's Employment: Fixed Effects Models of Three Waves of Women's
    Employment Study Data.'' American Journal of Community Psychology 36,
    no. \1/2\ (2005): 147-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-005-6239-0.
        \43\ See Smith, N. and Hope, C. (2020). ``Helping Those Who Help
    Others: Key Findings From a Comprehensive Needs Assessment of the Crime
    Victims Field.'' The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims.
        \44\ See Boyens, Chantel, Michael Karpman, and Jack Smalligan.
    ``Access to Paid Leave Is Lowest among Workers with the Greatest
    Needs,'' July 2022, 17.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Safe Leave Is Good for Business and the Economy

    Ensuring that survivors of violence have access to safety and healing
    also has widespread benefits for the entire economy. Paid leave will
    support businesses and the economy by reducing lost productivity and
    the costs of increased turnover.\45\ Violence creates various barriers
    to successfully applying for work, keeping a job, or completing an
    education or training program.\46\ This leaves many qualified and
    hardworking survivors out of the workforce entirely.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \45\ See Swanberg, Jennifer E., T.K. Logan, and Caroline Macke.
    ``Intimate Partner Violence, Employment, and the Workforce:
    Consequences and Future Decisions.'' Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 4, no.
    10 (2005): 1-26; Kathryn Showalter, ``Women's Employment and Domestic
    Violence: A Review of the Literature,'' Aggression and Violent Behavior
    31 (November 2016): 37-47, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.06.017.
        \46\ See generally Andrea Borchers et al., ``Employment Maintenance
    and Intimate Partner Violence,'' Workplace Health & Safety, May 18,
    2016, 2165079916644008, https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079916644008.

    Furthermore, every year an estimated eight million days of paid work
    are lost by survivors of intimate partner violence, approximately
    32,114 full-time jobs.\47\ This has consequences not only for survivors
    and their families but for our economy as a whole. A 2017 study
    estimated that rape alone cost the U.S. economy more than $1.6 trillion
    in lost productivity.\48\ By creating pathways to remain in the
    workforce and adequately support survivors of violence, the American
    economy will reduce lost productivity and retain talented and
    innovative workers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \47\ See generally Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
    National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Costs of Intimate
    Partner Violence against Women in the United States. Atlanta (GA):
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003. https://www.cdc.gov/
    violenceprevention/pdf/ipvbook-a.pdf.
        \48\ See Peterson, Cora, Sarah DeGue, Curtis Florence, and Colby N.
    Lokey. ``Lifetime Economic Burden of Rape Among U.S. Adults.'' American
    Journal of Preventive Medicine 52, no. 6 (June 2017): 691-701. https://
    doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.11.014.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Leave Will Support Child Well-Being

    Paid safe leave addresses two critical factors in child health and
    well-being; exposure to violence and economic
    insecurity.\49\, \50\ Research indicates that parents
    experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) often recognize and are
    concerned about the potentially harmful effects of the violence on
    their children, and consider their children in making decisions about
    help-seeking.\51\ However, economic insecurity is a central challenge
    for survivors of violence, particularly those with children.\52\ Paid
    safe leave will increase the economic security of survivors of
    violence, allowing them to heal from violence, alongside their
    children.\53\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \49\ See Prickett, Kate C. ``Mothers' Job Loss and Their
    Sensitivity to Young Children's Development.'' Child Development 91,
    no. 6 (November 2020): 1970-87. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13398.
        \50\ See Waldfogel, Jane, Terry-Ann Craigie, and Jeanne Brooks-
    Gunn. ``Fragile Families and Child Well-being.'' The Future of
    Children/Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile
    Packard Foundation 20, no. 2 (2010): 87-112.
        \51\ See generally Rhodes, Karin Verlaine, Melissa E. Dichter,
    Catherine L. Kothari, Steven C. Marcus, and Catherine Cerulli. ``The
    Impact of Children on Legal Actions Taken by Women Victims of Intimate
    Partner Violence.'' Journal of Family Violence 26, no. 5 (July 1,
    2011): 355-64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9370-8.
        \52\ See Conrad-Hiebner, Aislinn, and Elizabeth Byram. ``The
    Temporal Impact of Economic Insecurity on Child Maltreatment: A
    Systematic Review.'' Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 21, no. 1 (January 1,
    2020): 157-78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018756122.
        \53\ See ``Intimate Partner Violence and Women's Economic Security
    | Office of Justice Programs.'' Accessed September 18, 2023. https://
    www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/intimate-partner-violence-
    and-womens-economic-security.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Conclusion

    Paid safe leave gives survivors of violence options; ways to navigate
    safety, time to maintain their economic security, and the chance to
    find healing. One of the measures American families across the country
    need to manage their safety, care for their families, and remain in the
    workforce is paid safe leave. Survivors, who have already faced immense
    trauma, should not be forced to make a choice between personal and
    family well-being or financial stability.

    As the Committee explores policies, practices, and the impact of paid
    leave on the workforce, we urge its members to include paid safe leave
    for survivors of violence. We urge the explicit and specific inclusion
    of survivors of violence in current or future proposed legislation of
    paid leave. Survivors of violence can be included in broader
    legislation on paid leave for all workers or standalone legislation
    specifically for survivors of violence. Safe leave should cover leave
    to address the impacts of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
    assault, stalking, family violence, sexual harassment, trafficking,
    other forms of gender-based violence or harassment, or another
    qualifying act of violence if the time is for the individual or
    individual's family member as described above. Future paid leave
    legislation should include as permissible reasons for taking the leave
    the various reasons survivors of violence need safe leave and integrate
    multiple methods of certification of qualifying needs. As survivors
    experience violence in addition to illness or other conditions, paid
    safe leave should be considered additive to family or medical leave and
    articulated within separate leave provisions. Furthermore, we ask the
    Committee to consult the experiences of survivors of violence and the
    advocates that serve them in crafting future legislation.

    Upon consideration of legislation or hearings advancing paid safe
    leave, the signed organizations offer detailed recommendations and
    model legislative text.

    Thank you for your continued commitment to highlighting the paid leave
    needs of American workers.

    Best Regards,

    A Better Balance                    Alliance for Safety and Justice
    Clayton Early Learning              Crime Survivors for Safety and
                                        Justice
    Family Values @ Work                Futures Without Violence
    Legal Aid at Work                   Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal
                                        Defense and Education Fund
    The National Domestic Violence
    Hotline                             National Network to End Domestic
                                        Violence

                                     ______

                           American Benefits Council

                          1501 M Street, NW, Suite 600

                              Washington, DC 20005

                                 (202) 289-6700

                    https://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/

                          Statement of Ilyse Schuman,
                      Senior Vice President, Health Policy

        The American Benefits Council (``the Council'') commends the Senate
    Finance Committee for holding a hearing exploring the policy, practice
    and impact on the workforce of paid leave.

        The Council is dedicated to strengthening employer-sponsored
    benefit plans. The Council represents more major employers--over 220 of
    the world's largest corporations--than any other association that
    exclusively advocates on the full range of employee benefit issues.
    Members also include organizations supporting employers of all sizes.
    Collectively, Council members directly sponsor or serve benefit plans
    covering virtually all Americans participating in employer-sponsored
    programs.

        The Council strongly supports federal paid leave legislation that
    builds on private-sector solutions and allows employers to treat
    workers equitably regardless of where they live or work. It is,
    therefore, important for the Senate Finance Committee to be aware of
    the significant challenges facing nationwide companies who support paid
    family leave but are required to navigate a maze of increasingly
    complex and inconsistent, state paid leave mandates. To support and
    leverage employer-provided paid leave benefits, it is critical that
    federal legislation promote the harmonization of state programs so that
    multistate employers can treat their workers equitably across the
    country.

     Council Member Companies Recognize the Value of Paid Leave Benefits

        The Council strongly supports universal paid leave, as reflected in
    our statement of principles.\1\ Our member companies recognize the
    importance of helping employees care for a new child or tend to their
    own--or a family member's--serious health issue. Financial pressure
    makes unpaid leave out of reach for many working families seeking to
    address the demands of parenting, health and family. As with all types
    of employee benefits, Council member companies are at the forefront of
    comprehensive and innovative programs to provide essential protections
    to employees and to help them balance personal and work
    responsibilities. This includes generous paid leave benefits. Our
    member companies understand that paid leave is also good business.\2\
    Such employer-provided paid leave programs, if effectively designed and
    administered, can foster greater productivity, serve as a valuable
    recruitment and retention tool, and contribute to the success of the
    business.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ See https://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/pub/?id=58B7B918-
    1866-DAAC-99FB-B472DD
    042A10.
        \2\ See https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/paid-sick-leave-
    business-study.php.

        Employer-provided paid leave is valuable for employees. Employees
    can obtain and manage their valued leave seamlessly and promptly
    without requiring applying for, and waiting to receive, government
    benefits. Federal, state and local governments and taxpayers benefit
    from employer-sponsored plans that mitigate the cost and complexity of
    public programs. Efforts to expand access to paid leave for workers not
    currently offered paid leave benefits must also protect and promote
    existing employer-provided paid leave programs.

     The Patchwork of Inconsistent State and Local Paid Leave Requirements
                        Has Created a Complex Administrative and Compliance
                        Challenge for Employers, Forcing Them to Treat
                        Employees Differently Based on Their Location

        Council members typically have nationwide operations--often in all
    50 states. Currently, 13 states, plus Washington, D.C., have enacted a
    patchwork of inconsistent mandatory paid family and paid family medical
    leave (PFML) programs. Accordingly, it has become increasingly
    difficult for multistate employers to consistently offer and administer
    paid leave to employees nationwide. Compliance, administrative
    simplicity and equity--cornerstones of nationwide benefit policies--are
    becoming ever more challenging to achieve.

        Why is the existing patchwork of mandatory state PFML programs so
    challenging? The answer starts with how varied these laws are in terms
    of their substantive and procedural components. Mandatory state paid
    family and medical leave programs are comprised of more than 30
    substantive, technical requirements, many of which have additional
    layers, such as definitions, formulas, and administrative standards.
    When examined, it is clear that many of these measures are mismatched
    and misaligned.

        The attached document prepared by the Council and the law firm
    Seyfarth Shaw LLP \3\ describes these state law differences. Wide
    variation and nuance exists across four select key PFML substantive
    areas--(1) qualifying absences, (2) covered family members, (3)
    duration of leave benefits and (4) amount of pay. Furthermore, these
    topics account for only a small portion of state PFML law substantive
    criteria. For example, deviations with respect to coordination with
    employer policies and the private plan option approval standards and
    inconsistency with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
    create challenges and complexities for employers and employees alike.
    The increasingly remote and mobile nature of the workforce in the wake
    of the COVID-19 pandemic makes this picture even more complex.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ See https://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/pub/41FAE84F-C7CE-
    634B-4D96-D8C025A71
    83E.

        The burden of compliance and the range of different requirements
    mean that the resources designated for such programs are applied to
    navigating administrative complexities. This results in employers being
    compelled to treat workers inconsistently based upon where they work or
    live. It is vitally important for the Senate Finance Committee to be
    aware of the extraordinary challenges facing nationwide companies who
    support paid leave but are required to navigate this maze of
    increasingly complex, inconsistent, administratively burdensome and
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    overlapping paid leave mandates across the country.

        For multistate employers, the burden of administering the numerous
    state and local paid leave mandates is significant. In the Council's
    informal poll of large employers on state paid leave laws, 45 of 66
    (68%) nationwide businesses characterized the administrative burden
    imposed by multiple state and local paid leave laws as ``very
    significant,'' with an additional 18 (27%) calling it ``somewhat
    significant.'' However, this is not just a matter of administrative
    cost and burden for employers. It is also a matter of fundamental
    fairness and equity for employees, particularly in light of the
    increasingly mobile and remote workforce.

        The maze of applicable leave mandates and processes is also
    overwhelming and confusing for employees, who are not sure which laws
    apply to them and to which leaves they may be entitled. This patchwork
    is transforming the traditional role of employers as the single point
    of contact for employee benefit programs and can negatively impact the
    employee experience. For many employers that want to provide the best
    and most efficient experience for employees relative to the various
    benefits offered, a single point of administration is frequently
    essential for a highly desired simplified claim reporting experience
    for employees, including those filing for leave. Employees who
    previously received benefits at no additional cost from their employers
    in some cases must now pay an employee contribution, imposed by some
    state programs, for those same benefits. Employees who previously
    enjoyed a user-
    friendly experience in going directly to their employer to request
    benefits in some cases must now go to the state agency administering
    the applicable paid family and medical leave program in addition to
    their employer. That places a complicated and time-consuming burden on
    employees at the very time that what they need and are requesting is
    time off to deal with personal and family obligations.

        In the Council's informal poll, on the question of employers' chief
    concerns about the growing number of state and local laws (they were
    allowed to choose more than one option), 97% of the Council's survey
    respondents selected ``administrative burden,'' 88% selected ``employee
    confusion'' and 74% selected ``inequitable treatment of employees'' all
    significantly greater than the 56% who cited cost as a concern. This
    point underscores the message that Council member companies are
    committed to providing paid leave. It is the administrative burden on
    employers and confusion and inequities for workers caused by state and
    local laws that are the principal concerns.

    Federal Legislative Solutions That Work for Businesses and Workers

        We recognize that not all workers have access to generous paid
    leave benefits, and gaps remain that need to be filled. The federal
    government plays an essential role in helping to fill the gaps in leave
    benefits nationwide and can do so while preserving employer plans at
    the same time. Indeed, a federal legislative solution to expand access
    to paid family and medical leave benefits cannot be realized without
    leveraging private-sector solutions. Nationwide harmonization of paid
    leave benefits for multistate employers is foundational to leveraging
    employer-provided paid leave benefits.

        Nationwide harmonization is a bedrock principle of employer-
    provided benefits for multistate employers. As you consider the
    contours of potential federal paid leave proposals, future legislation
    should incentivize employers to provide innovative, generous paid leave
    plans by following a similar approach that allows employers to treat
    employees equitably regardless of where they live or work.

        According to a statistically valid nationwide poll of 850 likely
    voters,\4\ conducted by ALG Research, working Americans prefer to have
    their paid leave benefits administered by their employer alone and
    support a more careful approach that emphasizes administrative
    simplicity and equity in the workplace. By a two-to-one margin (59% to
    29%), a majority of voters would prefer to have their paid leave
    benefits administered by their employer alone, rather than a
    combination of their employer and their state government or the federal
    government. Workers should not have to cope with confusing
    administrative burdens especially during times when personal and family
    health should be their sole focus.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ See https://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/pub/30B714C6-1866-
    DAAC-99FB-E18AFA825
    CAE.

        By a similar margin (53% to 23%), a majority of voters believe that
    ``employees working the same job for the same company should receive
    the same amount of paid leave regardless of the state in which they
    work,'' as opposed to receiving ``the amount of leave determined by
    their state government.'' Voters who already have employer-provided
    paid family and medical leave feel especially strongly about this, by a
    nearly three-to-one margin (68% to 23%). This speaks to the need for
    harmonization, so multistate employers are allowed to provide fair and
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    equitable benefits across their nationwide workforce.

        We urge Congress to craft federal paid leave legislation that
    addresses the challenge faced by working families and also the
    complexity of often conflicting state and local leave laws. Thank you
    for your consideration of our comments. Please let me know how the
    Council can further assist in your efforts.

                                     ______

                  American Benefits Council/Seyfarth Shaw LLP

         Mandatory Paid Family Medical Leave Laws in the United States

    American companies provide generous paid leave benefits to millions of
    employees to help balance work and personal health, caregiving and
    parental responsibilities. Meanwhile, 13 states, plus Washington, D.C.,
    have enacted a patchwork of inconsistent mandatory paid family and paid
    family medical leave (collectively, ``PFML'' or ``PFL'') programs, each
    with differing substantive and procedural requirements. Importantly,
    not only is there a current patchwork of inconsistent mandatory PFML
    programs around the country that are challenging to navigate given
    their many variations, but the patchwork continues to expand as these
    laws evolve and enter into new locations.

    For instance, since the start of 2022, four states have enacted new
    mandatory PFML programs--Maryland and Delaware in 2022, and Minnesota
    and Maine in 2023. Several other states--nonexclusively, Colorado,
    Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington--plus Washington,
    D.C., have updated their respective PFML programs through formal
    amendments, additional rulemaking, or issuing administrative guidance.
    Further adding to the complexity is that other states are enacting
    voluntary PFML programs or adding paid family leave as a class of
    insurance. Navigating this patchwork has become a significant burden
    for multistate and nationwide employers, as well as led to hardships
    and inequities for their employees.

    Why is the existing patchwork of mandatory state PFML programs so
    challenging? The answer starts with how varied these laws are in terms
    of their substantive and procedural components. Mandatory PFML programs
    are comprised of more than 30 substantive, technical requirements, many
    of which have additional layers, such as definitions, formulas, and
    administrative standards. When examined, it is clear that many of these
    measures are mismatched and misaligned.

    Deviations across four select key PFML substantive areas--(1)
    qualifying absences, (2) covered family members, (3) length of benefits
    and duration of leave, (4) amount of pay--are reflected in the graphic
    below. As highlighted, wide variation and nuance exist across each
    topic. Further and notably, these topics account for only a small
    portion of PFML law substantive criteria. Examples of other mandatory
    PFML conditions include: (5) employee eligibility, (6) employer
    coverage, (7) treatment of remote, hybrid and mobile workers, (8)
    benefit year calculation, (9) key definitions, such as ``parent,''
    ``child,'' ``serious health condition,'' etc., (10) job protection,
    (11) funding, (12) waiting periods, (13) intermittent leave, (14)
    employee notice and scheduling, (15) documentation, (16) medical
    recertification, (17) interplay with employer-provided leave and time
    off, (18) interplay with other laws, (19) notice to employees,
    including new hires, (20) posting, (21) claim filing processes, (22)
    benefits continuation, (23) employee disqualification, (24)
    confidentiality, (25) recordkeeping, (26) anti-retaliation,
    discrimination and interference, (27) reporting and remitting, (28)
    treatment of union workers, (29) treatment of self-employed workers,
    (30) written policy requirements, and (31) private plans.

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Discrepancies and dissimilarities shown in the above graphic, as
    well as that exist in other areas of PFML laws, lead to complexities
    and challenges for employers and employees alike. Nonexclusive
    representative examples of these challenges include:

          Treating Similarly Situated Workers Differently. Because of
    deviations in the duration of leave, scope of qualifying absences,
    scope of covered family members, amount of pay, etc., multistate
    companies are forced to treat employees who are similarly situated
    (i.e., doing the same job, with the same job responsibilities, etc.)
    differently based on their location, which leads to inequity among
    workers and administrative hardship for employers.

          Percentage of Wage Replacement: Variation in the percentage of
    wage replacement provided to employees under state PFML laws, which can
    range from 60 to 100% up to certain thresholds, is especially impactful
    on low wage earners. In addition, wage replacement variations can lead
    to payroll challenges, as well as wage and hour law compliance risks,
    for employers seeking to ``top off'' employees' PFML benefits where
    wages provided by the PFML law are replaced at less than 100% of the
    employee's normal pay.

          Remote, Hybrid and Mobile Workers: Remote, hybrid and mobile
    work arrangements where employees work in more than one jurisdiction
    with a mandatory PFML law exacerbate complications for employees. Not
    every mandatory PFML jurisdiction has a standard on determining whether
    a remote, hybrid or mobile employee is eligible for PFML benefits. In
    addition, even where multiple laws do contain such standards, they
    often are unclear as to how PFML eligibility and coverage operates for
    employees who split time between the jurisdictions. In the wake of the
    COVID-19 pandemic, the problem has become more complex as employees
    continue to work remotely from home, but increasingly have relocated
    their residence to different states.

          Inconsistency with the FMLA: Mandatory PFML laws are
    inconsistent with the federal FMLA on a number of topics, including
    having lower thresholds for employee eligibility, broader reasons for
    use and covered family members, and greater length of benefits. These
    differences lead to ``stacking'' of benefits whereby the leaves under
    two laws do not run concurrently, thus leading to increased absenteeism
    and costs to the business, and a greater burden on co-workers and
    managers.

          Coordination with Employer Policies: Several PFML laws do not
    clearly address how their benefits interact with employer provided
    leave and time off. Further, several PFML laws do not differentiate
    between coordination with
    employer-provided leave (i.e., short-term disability, paid parental
    leave, etc.) and time off (i.e., sick time, vacation, PTO, etc.).
    Adding to the complexity, certain PFML laws, such as Washington State,
    do not allow employers to run
    company-provided leave or time off benefits concurrently with statutory
    PFML. These differences, as well as an inability to run benefits
    concurrently, lead to ``stacking'' of benefits and corresponding
    absenteeism that far exceeds the length of leave contemplated by PFML
    laws.

          Lack of Job Protection: Only some state PFML laws provide
    employees with job protection, i.e., a right to be reinstated to the
    same or an equivalent position following the receipt of PFML benefits.
    In addition, several state PFML laws that do contain a job protection
    provision attach certain criteria that employees must satisfy in order
    to receive the full scope of the job protection. Employees often assume
    that their job will be secure when taking statutory time off under a
    PFML law. However, because multiple PFML laws only offer wage
    replacement benefits, rather than job protection to employees, workers
    can take time off without fully understanding the scope of their rights
    and potential loss of employment that could follow the time off.

          Understanding Overlapping Leave Laws and Policies: Similarly,
    nationwide and multistate employers struggle to manage day-to-day
    employee leaves because determining how much leave an employee is
    entitled to in a given state varies based on applicable federal, state
    and local law, and company policies. Differences in whether the
    benefits run concurrently, which benefits provide pay (and up to what
    percentage), and which portions of the employee's absence are ``job
    protected'' all vary based on the state and the nature of the
    employee's absence. Company departments, such as Human Resources,
    Benefits, Legal, People Relations and Payroll, can struggle to
    understand this interplay, especially where the employer lacks robust
    teams in these departments. This has a trickle-down effect to workers
    and can lead to unnecessary confusion. The most complicated scenario is
    in the context of combined medical and family leave for the birth
    parent following the birth of a child.

          Private Plans: While 12 of the 14 jurisdictions with mandatory
    PFML laws have a private plan exemption available for employers to
    avoid the state public PFML program, private plan approval standards
    are burdensome and varied. Notably, employers generally must show that
    it meets or exceeds the jurisdiction's substantive PFML criteria to
    obtain approval. Private plan approval also involves satisfying broad
    administrative standards, i.e., application fees, regular reapproval,
    employee consent, reporting requirements, solvency standards, and so
    on. Due to the high bar for private plan approval, employers lack the
    ability to offer a ``one-size-fits-all'' PFML policy to their
    employees. This deficiency negatively affects both employers and
    employees. Employers must incur heavy administrative burdens that vary
    by state to obtain PFML private plan approval, and after obtaining
    approval, the employer must manage different private plans. Meanwhile,
    employees lose out on having their employer design a uniquely tailored
    paid leave program for them based on the nature of their work,
    industry, and other company-provided leave and time off benefits due to
    PFML law red tape.

          Intermittent Leave: Existing state PFML laws lack a unified
    standard for handling intermittent absences, particularly when PFML
    benefits are used to bond with a new child. Unlike the FMLA, which only
    permits intermittent bonding absences with employer and employee
    consent, a vast majority of mandatory state PFML laws allow employees
    to receive benefits for qualifying bonding absences intermittently,
    often in increments as small as one day. Permitting employees to start
    and stop work on an intermittent basis, specifically in the context of
    bonding with a new child, can create major disruptions in the workplace
    that put unnecessary strain on the employee's co-workers and managers,
    as well as the individuals responsible for administering the PFML
    absence.

    Nationwide uniformity is a bedrock principle of employer-provided
    benefits for multistate employers. For nearly 50 years, Congress has
    embedded flexibility in the design and operation of health and
    retirement plans for different workforces, alongside federal uniformity
    for employers who operate in more than one state. As Congress assesses
    the contours of potential federal PFML proposals, future legislation
    should incentivize employers to provide innovative, generous paid leave
    plans by following a similar approach. Further, to support and leverage
    employer-provided paid leave benefits, it is critical that federal
    legislation promotes the harmonization of state PFML programs so that
    nationwide and multistate employers can treat their workers equitably
    regardless of where they work or live.

                                     ______

                           Caring Across Generations

                             45 Broadway, Suite 320

                               New York, NY 10006

    To Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,

    Caring Across Generations is a national organization of family
    caregivers, care workers, disabled people, and aging adults working to
    transform the way we care in this country so that care is accessible,
    affordable and equitable--and our systems of care enable everyone to
    live and age with dignity. We appreciate the opportunity to submit
    written comments for the record on the importance of paid family and
    medical leave.

    Everyone will need to take time off work to care for themselves or
    loved ones at some point in their lives. Yet, most Americans do not
    have access to policies on the state or federal level that would
    protect their jobs and wages when it's time to care. Only 23% of
    workers in the United States have access to paid family leave through
    their employers, and just 41% have access to personal medical leave
    through
    employer-provided short-term disability insurance.\1\ And although the
    federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides important job
    protections, nearly half of workers are not eligible--and many can't
    afford to take unpaid leave.\2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.abetterbalance.org/resources/the-u-s-needs-paid-
    family-and-medical-leave/.
        \2\ https://nationalpartnership.org/report/fmla-key-facts/.

    The U.S. is one of few countries worldwide that does not provide some
    form of paid leave.\3\ While some states have led the way in
    establishing their own paid family medical leave programs and providing
    workers with paid time off to care, no one should be forced to make
    difficult choices between their health and financial well-being. A
    comprehensive, national paid family and medical leave program is a
    critical tool that will help to meet the needs of parents, older
    adults, disabled people and people with serious illnesses, underpaid
    and part-time workers, and the growing number of family caregivers who
    will need to take leave to help care for an aging adult.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://www.cepr.net/report/care-related-part-time-employment-
    the-case-for-federally-guaranteed-paid-family-and-medical-leave/.

    Paid leave is good for workers, families, caregivers, and disabled
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    people.

    All workers are impacted by a lack of paid family leave on the national
    level, and especially the most underpaid workers. Access to paid leave
    is unequally distributed. Nationwide, only 23% private workers receive
    paid leave benefits through their employer.\4\ Part-time and low-wage
    jobs are even less likely to offer paid leave benefits, and research
    shows that workers of color and women are particularly impacted due
    labor market discrimination.\5\ Women of color are more likely to be
    key and sole breadwinners for their families, and are also more likely
    to be primary caregivers for their loved ones, making opting out of the
    labor force or taking unpaid leave when care needs arise often
    impossible.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ https://www.abetterbalance.org/resources/the-u-s-needs-paid-
    family-and-medical-leave/.
        \5\ https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/
    paid-family-and-medical-leave-racial-justice-issue-and-opportunity.pdf.
        \6\ Ibid.

    It's important that new parents have access to paid family leave, and
    workers need access to leave throughout the entire life cycle. 70% of
    people turning 65 can expect to need some form of medium- to long-term
    care during their lives, often resulting in a family member needing to
    take leave from work beyond what would be covered by paid sick time
    off. A large majority of caregiving work is unpaid and performed by
    mostly women and women and color, and as the U.S. population ages, the
    need for care will only grow.\7\ Already, 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. are
    unpaid family caregivers.\8\ Paid family leave can allow workers who
    are unpaid family caregivers to remain in the labor force and take care
    of themselves while caring for aging loved ones.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/importance-paid-leave-
    caregivers/.
        \8\ https://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2020/caregiving-in-the-united-
    states.html.

    Paid family leave is also a vital support for disabled people and their
    families. Workers with disabilities may be even less likely than other
    workers to have access to paid leave, because they are
    disproportionately employed in part-time and underpaid work, where less
    than 10% of the workforce has access to paid family leave.\9\
    Additionally, disabled people are not just often recipients of care--
    they're often caregivers themselves. Analysis of the Department of
    Labor's 2018 FMLA Survey found that 29% of workers who may have a
    disability--because they took medical leave for an ongoing health
    condition in the past 12 months--were also caring for one or more
    children under the age of 18.\10\, \11\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/disability-community-
    needs-paid-family-medical-leave/.
        \10\ Ibid.
        \11\ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasp/evaluation/fmla2018.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Paid leave is good for business and the economy.

    Employers recognize that their employees will need to take time off of
    work to care for themselves or their families, and states have
    demonstrated that employers stand to benefit from a publicly-
    administered paid family and medical leave program. For example, when
    employers have a public paid leave program to offer, they are able to
    retain employees, and consequently incur fewer turnover costs. In
    California, 83% of workers in ``lower quality'' jobs who used the
    state's paid leave program returned to their previous employer--a 9-
    point improvement over workers who did not use the program.\12\ And
    research has shown that it improves employee morale and results in
    higher productivity, which can also add to improved recruitment and
    retention, and give employees the peace of mind needed to do their best
    work.\13\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ https://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-family-leave-
    1-2011.pdf.
        \13\ https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    paid-leave-good-for-business.pdf.

    Small businesses benefit from paid leave policies for all of the above
    reasons, and because it helps them compete with larger employers that
    would otherwise put them at a hiring disadvantage. The cost of the
    programs is shared, making it more affordable than private plans. And
    states with programs have adjusted well--in New Jersey, a survey
    conducted for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association found
    that, regardless of size, businesses say they have had little trouble
    adjusting to the state's law.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    paid-leave-good-for-business.pdf.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A strong national paid leave policy can help families thrive.

    Thanks to the states that have led the way in providing paid leave to
    families, it's clear what a strong paid family leave program looks
    like. A strong program would: be national and inclusive of all
    employers; be publicly administered; feature meaningful wage
    replacement, as close to 100% as possible; offer as many weeks of leave
    possible (12 weeks or more); cover a broad range of care needs; have a
    broad and inclusive family definition, including ``chosen family'';
    protect jobs so workers can take leave without fear of being fired,
    laid off, or retaliated against; dedicate funding for outreach,
    education, and enforcement; and be portable, so that it's attached to
    the worker, rather than the employer.

    We thank you for your focus on paid family and medical leave, and we
    urge you to support a national paid family and medical leave policy. If
    you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please contact
    Kathy Mendes, Policy Associate with Caring Across Generations at
    kathy@caringacross.org.

    Sincerely,
    Kathy Mendes, Policy Associate

                                     ______

                          Center for American Progress

                               1333 H Street, NW

                              Washington, DC 20005

                                  202-682-1611

                       https://www.americanprogress.org/

              Statement of Molly Weston Williamson, Senior Fellow

    Thank you to Chairman Wyden and the committee for holding this hearing
    on paid leave, the first ever such hearing before the full committee.
    As committee members highlighted at the historic hearing, the United
    States stands nearly alone among its economic peers in failing to
    guarantee paid leave for all workers. While thirteen states and the
    District of Columbia have enacted their own policies, most have not,
    leaving too many workers to fall through the cracks.\1\ This critical
    gap has profound and harmful consequences for the health and economic
    security of working families as well as for the economy as a whole.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Molly Weston Williamson, The State of Paid Family and Medical
    Leave in the U.S. in 2023, Center for American Progress (January 5,
    2023), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-state-of-paid-
    family-and-medical-leave-in-the-u-s-in-2023/; Molly Weston Williamson,
    Fast Facts About Minnesota's New Paid Leave Law, Center for American
    Progress (May 19, 2023), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fast-
    facts-about-minnesotas-new-paid-leave-law/; Molly Weston Williamson,
    Fast Facts about Paid Leave in Maine, Center for American Progress
    (July 11, 2023), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fast-facts-
    about-paid-leave-in-maine/.

    The Center for American Progress (CAP) is an independent, nonpartisan
    policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all
    Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership
    and concerted action. For nearly our entire history, CAP has fought for
    comprehensive, inclusive paid family and medical leave through
    research, advocacy, and outreach. As CAP research has shown again and
    again, paid leave is an all-around win: a win for workers and their
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    families, a win for employers, and a win for the nation's economy.

    The following represent key findings from Center for American Progress
    research:

          The United States loses over $22.5 billion in wages each year
    due to lack of paid leave.\2\ The absence of a federal paid leave
    policy is a drag on the nation's economy and on families' economic
    security. As CAP has repeated this analysis over the years, the cost of
    inaction has only grown over time.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Sarah Jane Glynn, The Rising Cost of Inaction on Work-Family
    Policies, Center for American Progress (January 21, 2020), https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/rising-cost-inaction-work-family-
    policies/.
        \3\ Id. See also Sarah Jane Glynn and Danielle Corley, The Cost of
    Work-Family Policy Inaction: Quantifying the Costs Families Currently
    Face as a Result of Lacking U.S. Work-Family Policies, Center for
    American Progress (September 22, 2016), https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/the-cost-of-inaction/.

          Paid leave boosts labor force participation by ensuring workers
    can take the time they need and return to work ready, rather than being
    pushed out entirely. For example, California's paid leave program
    increased labor force participation by those caring for a loved one by
    8% in the short run and 14% in the long run.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Joelle Saad-Lesser and Kate Bahn, The Importance of Paid Leave
    for Caregivers: Labor Force Participation Effects of California's
    Comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave, Center for American
    Progress (September 27, 2017), https://www.americanprogress.org/
    article/importance-paid-leave-caregivers/.

          Guaranteeing paid leave bolsters retirement security,
    particularly for women. By keeping Americans connected to the
    workforce, paid leave can mean higher Social Security benefits, greater
    opportunities for private retirement savings, and reduced need to
    divert retirement savings for other needs.\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Molly Weston Williamson, Paid Leave Is an Essential Investment
    in Retirement Security, Center for American Progress (May 16, 2023),
    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/paid-leave-is-an-essential-
    investment-in-retirement-security/.

          In a changing economy, paid leave for the self-employed can
    expand access to entrepreneurship and transform the experience of self-
    employment.\6\ Millions of Americans are self-employed, including
    disproportionately high numbers of immigrants, older adults, people
    with criminal records, and people with disabilities;\7\ self-employed
    individuals without employees are the overwhelming majority of small
    business owners.\8\ Ensuring access to paid leave for these workers, as
    state programs have already begun providing,\9\ would remake the
    reality of self-employment and open opportunities to new
    entrepreneurs.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Molly Weston Williamson, Why Self-Employed Workers Need Paid
    Leave, Center for American Progress (September 21, 2023), https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/why-self-employed-workers-need-paid-
    leave/.
        \7\ Molly Weston Williamson, Understanding the Self-employed in the
    United States, Center for American Progress (September 21, 2023),
    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/understanding-the-self-
    employed-in-the-united-states/.
        \8\ Id.
        \9\ Molly Weston Williamson, Self-Employed Workers' Access to State
    Paid Leave Programs in 2023, Center for American Progress (August 10,
    2023), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/self-employed-workers-
    access-to-state-paid-leave-programs-in-2023/.
        \10\ Molly Weston Williamson, Why Self-Employed Workers Need Paid
    Leave, Center for American Progress (September 21, 2023), https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/why-self-employed-workers-need-paid-
    leave/.

          Paid leave policies must protect workers' ability to provide
    care for all those they consider family, including ``chosen family''--
    loved ones to whom workers may not have a legal or biological
    relationship. CAP research found that 58% of LGBTQI+ people, along with
    46% of non-LGBTQI+ people, have been called on by chosen family for
    support with a health-related need.\11\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Caroline Medina and Molly Weston Williamson, Paid Leave
    Policies Must Include Chosen Family, Center for American Progress
    (March 1, 2023), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/paid-leave-
    policies-must-include-chosen-family/.

          Ensuring access to paid leave is a matter of racial and economic
    justice.\12\ Each year, of the 17 million leaves working women need,
    3.8 million are taken unpaid and nearly 6 million are not taken at
    all.\13\ For Black women, these numbers are even more stark: more than
    60% of needed leaves are either taken without pay or not taken at
    all.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Jessica Milli, Jocelyn Frye, and Maggie Jo Buchanan, Black
    Women Need Access to Paid Family and Medical Leave, Center for American
    Progress (March 4, 2022), https://www.
    americanprogress.org/article/black-women-need-access-to-paid-family-
    and-medical-leave/.
        \13\ Id.
        \14\ Id.

          Workers with disabilities and their families need paid
    leave.\15\ According to CAP research, workers who may have disabilities
    ``are less likely to receive pay and more likely to experience
    financial difficulty while on leave than all workers who take
    leave.''\16\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ Diana Boesch and Rebecca Cokley, The Disability Community
    Needs Paid Family and Medical Leave, Center for American Progress
    (October 7, 2020), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/disability-
    community-needs-paid-family-medical-leave/.
        \16\ Id.

          Veterans and military families need paid leave, for deployment
    related needs, care for service-connected health conditions, and for
    the needs that affect all families.\17\ For example, over a quarter
    (28%) of former active duty service members have taken time off work to
    care for chosen family or friends with a health need.\18\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ Diana Boesch, Veterans and Military Families Need
    Comprehensive Paid Leave Solutions, Center for American Progress
    (November 9, 2018), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/veterans-
    military-families-need-comprehensive-paid-leave-solutions/.
        \18\ Id.

    Thank you again for the opportunity to submit this statement and for
    lifting up this important conversation. As Chairman Wyden noted in his
    opening statement, ``our country is strong enough and good enough to
    make paid leave happen for all Americans.'' At CAP, we strongly agree
    and are committed to continuing the push until each and every American
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    has the paid leave they need when they need it the most.

                                     ______

                        Center for Law and Social Policy

                        1200 18th Street, NW, Suite 200

                              Washington, DC 20036

                                 (202) 906-8000

                             https://www.clasp.org/

    Dear Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the
    Committee:

    Thank you for convening the first ever Senate Finance Committee hearing
    on paid family medical leave. The Center for Law and Social Policy
    (CLASP) is grateful for the opportunity to submit this statement for
    the record to the Senate Finance Committee on ``Exploring Paid Leave:
    Policy, Practice, and Impact on the Workforce.''

    CLASP is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit advancing anti-poverty
    policy solutions that disrupt structural and systemic racism and sexism
    and remove barriers blocking people from economic security and
    opportunity. With deep expertise in a wide range of programs and policy
    ideas, longstanding relationships with anti-poverty, child and family,
    higher education, workforce development, and economic justice
    stakeholders, including labor unions and worker centers, and over 50
    years of history, CLASP works to amplify the voices of directly-
    impacted workers and families and help public officials design and
    implement effective programs.

    CLASP seeks to improve the quality of jobs for low-income workers,
    especially workers of color, women, immigrants and youth. Our work
    includes working with policymakers to raise wages, increase access to
    benefits, implement and enforce new and existing labor standards, and
    ensure workers can strengthen their voice through collective
    bargaining. Quality jobs enable workers to balance their work, school,
    family, religious, community, and other responsibilities--promoting
    economic well-being and strengthening our society.

    Almost all working people will experience a caregiving need at some
    point in their lives, whether they are in need of care or need to care
    for a close family member. Despite this nearly universal need, the U.S.
    does not guarantee working people any paid time away from work, and
    many workers aren't even entitled to unpaid leave. In the absence of a
    federal policy, 14 states, including Washington, DC, have established
    state family and medical leave programs. Under these state programs,
    working people can take time away from work to care for a new child, a
    seriously ill loved one, or recover from a medical illness or injury,
    and receive a portion of their income. State programs demonstrate the
    numerous employment, income and health impacts paid family and medical
    leave can have on families, and how it can help strengthen families and
    businesses. The state programs also provide tested models for how to
    create and administer a federal paid leave program.

    The State of Paid Leave in the U.S.

    The U.S. remains the only Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
    Development (OECD) member country without even a paid parental leave
    program.\1\ According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),
    only 27 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid family (including
    parental) leave through their employers, leaving 106 million workers
    without pay when caring for a new child, aging parent or sick family
    member.\2\ The situation is more pronounced for workers paid low-wages.
    While 48 percent of the highest-paid workers have access to paid family
    leave, only 6 percent of the lowest paid workers have access.\3\
    Similar inequities are generally true for access to paid medical leave,
    typically through employer-provided temporary disability insurance
    (TDI). Sixty-five percent of the highest paid workers have access to
    paid medical leave through an employer provided TDI plan, while only 10
    percent of the lowest paid workers have access.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ ``PF2.1. Parental leave systems,'' Organisation for Economic
    Co-operation and Development, last accessed Oct. 2023, https://
    www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf.
        \2\ ``Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023,'' U.S.
    Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sept. 2023, https://www.bls.gov/ebs/
    publications/employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2023.
    htm#Overview.
        \3\ Ibid.
        \4\ Ibid.

    While the data doesn't break out access by gender or race and
    ethnicity, occupational segregation means women of color are
    disproportionately likely to work in low-paid jobs,\5\ so this data
    suggests gender and racial inequities in access to paid leave are
    likely. Additionally, due to gendered caregiving norms, women bear a
    disproportionate share of family caregiving responsibilities,\6\
    compounding the impact that the lack of paid leave has on women and
    their families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Jessica Mason and Katherine Gallagher Robbins, ``Women's Work
    Is Undervalued, and It's Costing Us Billions'' National Partnership for
    Women and Families, Sept. 2023, https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-
    content/uploads/2023/04/womens-work-is-undervalued.pdf.
        \6\ Sarah Jane Glynn, ``An Unequal Division of Labor,'' Center for
    American Progress, May 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/
    unequal-division-labor/.

    The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides unpaid, job-protected
    leave to millions of working people for family caregiving or medical
    needs. While passage of the FMLA was a monumental achievement for its
    time, coverage and eligibility restrictions mean that over 40 percent
    of the workforce are excluded from its protections.\7\ Since the FMLA
    guarantees only unpaid leave, it's inaccessible to the millions of low-
    paid workers who can't afford to lose their paychecks for any period of
    time.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ ``Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical
    Leave Act: Results from the 2018 Surveys,'' Abt Associates, July 2020,
    https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/
    WHD_FMLA2018SurveyResults_FinalReport_Aug2020.pdf.

    It's important to note that working people in the U.S. are not
    guaranteed paid sick leave either. According to the BLS, 78 percent of
    private sector workers have access to paid sick leave. Among the lowest
    paid workers, only 39 percent have access, compared to 96 percent of
    the highest paid workers.\8\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ ``Employee Benefits in the United States,'' 2023.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Consequences a Lack of Paid Leave has on Women and Families

    Without access to paid leave, workers are forced to return to work
    instead of taking care of their health or their loved ones, while
    others receive and provide care at the cost of their economic security.
    This impossible choice often leads to work and income instability, or
    worse. The scope of unmet leave extends beyond the workplace--not
    taking needed leave can lead to compounding health and financial costs.
    Economic Insecurity
    Research from the Urban Institute finds that access to paid leave is
    lowest among workers with the greatest needs, including workers of
    color, and part-time and hourly workers. While 72 percent of white
    workers surveyed have access to paid leave, only 58 percent of Latinx
    and 67 percent of Black workers have access.\9\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Chantel Boyens, Michael Karpman, and Jack Smalligan, ``Access
    to Paid Leave Is Lowest among Workers with the Greatest Needs,'' Urban
    Institute, July 2022, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/
    access-paid-leave-lowest-among-workers-greatest-needs.

    Some part-time workers work part-time involuntarily due to a lack of
    full-time jobs, earning less income than they would prefer. Part-time
    jobs offer relatively lower hourly wages and benefits and have more
    variable and unpredictable work schedules, resulting in incomes that
    can fluctuate weekly.\10\ Some employers--especially in the service
    sector--are reluctant to offer full-time positions. Instead, they hire
    multiple part-time staff so they can adjust staffing on short notice
    and reduce wage costs. As a result, many part-time workers are denied
    opportunities to advance into full-time jobs where access to paid leave
    may be greater.\11\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ Lonnie Golden and Jaeseung Kim, ``Underemployment Just Isn't
    Working for U.S. Part-Time Workers,'' Center for Law and Social Policy,
    May 2020, https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/
    underemployment-just-isnt-working-us-part-time-workers/
    #::text=Thus%2C%
    20about%20one%20in%20every,harms%20of%20more%20widespread%20underemploym
    ent.
        \11\ Daniel Schneider and Kristen Harknett, ``Working in the
    Service Sector in Connecticut,'' The Shift Project, March 2018, https:/
    /shift.hks.harvard.edu/working-in-the-service-sector-in-connecticut.

    The Center for American Progress estimates that the total cost to
    workers due to a lack of access to comprehensive paid family and
    medical leave and affordable child care is $31.9 billion in annual lost
    wages: $9.4 billion in lost wages due to child care challenges and
    $22.5 billion in lost wages due to a lack of paid family and medical
    leave.\12\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Sarah Jane Glynn, ``The Rising Cost of Inaction on Work-Family
    Policies,'' Center for American Progress, Jan. 2020, https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/rising-cost-inaction-work-family-
    policies/.

    While the need for paid leave stretches across race, ethnicity and
    gender, the impacts are not borne equally. Working mothers play a
    critical role in their families' economic security, and women of color
    are more likely to have an outsized role. The vast majority of Black
    mothers--68 percent--are primary breadwinners \13\ and are also most
    likely to be pushed into industries that pay low wages.\14\ The
    compounding impacts of systemic racism and sexism means that women of
    color face the most dire consequences of unmet need for leave. Six out
    of ten Black women--who are disproportionately primary breadwinners--
    either don't take leave or do so without pay, costing them an estimated
    $3.9 billion in lost wages each year. Overall, 5.9 million leaves are
    needed but not taken by women each year.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ Sarah Jane Glynn, `` Breadwinning Mothers Are Critical to
    Families' Economic Security,'' Center for American Progress, Mar. 2021,
    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/breadwinning-mothers-critical-
    familys-economic-security/.
        \14\ Sarah Jane Glynn, ``Breadwinning Mothers Continue to be the
    U.S. Norm,'' Center for American Progress, May 2019, https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/breadwinning-mothers-continue-u-s-
    norm/.
        \15\ Jessica Milli, Jocelyn Frye, and Maggie Jo Buchanan, ``Black
    Women Need Access to Paid Family and Medical Leave,'' Center for
    American Progress, Mar. 2022, https://www.
    americanprogress.org/article/black-women-need-access-to-paid-family-
    and-medical-leave/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Maternal Health Crisis
    The inability to take leave also results in serious health
    complications that jeopardize the lives of pregnant people. One in four
    U.S. employed mothers return to work within two weeks of giving
    birth,\16\ forcing back into the workplace mothers who are exhausted
    from a major medical event--and who may have trouble walking up stairs
    or standing for long periods of time--or who have wounds that are still
    stitched and healing. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate
    of any OECD country, averaging over three times the rate of most other
    high-income countries.\17\ According to the Centers for Disease
    Control, 53.3 percent of pregnancy-
    related deaths occur between 7 days and one year postpartum, and over
    80 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.\18\
    Moreover, the U.S. continues to face a harrowing Black maternal
    mortality crisis--Black women are three times more likely to experience
    fatal outcomes from pregnancy-related complications than white
    women.\19\ Reflecting the impact of racism in our health care system
    and beyond, maternal mortality rates for Black women increased 87
    percent from 2018 to 2021.\20\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ Pronita Gupta, Statement of Pronita Gupta Testimony Before the
    U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means ``Paid Family
    and Medical Leave: Helping Workers and Employers Succeed,'' Center for
    Law and Social Policy, May 2019, https://www.clasp.org/wp-content/
    uploads/2022/04/20192005200820Pronita20Gupta20PFML20testimony20.pdf.
        \17\ Munira Z. Gunja, Evan D. Gumas, and Reginald D. Williams II,
    ``U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating
    Spending, Worsening Outcomes,'' The Commonwealth Fund, Jan. 2023,
    https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-
    health-care-global-perspective-2022.
        \18\ Susanna Trost, Jennifer Beauregard, Gyan Chandra, et. al,
    ``Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review
    Committees in 36 US States, 2017-2019,'' Centers for Disease Control
    and Prevention, last reviewed Sep. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/
    reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/erase-mm/data-mmrc.html.
        \19\ ``Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality,''
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last reviewed Apr. 2023,
    https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/
    index.html.
        \20\ Donna L. Hoyert, ``Maternal Mortality Rates in the United
    States,'' 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last
    reviewed Mar. 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-
    mortality/2021/maternal-mortality-rates-2021.htm#anchor_1559670130302.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Leave Can Lead to Positive Health Outcomes

    It's critical we deploy all the tools necessary to protect maternal and
    infant health, including guaranteed paid leave to recover from
    childbirth and bond with a new child. Without a federal guarantee to
    paid family and medical leave, the vast majority of people giving birth
    lack the ability to take time off to heal after delivery and care for
    themselves and their newborn. The postpartum period brings with it
    emotional changes, recovery from birth, and the challenges of caring
    for an infant that can all feel overwhelming.\21\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ ``A Mother's Guide to the Fourth Trimester,'' Columbia
    University Irving Medical Center, Nov. 2021, https://
    www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/mothers-guide-fourth-trimester#::text=The%
    20fourth%20trimester%E2%80%94the%2012,mothers%20need%20it%20the%20most.

    Research suggests that paid parental leave improves maternal mental and
    physical health.\22\ Paid parental leave is associated with a decline
    in depressive symptoms, a reduced likelihood of severe depression, as
    well as improvement in overall maternal health,\23\ and lowered rates
    of hospital admissions for mental health conditions.\24\ Federal action
    to ensure all workers have access to paid family leave is critical to
    address the alarming rates of maternal health concerns, the related
    maternal mortality rates, and the disproportionate harm borne by Black
    women and families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \22\ Sarah Coombs, ``Paid Leave is Essential for Healthy Moms and
    Babies,'' National Partnership for Women and Families, 2021, https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-is-
    essential-for-healthy-moms-and-babies.pdf.
        \23\ Pinka Chatterji and Sarah Markowitz, ``Family leave after
    childbirth and the mental health of new mothers,'' Journal of Mental
    Health Policy and Economics, Jun 2012, 15(2):61-76, https://
    pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22813939/.
        \24\ ``Parental Leave Brings Mental Health Benefits, Especially for
    Mothers,'' American Psychiatric Association, Jan. 2023, https://
    www.psychiatry.org/News-room/APA-Blogs/Parental-Leave-Mental-Health-
    Benefits#::text=Benefits%20of%20Parent.al%20Leave&text=Longer%20
    parental%20leave%20was%20associated,longer%20leave%2C%20paid%20or%20unpa
    id.

    Improving parental outcomes can also lead to better health outcomes for
    infants. The early years of a child's life are shown to have
    significant future learning, behavior and health impacts. This time
    period is critical for a child's development, and research demonstrates
    that positive interactions with caregivers during these years can
    produce long-term benefits for children, families and society.\25\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \25\ ``In Brief: The Science of Early Childhood Development,''
    Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, Mar. 2007, https://
    developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-science-of-ecd/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Leave is Good for the Economy

    Peer countries like Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom, provide
    working people with paid family leave.\26\ The National Partnership for
    Women and Families estimated that if labor force participation for
    American prime-age women--those aged 25 to 54--was at rates similar to
    those of women in those counties, there would have been up to 4.85
    million more women in the workforce in 2021. That amounts to $237
    billion in lost wages per year for women and families, and $650 billion
    per year to the economy overall--2.9 percent of total GDP.\27\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \26\ PF2.1. Parental leave systems, 2023.
        \27\ Amanda Novello, ``The Cost of Inaction: How a Lack of Family
    Care Policies Burdens the U.S. Economy and Families,'' National
    Partnership for Women and Families, Jul, 2021, https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/cost-of-inaction-
    lack-of-family-care-burdens-families.pdf.

    Evidence from states with paid leave programs shows us that access to
    comprehensive paid leave is essential to maintaining economic stability
    for families in the midst of health crises and life changes. For
    example, in California, the paid family leave program has increased
    labor force attachment and long-term wages for households with lower
    incomes.\28\ Access to paid leave in California has also lowered the
    risk of poverty among mothers of infants by 10.2 percent and increased
    household income for those mothers by 4.1 percent.\29\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \28\ Ann Bartel, Charles Baum, Maya Rossin-Slater, Christopher
    Ruhm, and Jane Waldfogel, ``California's Paid Family Leave Law: Lessons
    from the First Decade,'' U.S. Department of Labor, Jun. 2014, https://
    www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/PaidLeave-California_2014.
    pdf.
        \29\ Alexandra Boyle Stancyk, ``Does Paid Family Leave Improve
    Household Economic Security Following a Birth? Evidence from
    California,'' Social Service Review, Vol. 93, No. 2, Jun. 2019, https:/
    /www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/703138?journalCode=ssr.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paid Leave is Good for Business

    Paid family and medical leave is good for businesses. Paid leave can
    help lower turnover costs through greater retention, and increase
    worker morale and business productivity. In California, 93 percent of
    employers reported that leave had a positive or neutral effect on
    employee turnover, while also seeing increased productivity (89
    percent) and boosted employee morale (99 percent).\30\ Additionally,
    firm-level analysis of employers in California before and after paid
    family leave was implemented confirmed that for the average firm, wage
    costs had not increased.\31\ In New Jersey, employers noted that the
    state paid leave program helped decrease stress and improve morale
    among employees who took leave and their co-workers.\32\ The Federal
    Employees Paid Leave Act, which provides up to 12 weeks of paid
    parental leave to qualifying federal employees, is anticipated to save
    the federal government $50 million annually in costs related to
    employee turnover.\33\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \30\ Eileen Appelbaum and Ruth Milkman, ``Leaves That Pay: Employer
    and Worker Experience with Paid Family Leave in California.'' Center
    for Economic and Policy Research, 2011, https://cepr.net/documents/
    publications/paid-family-leave-1-2011.pdf.
        \31\ Kelly Bedard and Maya Rossin-Slater, ``The Economic and Social
    Impacts of Paid Family Leave in California: Report for the California
    Employment Development Department,'' California Employment Development
    Department, Oct. 2016, https://edd.ca.gov/siteassets/files/disability/
    pdf/PFL_Economic_and_Social_Impact_Study.pdf.
        \32\ Sharon Lerner and Eileen Appelbaum, ``Business As Usual: New
    Jersey Employers' Experiences with Family Leave Insurance,'' Center for
    Economic and Policy Research, Jun. 2014, http://www.cepr.net/documents/
    nj-fli-2014-06.pdf.
        \33\ Kevin Miller, Allison Suppan Helmuth, and Robin Farabee-Siers,
    ``The Need for Paid Parental Leave for Federal Employees: Adapting to a
    Changing Workforce,'' Institute for Women's Policy Research, Nov. 2020,
    https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FEPPLAExecSumm.
    pdf.

    Paid family and medical leave also helps level the playing field
    between small businesses and larger firms. Small businesses may have
    trouble matching more generous leave benefits offered by larger
    employers, potentially putting them at a hiring disadvantage. A federal
    paid leave program would help small businesses provide this critical
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    benefit, without having to shoulder the entire cost.

    In states with paid leave, small businesses have adapted well to new
    programs. The California Society for Human Resource Management, which
    initially opposed the law, stated that it is less onerous than
    expected, and few businesses reported challenges resulting from workers
    taking leave.\34\ In New Jersey, a survey conducted for the New Jersey
    Business and Industry Association found that businesses of all sizes
    had little trouble adjusting to the paid leave law.\35\ In New York, a
    survey among businesses with fewer than 100 employees, found that the
    majority were supportive of the paid family leave program. The program
    also led to an increase in employers' ease of handling long employee
    absences.\36\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \34\ Jennifer Redmond and Evgenia Fkiaras, ``California's Paid
    Family Leave Act Is Less Onerous Than Predicted,'' Society for Human
    Resources Management Publication, Jan. 2010, https://
    www.sheppardmullin.com/media/article/
    809_CA%20Paid%20Family%20Leave%20Act%20Is%
    20Less%20Onerous%20Than%20Predicted.pdf.
        \35\ Mirian Ramirez, ``The Impact of Paid Family Leave on New
    Jersey Businesses,'' New Jersey Business and Industry Association and
    Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University,
    2012, http://bloustein.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/
    Ramirez.pdf.
        \36\ ``Paid Family Leave: 2018 Year in Review,'' Office of the
    Governor of New York, 2018, https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/default/
    files/atoms/files/PFL_EOYReport_2018_FINAL.pdf.

    Why We Need a Federal Paid Leave Social Insurance Program

    The state paid leave programs offer tested models on how to create a
    comprehensive, equitable federal paid family and medical leave program.
    A federal paid leave program should include the following components:

          Provide twelve weeks of paid leave to address the full range of
    serious personal and family medical and caregiving needs people
    experience. This includes being able to heal from a serious personal
    medical condition, and care for a seriously ill loved one or a new
    child. Treating all of the caregiving needs people have minimizes the
    risk of unintended consequences with respect to gender or age
    discrimination. This is particularly vital for women of color who are
    less likely to have meaningful paid leave provided by employers but are
    more likely to take on family caregiving responsibilities.

          Cover all working people. A federal program should cover all
    workers, whether full-time or part-time; in the private, non-profit, or
    public sector; traditional employees, self-employed and independent
    workers; younger workers; people with intermittent work histories; and
    people with limited earnings but recent attachment to the labor force.

          Provide progressive wage replacement. Replacing up to 100
    percent of wages for low-paid workers and a high share of wages, for
    middle-wage workers, using a sliding scale for wage replacement, is
    critical to ensure the program is accessible. Workers in the lowest
    paid jobs are least likely to have access to any paid leave and most in
    need of a federal program, but the least likely to be able to afford to
    take leave if it requires taking a pay cut. Too-low wage replacement
    may also reinforce gender and racial disparities in leave-taking.

          Include family caregiving rules that reflect the diversity of
    caregiving relationships people have. Virtually all states with paid
    leave programs now provide paid leave for workers to care for loved
    ones beyond immediate family and several include family members related
    by affinity as well as blood.

          Ensure that paid leave is job protected. Working people must
    feel secure using the paid leave that is available without risking job
    loss. There must also be robust anti-retaliation protections in place.
    This is especially important in any system that is funded fully or
    partially through worker contributions to ensure workers can access
    benefits they've paid for in part or whole.

          Harmonize federal and state programs' administration. Workers in
    states where paid leave is available and either equal to or more
    generous than a federal program can maintain the value of their state
    policies and state benefit administration. Federal legislation should
    provide states the time and financial resources they need to adapt
    their existing programs to a new federal landscape.

          Include sufficient resources for implementation. This includes
    funding for education and outreach about the program, research and
    evaluation, and enforcement so that the promise of the program can be
    realized. State paid leave experience underscores the importance of
    continued investments in ensuring people understand and can use the
    benefits available. It's also critical to measure and analyze the way
    benefits are administered and delivered to ensure equitable
    utilization.

    The FAMILY Act

    A state by state approach to providing paid family and medical leave
    means that millions of families remain without this critical
    protection. The majority of Black Americans live in Southern states,
    which--due to nearly universal Republican control of state
    legislatures--will not soon enough pass a statewide paid family and
    medical leave program.\37\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \37\ Christine Tamir, ``The Growing Diversity of Black America,''
    Pew Research Center, Mar. 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-
    trends/2021/03/25/the-growing-diversity-of-black-america/.

    It's critical that Congress pass a comprehensive paid family and
    medical leave plan. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY)
    Act, recently reintroduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and
    Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) builds off of the hard-won victories
    and lessons of the state programs. It provides the majority of workers
    in the U.S. access to up to 12 weeks of job- protected paid family and
    medical leave. Workers would be able to take paid leave to address
    their own serious health needs, which research shows is the most common
    reason workers use leave;\38\ care for a seriously sick family member;
    bond with a new child; or address the impact of military deployment. It
    also provides ``safe leave''--time to deal with the impact of sexual or
    domestic violence.\39\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \38\ Scott Brown, Jane Herr, Radha Roy, and Jacob Alex Klerman,
    ``Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the FMLA Employee Leave-Taking
    Patterns,'' Abt Associates, Jul. 2021, https://www.dol.gov/sites/
    dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/WHD_FMLA2018PB2LeaveTaking_
    StudyBrief_Aug2020.pdf.
        \39\ ``Americans Need Access to Paid Safe Leave,'' Futures Without
    Violence and National Partnership for Women and Families, May 2023,
    https://policy.futureswithoutviolence.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/
    Futures.NPWF-Fact-Sheet-5.12.23.pdf.

    It's time for Congress to act and provide all workers in all states
    with 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to care for a new child,
    a seriously ill loved one, or their own serious health condition.We
    thank you for holding a hearing on this important topic and for the
    opportunity to submit this written statement. If you have any questions
    regarding this topic, please contact Sapna Mehta, Senior Policy Analyst
    with the Education, Labor & Worker Justice Team at CLASP, at
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    smehta@clasp.org.

    Sincerely,

    Sapna Mehta
    Senior Policy Analyst

                                     ______

     Center for Public Justice, National Association of Evangelicals, and
                      Mormon Women for Ethical Government
    October 23, 2023

    The Honorable Ron Wyden
    Chairman
    United States Senate
    Committee on Finance
    219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20510-6200

    The Honorable Mike Crapo
    Ranking Member
    United States Senate
    Committee on Finance
    219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20510-6200

    Dear Chairperson Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the
    Committee:

    The Center for Public Justice (CPJ) is a Christian policy research and
    civic education organization.\1\ CPJ has been interested in upholding
    family well-being since its founding over forty years ago. CPJ, Mormon
    Women for Ethical Government (MWEG), and the National Association of
    Evangelicals (NAE) offer this testimony in relation to the October 25,
    2023 hearing, ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on
    the Workforce.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Center for Public Justice, 1305 Leslie Ave., Alexandria,
    Virginia, 22301.

    Out of faith conviction, we see both family life and work as God-given
    sources of blessing and responsibility. Families are the foundation of
    a healthy society. Yet, many families struggle to fulfill their
    caregiving responsibilities without financial strain or the fear of
    losing their job. We believe that all families should be able to attend
    to seasons of family caregiving--be it the birth of a child or being
    present with a loved one at the end of life. This is why we applaud the
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Committee on Finance's attention to paid family leave.

    Paid leave is a straightforwardly pro-family policy. Parents who have
    access to paid family leave are more likely to spend time with a new
    child. When families are able to take leave, children and mothers enjoy
    better physical and mental health and stronger long-term
    development.\2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Maya Rossin, ``The Effects of Maternity Leave on Children's
    Birth and Infant Health Outcomes in the United States,'' Journal of
    Health Economics, 2011. Jenna Stearns, ``The Effects of Paid Family
    Leave: Evidence from Temporary Disability Insurance,'' Journal of
    Health Economics, 2015. Pedro Carneiero, Katrine Loken, Kjell Salvanes,
    ``A Flying Start? Maternity Leave Benefits and Long-Run Outcomes of
    Children,'' Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 123, No. 2, April 2015.

    The bonds formed during key caregiving moments leave a lasting imprint
    on families. Research demonstrates, for example, that fathers who take
    at least two weeks of leave for a new child are more likely to be
    actively involved in their child's life over time.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Huerta, Maria, Willem Adema, and Jennifer Baxter. 2013.
    ``Fathers' Leave, Fathers' Involvement and Child Development.'' OECD
    Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers. doi: 10.1787/
    5k4dlw9w6czq-en.

    Only 27% of the workforce currently has access to paid family leave.\4\
    Younger and lower wage workers--the very Americans who face the
    greatest financial precarity before and after welcoming a new child--
    are those least likely to have paid family leave or other basic
    benefits that support family care.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, Family Leave Benefits, September
    21, 2023, https://www.bls.
    gov/ebs/factsheets/family-leave-benefits-fact-
    sheet.htm#::text=In%20March%202023%2C%2027
    %20percent,access%20to%20unpaid%20family%20leave.

    The Center for Public Justice, in partnership with the Center for
    Integrity in Business, interviewed faith-based employers about their
    attitudes and practices relative to paid family leave. Family values
    were overwhelmingly important to these employers. At the same time,
    expanding paid family leave policies on an employer-by-
    employer basis posed real challenges.\5\ Well-crafted public policy
    could help employers better match their workplace practices with their
    core values by making paid family leave an accessible benefit for all.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Denise Daniels, Vicki Eveland, Randal S. Franz, John Godek,
    Rachel Anderson, ``Family-Supportive Practices in the Sacred Sector:
    Research Summary,'' Center for Public Justice, 2019.

    In order for the government to uphold a just society, it must play a
    role in promoting a basic framework in which families can thrive. We
    encourage this Committee to continue to work toward paid family leave
    solutions that address the circumstances of small employers--including
    those in the nonprofit and religious sectors--while also protecting
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    vital time for family caregiving.

    Thank you for your leadership and support of our nation's families.

    Sincerely,

    Stephanie Summers, CEO
    Center for Public Justice (CPJ)

    Walter Kim, President
    National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)

    Emma Petty Addams & Jennifer Walker Thomas, Co-Executive Directors
    Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG)

                                     ______

                                Count on Mothers

                               Mothers Count LLC

                           9854 National Blvd., #526

                             Los Angeles, CA 90034

              Mothers' Views on the FAMILY ACT: Report of Findings

                                  Introduction

                                   __________
    In August 2023, Count on Mothers conducted research to find out
    mothers' views and experiences relating to the FAMILY Act. Actionable
    Insights are provided followed by the full research summaries. We
    conduct research because we believe that mothers' first-hand
    experiences and knowledge are critical sources of information in the
    federal policy making process, particularly on bills that affect kids
    or the conditions of raising a family in the U.S. We share this data
    with legislators and the public so that they may have a better
    understanding of how a bill could help or hurt a family. The full
    report is posted on https://www.countonmothers.org/.

            Actionable Insights at a Glance from Quantitative Study

    From Mothers We Surveyed

          This bill contains points of mostly alignment with some
    differences among Mothers.

          Overwhelmingly, Mothers were aligned across the political
    spectrum on the following:

              Employees should have up to 12 weeks of partial
            income when they take time off from work for reasons relating
            to health, caregiving, and/or military deployment of a
            relative.
              Employees who have worked for more than 90 days
            at the same job should be able to return to their jobs after
            paid leave and without retaliation from employers.
              Mothers believe that full-time employees should
            earn up to \2/3\ of their regular wages on this paid leave.

          The majority of mothers--regardless of political ideology--
    agreed on the importance of providing paid leave to employees
    regardless of company size, full-time/part-time status, and/or self-
    employment status. However, there was variation within each political
    ideology and particularly, a conservative split between conservative
    and very conservative members with conservative Mothers more likely
    than very conservative Mothers to support this provision.

          Aside from Mothers who identify as very conservative, Mothers
    believe that
    lowest-paid employees should earn up to 85% of their regular wages on
    this paid leave.

          Overall, Mothers across the political spectrum supported this
    item with very strong support from all but very conservative Mothers.

             Actionable Insights at a Glance from Qualitative Study

    From Mothers We Interviewed

          Similar themes arose among all five mothers regardless of
    political ideology, including the difficult balance of caregiving and
    employment, an array of stressors related to child bearing and child
    rearing, including health needs, all of which impacted their lives in
    stressful ways.

          They each identify that their privilege--or access to private
    resources--alleviated some of their own stress and they recognize that
    not all mothers have access to such resources.

          The five mothers provided assessment of the FAMILY Act that
    evidence their support of the FAMILY Act--they liked the broader
    inclusivity overall, believed the safety net provisions would be
    critical to families, and provided additional comments related to the
    bill to be written and to be implemented correctly.

          Finally, the five mothers believe the FAMILY Act would create a
    paradigm that would have a positive health impact on families and a
    positive shift in the domain of care giving, paid leave, and
    employment.

                    Takeaway Theme from Qualitative Study:
                 Need for U.S. to Change Paradigm on Paid Leave

    Across political ideologies, participants shared that the United States
    needs to shift its paradigm on paid leave--although recognizing this
    will be a slow process.

            [The FAMILY Act bill] kind of changes the mindset of people
            around you that this is just the way that it is. Sort of like
            FMLA, you know? It's federal, you know, it's something that's
            expected. It's an expected way we're supposed to treat each
            other with humanity rather than, oh, I have a good job with
            good benefits, but you don't. (Moderate Mother, age 51)

            It's something that we should have had a long time ago,
            something the rest of the world has had. It's us and I think
            six countries with no form of paid leave. So this to me is one
            of the most important things Congress can do and I hope that
            they do very soon. (Liberal Mother, age 41)

            I do think that, yes, if you have institutional change and it's
            kind of . . . I hate to use this word, but forced from the
            government onto companies and organizations to expect this, to
            know that this is happening, this is how things operate now. I
            do think that over time, it's not gonna be right away because
            people's minds don't change right away. But I do think that
            over years, the expectation that people have people to care
            for, whether it's an infant or parents or . . . sick kids or
            whatever, that there is more compassion, that taking time off
            to take care of people in your life is okay. And that's good
            and it's valuable and it's to be respected. (Conservative
            Mother, age 37)

            So I want progress when it comes to paid parental leave. We are
            so far behind, as you know, the rest of the world regarding
            offering what I think is a human right, a right to bond
            postpartum with your baby, with your family, figure out how to
            do things like nursing if that's what you're doing or feeding
            in general and sleep, all this. And so I think that's a human
            right. I think right now what we're doing without having a
            federal paid leave is frankly inhumane. I think it's actually,
            it's barbaric right, what we put mothers and families through.
            So to me I think we have a long way to go. (Liberal Mother, age
            40)

            I do think we need to support parents in the workforce
            absolutely. I think we need to have policies in this country
            that support motherhood that support families but at the same
            time I have these principles of limited government, of wanting
            people to do things on their own, and like the two conflict
            with each other on this particular thing. And so I don't know
            what the right answer is. I don't know how best to do this. I
            do know that we need to do something as a country, because I
            know there's also women who are lower income and they're single
            moms. you know, a few part-time jobs, they're patching together
            and they don't get any benefits and they're going back to work
            two days after they have a baby and that is not right.
            (Conservative Mother, age 40)

              Findings from Quantitative Study of Mothers Surveyed

    9 in 10 Mothers Surveyed Believed:

          Employees should have up to 12 weeks of partial income when they
    take time off from work for reasons relating to health, caregiving,
    and/or military deployment of a relative.

              Overwhelmingly, Mothers were aligned across the
            political spectrum on this issue. 96% of Mothers who identified
            as conservative and 79% who identified as very conservative
            agreed with this statement. 4% of conservative and 21% of very
            conservative Mothers expressed uncertainty or disagreement.
              95% of Mothers who identified as moderate agreed
            with this statement. 5% of moderate Mother expressed
            uncertainty or disagreement.
              100% of Mothers who identified as liberal and 98%
            of Mothers who identified as very liberal agreed with this
            statement. 2% of very liberal mothers voiced uncertainty.

          Employees who have worked for more than 90 days at the same job
    should be able to return to their jobs after paid leave and without
    retaliation from employers.

              The trend showed that overwhelmingly, Mothers
            largely agreed--regardless of their political ideologies.
              For example, 100% of Mothers who identified as
            conservative and 86% who identified as very conservative agreed
            with this issue. 14% of very conservative mothers disagreed
            with this statement.
              99% of Mothers who identified as moderate agreed
            with this statement. 1% of moderate Mothers expressed
            uncertainty.
              96% of Mothers who identified as liberal and 96%
            of Mothers who identified as very liberal agreed with this
            statement. 4% of liberal and 5% of very liberal Mothers
            expressed uncertainty or disagreement.

          Full-time employees should earn up to \2/3\ of their regular
    wages on this paid leave.

              88% of Mothers who identified as conservative and
            64% who identified as very conservative agreed with this issue.
            12% of conservative Mothers and 36% of very conservative
            mothers were uncertain or disagreed with this statement.
              94% of Mothers who identified as moderate agreed
            with this statement. 6% of moderate Mothers expressed
            uncertainty or disagreement.
              97% of Mothers who identified as liberal and 98%
            of Mothers who identified as very liberal agreed with this
            statement. 2% of liberal and 2% of very liberal Mothers were
            uncertain.

          Lowest-paid employees should earn up to 85% of their regular
    wages on this paid leave.

              Conservative mothers varied on this issue. 76% of
            Mothers who identified as conservative agreed with this issue
            while 57% who identified as very conservative were uncertain or
            disagreed with this issue. 24% of conservative Mothers joined
            very conservative Mothers in being uncertain or disagreeing
            with this statement. In contrast, 43% of Mothers who were very
            conservative supported this issue.
              92% of Mothers who identified as moderate agreed
            with this statement. 8% of moderate Mothers expressed
            uncertainty or disagreement.
              97% of Mothers who identified as liberal and 98%
            of Mothers who identified as very liberal agreed with this
            statement. 3% of liberal Mothers and 2% of very liberal Mothers
            voiced uncertainty.

    8 in 10 Mothers surveyed believed:

          The ``FAMILY Act'' will (or would have had) a positive impact on
    their families.

              Mothers across the political spectrum supported
            this item with very strong support from all but very
            conservative Mothers.
              88% of Mothers who identified as conservative and
            57% of very conservative supported the Family Act. 12% of
            conservative Mothers and 43% of very conservative mothers were
            uncertain or disagreed with supporting the FAMILY Act.
              90% of Mothers who identified as moderate agreed
            with this statement. 10% of moderate Mothers expressed
            uncertainty or disagreement with the FAMILY Act.
              93% of Mothers who identified as liberal and 95%
            of Mothers who identified as very liberal agreed with this
            statement. 7% of liberal Mothers and 5% of very liberal Mothers
            expressed uncertainty or disagreement with the FAMILY Act.

          Paid leave should apply to employees regardless of company size,
    full-time/part-time status, and/or self-employment status.

              80% of Mothers who identified as conservative
            agreed with this issue and 57% of conservative Mothers
            supported this issue.
              87% of Mothers who identified as moderate agreed
            with this statement. 13% of moderate Mothers expressed
            uncertainty or disagreement.
              93% of Mothers who identified as liberal and 91%
            of Mothers who identified as very liberal agreed with this
            statement.

                               Political Ideology

    In the overall sample, 37% of Mothers identify as Liberal while 29% of
    Mothers identify as Moderate and 8% of Mothers identify as
    Conservative. On either of the political ideology spectrum, Mothers who
    were Very Liberal accounted for 19% of the sample while Mothers who
    were Very Conservative represented 4% of the sample.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           # of Mothers
                                            Responding     Percent of Sample
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Very Liberal                                       57              18.6%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Liberal                                           114              37.1%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Moderate                                           90              29.3%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Conservative                                       23               7.5%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Very Conservative                                  13               4.2%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Other                                              10               3.3%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      307             100.0%
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               State of Residence

    Mothers reside in 41 states. The states that have the most
    representation are California (48), Florida (39), New York (21),
    Virginia (17), North Carolina (15), Illinois (12), Texas (11), and
    Wisconsin (11).

                                     ______

                         Democrats for Life of America

                         10521 Judicial Drive, Unit 200

                            Fairfax, Virginia 22030

                                 (703) 424-6663

                           info@democratsforlife.org

    The Honorable Ron Wyden
    Chairperson
    United States Senate
    Committee on Finance
    219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20510-6200

    The Honorable Mike Crapo
    Ranking Member
    United States Senate
    Committee on Finance
    219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20510-6200

    Dear Chairperson Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the
    Committee:

    Thank you for convening and participating in your committee's important
    hearing on paid leave. We share your confidence that federal action in
    this arena can redound to the benefit of American businesses, workers,
    and families, and find it imperative that Congress act to make these
    potential gains a reality for all Americans.

    As proud pro-life Democrats, we advocate for the protection of
    vulnerable people in every circumstance. Paid leave not only supports
    workers who face significant health challenges, it also empowers
    workers to care for loved ones precisely during moments of greatest
    need. Increased investment in paid leave by the federal government and
    businesses will strengthen American families; in turn, families with
    higher well-being will invigorate businesses, both as productive
    workers and as stable customers.

    We would specifically like to highlight the importance of parental
    leave. We are convinced that expanded access to parental leave will
    benefit mothers, fathers, children, families, and our society as a
    whole. Notably, parental leave has the potential to serve as a
    consensus-winning policy that will decrease demand for abortion and
    thus reduce some of the bitter, partisan, polarizing fighting over
    abortion's legal status.

    We look forward to the hearing, to continued discussion, and to federal
    action in support of paid leave.

    Sincerely,

    Democrats for Life of America

                                     ______

                          The ERISA Industry Committee

                         701 8th Street, NW, Suite 610

                              Washington, DC 20001

                               Main 202.789.1400

                             https://www.eric.org/

    Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the Committee,
    thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement for the record on
    behalf of The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) for the hearing entitled
    ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and the Impact on the
    Workforce.'' This hearing addresses a valuable benefit that millions of
    Americans receive today voluntarily through large employers.

    ERIC is a national advocacy organization exclusively representing the
    largest employers in the United States in their capacity as sponsors of
    employee benefit plans for their nationwide workforces. With member
    companies that are leaders in every economic sector, ERIC is the voice
    of large employer plan sponsors on federal, state, and local public
    policies impacting their ability to sponsor benefit plans. ERIC member
    companies offer benefits to tens of millions of employees, located in
    every state, city, and Congressional district. Your constituents engage
    with ERIC member companies many times a day, such as when they drive a
    car or fill it with gas, use a cell phone or a computer, watch TV, dine
    out or at home, enjoy a beverage or snack, use cosmetics, fly on an
    airplane, visit a bank or hotel, benefit from our national defense,
    receive or send a package, or go shopping.

    For decades, employers like ERIC member companies have designed and
    administered gold-standard paid leave benefits to support and empower
    their nationwide workforces when time away from work is needed.
    Unfortunately, a growing patchwork of inconsistent state and local paid
    leave laws imposing a broad range of complex and incompatible
    compliance standards threatens to make offering these benefits
    untenable for employers.

     Large Employers Offer Paid Leave to their Nationwide Workforces

    Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 with
    bipartisan support, securing access to unpaid leave and job protection
    for millions of Americans to bond with a newly born or adopted child,
    care for an ill family member, or tend to a serious medical issue of
    their own. Over the thirty years since this landmark law was enacted, a
    lack of wage replacement for employees on leave has generated increased
    interest in paid leave benefits.

    Large, multistate employers have responded for decades by designing and
    administering effective paid leave benefits programs now enjoyed by
    millions of Americans and their families across the country. These
    proven voluntary benefits programs have long granted workers the
    critical financial support and flexibility that they want and need when
    away from work. ERIC member companies take pride in the paid leave
    benefits they provide, and the benefits aid in recruiting and retaining
    excellent employees. Ultimately, providing uniform benefits nationwide
    allows companies to efficiently design and administer their programs,
    resulting in high quality benefits for a greater number of workers.

     State Paid Leave Laws Create an Unworkable Patchwork that Makes

     Uniformity Impossible

    Beginning with California in 2002, and most recently including
    Minnesota and Maine in 2023, 13 states and Washington, D.C. have now
    enacted mandatory,
    government-administered paid family and medical leave insurance
    programs. Unfortunately, these state programs operate altogether
    independently from one another, each collecting income-based
    contributions to fund benefits for qualifying workers while adopting
    entirely unique combinations of compliance requirements for employers
    and employees. Too often, they do not recognize the value of existing
    employer-provided benefits.

    This piecemeal approach has forced employers and employees to try to
    navigate a complex and ever-changing amalgam of state and local
    standards. Even more concerning, state politicians do not seem to be
    slowing down anytime soon; more than 300 paid family leave bills have
    been introduced and considered across nearly every state in recent
    years. Even some localities have gotten into the act, further
    complicating the situation.

    The variance between these state and local laws does not amount to a
    simple difference in leave duration or level of wage replacement;
    rather, it includes an array of legal definitions and administrative
    processes that make it impossible for multistate employers to comply
    while operating a uniform benefits program across the country. In fact,
    there are more than 50 different variable policy ``levers'' that state
    laws consider and establish, all of which introduce administrative
    burdens and necessitate costly system changes. Some categories of these
    variables include:

          Duration of Leave--The amount of paid leave time available to an
    employee is not as simple as setting a total number of weeks available
    for all covered circumstances, but must also establish guidelines for
    the amount of leave that can be used for individual types of leave
    (such as parental, family, and medical), permissible use of incremental
    leave, minimum increments of leave, and the limitation of parental
    leave when both parents are with the same employer.

          Reasons for Leave--Similarly, the core concepts and legal
    definitions of what paid family and medical leave includes must be
    established by state lawmakers, including definitions for family,
    parental, medical, ``safe leave,'' ``qualifying exigency,'' public
    health emergency, maternity, pregnancy complication, and other types of
    covered leave. Not only do different state policies include or exclude
    different types of leave, but they regularly categorize or define them
    differently as well.

          Family Member Definitions--State lawmakers often adopt unique
    definitions for which family members an employee may take paid leave.
    While nearly every state law now goes beyond the coverage established
    by the FMLA (parents, spouses, and children) and includes grandparents,
    grandchildren, and siblings, an increasing number of states have also
    each adopted their own versions of ``catch-all'' family member
    definitions that present serious compliance and abuse concerns for
    employers and state administrators alike. For example, some of these
    definitions include other individuals ``related by blood or affinity
    that is akin to a family relationship'' without providing much-needed
    guidance as to what relationships qualify or what plausible limitations
    remain.

          Employee Eligibility--Parallel to the benefits available to
    employees, lawmakers must establish which employees are covered by
    state paid leave and what milestones must be reached in order for an
    employee to qualify for benefits. These standards include, but are not
    limited to, the time worked for an employer, the total wages earned in
    a base period or calendar year, total contributions paid into the state
    program, coverage of independent contractors or seasonal workers, and
    which state's paid leave law ultimately applies to an individual
    worker. These standards are not only tracked and met by state
    administrators, but by employers as well, adding additional indirect
    compliance costs.

          Employer Coverage--Similarly, state lawmakers must decide which
    employers are covered by a state paid leave program. These
    determinations are usually made based on the number of employees an
    employer has within the state and also involve the portion of payroll
    contributions that the employer must cover.

          Notice to Employees--Each state policy introduces a range of
    notice and reporting requirements by which employers must educate their
    employees on the availability of state paid leave benefits or
    continuing to provide private benefits. Because states often expand the
    information that must be contained in these disclosures, and the time,
    manner, and regularity of notices vary, these processes can quickly
    develop into a costly burden for employers.

          Wage Replacement--State programs differ widely on the level of
    wage replacement that employees receive when receiving state paid leave
    benefits. Again, this is not as simple as setting a replacement rate,
    but instead involves a series of calculations including percentage of
    ordinary employee wages, percentage of state average weekly wages, and
    total caps on weekly wage replacement benefits that employees can
    receive. The result is an overly complicated process that leaves a vast
    number of employees with levels of paid leave benefit wage replacement
    that is far lower than they would have otherwise received from their
    employer.

          Contribution Rate--The payments that employees and employers
    must make into state programs to fund benefits vary, creating another
    level of administrative complexity for multistate employers. These
    policy standards cover the capped percentage of an employee's wages
    that must be contributed, the authority of state administrators to
    change contribution rates in the future, and the contribution breakdown
    between employers and employees.

          Job Protection While on Leave--While job protection is a
    cornerstone of both unpaid and paid leave, state lawmakers have broadly
    defined these protections with variations establishing the rights an
    employee has when returning to work, requiring benefits and seniority
    to continue accruing while away from work, broadening definitions of
    ``equivalent position'', and even applying legal presumptions of
    discrimination by employers.

          Coordination of Benefits--A critical area of policy design
    revolves around how new state paid leave benefits are to interact with
    other sources of paid leave as well as related employee benefits that
    involve time away from work. As they formulate state programs,
    lawmakers must consider how to coordinate these benefits with the FMLA,
    state unpaid leave, state long-term disability laws, state paid sick
    leave or paid time off laws, existing employer-provided leave benefits,
    and collective bargaining agreements, to prevent overlap or conflict.
    Furthermore, lawmakers must consider how the benefits and legal
    definitions that they create relate to or can be better harmonized with
    other state paid leave laws.

          Substitution of Equivalent Employer Benefits Plans--Perhaps the
    most consequential area of state paid leave policies for large,
    multistate employers is the ability to provide private paid leave
    benefits that meet or exceed those offered by the state program and
    therefore be granted an exemption from mandated participation in the
    state program. While this is a valuable option that allows many
    employees to continue enjoying the benefits they already have, it is
    far from straightforward. In fact, state lawmakers must establish a
    range of standards and processes to secure this path, including minimum
    benefits standards, enumerated rights of employees under an equivalent
    plan, required surety bond with the state, application process to state
    administrators, state oversight of applications and appeals for
    substitution, regular employer recordkeeping, and reporting
    requirements.

          State Preemption of Local/Municipal Laws--Just as national paid
    leave uniformity is critical to design and provides reliable benefits
    across multiple states, paid leave uniformity within a state must be
    maintained for employers and employees to follow. As state lawmakers
    develop paid leave policies, they must consider the impact that
    conflicting local or municipal paid leave policies have on uniformity
    and benefits administration. To prevent this patchwork within a
    patchwork, a statewide preemption clause should be included in state
    legislation.

          Administrative Processes--Finally, state paid leave policies
    introduce a long list of administrative processes that, if handled
    poorly, can create counterproductive cost burdens and compliance
    challenges for employers and employees. These processes include
    employee applications for state program benefits, timelines for
    approval or denial of benefits, timelines for payment of benefits,
    waiting periods for employees before using certain types of leave,
    employee appeals for denied applications, complaints to a state
    regarding employer administration, investigation and enforcement
    processes, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and data sharing
    between employers and state administrators to facilitate supplemental
    private benefits.

     The Patchwork Creates a Catch-22 For Employers and Worse Benefits for

     Employees

    A fragmented state-by-state approach has created a catch-22 in which
    even multistate employers that want to adopt and provide a generous
    paid leave benefit for all nationwide employees based on the common
    denominators among state programs would currently be unable to do so.
    Ultimately, complex state program standards and costly compliance
    processes discourage many employers from exploring new and innovative
    approaches to paid leave. Instead, they are all-too-often forced to
    enroll in state programs that cannot match the quality of benefits or
    ease of access their employees previously received.

    Furthermore, the quality and value of benefits provided by state paid
    family leave programs regularly pale in comparison to their more robust
    employer-provided equivalents, which often grant full wage replacement
    and a far easier administrative process for employees most in need of
    leave without the hassle of wage-based contributions.

    At the same time, because large, multistate employers are forced to
    adapt to a constantly shifting paid leave landscape on a jurisdictional
    basis, they need to spend significantly more to track and comply with
    new or updated state laws--ironically, money that then cannot be spent
    on more generous paid leave benefits for their employees. It becomes
    increasingly clear, then, that many of the workers covered by these
    state programs would be far better served by a uniform national
    framework of paid leave standards that recognize the value and support
    that voluntary,
    employer-provided benefits are uniquely able to provide.

     Congress Should Act to Ensure that Employers Can Offer Uniform
                        Benefits

     Nationwide

    Federal relief is desperately needed to address this reality, and
    finding the right approach to both national uniformity and improved
    access is key. ERIC continues to support a federal ``safe harbor'' that
    would establish core federal paid leave standards and allow employers
    that design and provide benefits on a national basis that meet these
    federal standards to maintain immunity from contradictory or
    counterproductive state laws or programs. This approach would provide
    employees across the country with a tide that lifts all boats--creating
    a foundation for what paid leave benefits encompass, encouraging
    multistate employers to provide innovative and generous benefits, and
    building a nationwide legislative infrastructure to discourage states
    from ``starting from scratch.''

    Short of a safe harbor for multistate employers already offering these
    valuable benefits, a parallel effort could be undertaken to harmonize
    the range of existing state and local paid leave standards that
    continue to proliferate and diverge from one another. Because existing
    programs currently do not interact with one another or the federal
    government in any way, both employers and employees lack the central
    framework of understanding they need to navigate the growing list of
    compliance requirements. Congress could help establish such a framework
    and incentivize states to participate in a shared approach. Such an
    effort would have many benefits: it would encourage the creation of
    uniform paid leave definitions, formulate equivalency standards, and
    encourage the adoption of more interchangeable paid leave requirements
    through grants or other federal incentives. Fostering coordination
    between disparate state policies would go a long way to reducing the
    challenges that employers, employees, and state administrators continue
    to face.

                                   Conclusion

    ERIC understands the importance of exploring expanding paid leave
    coverage to those that do not already have access to the benefit.
    However, many multistate employers already offer generous benefits and
    need federal help to be able to continue to provide uniform programs
    nationwide. A viable federal paid leave policy must provide relief from
    the counterproductive consequences that the state and local patchwork
    imposes on employers, workers, and their families.

                                     ______

                                   Etsy, Inc.

                                117 Adams Street

                               Brooklyn, NY 11201

        Statement of Jeffrey Zubricki, Global Head of Public Policy and
                                    Advocacy

    Etsy respectfully submits the following statement for the record in
    response to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing held on October
    25th, 2023 on Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the
    Workforce.

    At Etsy, we've been encouraged by the bipartisan and bicameral efforts
    to find solutions at the federal level for paid family medical leave
    that is accessible, flexible and that meets the needs of employers of
    all sizes. Late last year, House members launched a Bipartisan Paid
    Leave Working Group, which is identifying and exploring paid leave
    policy solutions that assist businesses and families. In the Senate,
    we've seen several hearings that explore paid leave solutions, as well
    as legislative efforts from Senators on both sides of the aisle.

    Etsy has long functioned as a pathway to entrepreneurship by creating
    opportunities for people who might not have started a business
    otherwise. The majority of our 6 million sellers made their first ever
    sale of handmade or vintage goods on Etsy. 81% of our sellers are women
    and the vast majority are businesses of one working out of their homes,
    one in four of which are in rural communities. One of the main barriers
    we hear from our sellers when trying to grow their businesses is a lack
    of access to paid leave benefits. If they have a child or get sick,
    there is no one to fill in for that time. It almost always means lost
    revenue, and for sellers who are full time artisans or creators running
    their own micro businesses, that could mean losing income that supports
    their families or pay their bills.

    We strongly believe that offering comprehensive paid leave benefits to
    our employees is not only the right thing to do, but it's good for
    business. Etsy designed our own paid leave policies to support
    employees at all life stages. This is why our employee leave policies--
    including 26 weeks of fully paid parental leave and 12 weeks of paid
    family leave--are designed to be flexible, gender-neutral and to
    provide our employees with the comfort of knowing that they do not have
    to choose between their families and their jobs. We're proud that men
    and women take parental leave in roughly equal numbers at Etsy.

    We agree that there is no ``one size fits all'' solution to paid leave.
    Small and micro businesses don't have the same kinds of resources as
    large companies to support or administer paid leave benefits,
    potentially resulting in a hiring and retention disadvantage. At the
    same time, as of 2022, over half (60%)\1\ of America's largest public
    companies are offering paid leave benefits to employees. We believe
    that any paid leave policy should be flexible to meet the needs of
    businesses of all sizes, but especially small and self-employed
    business owners.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://justcapital.com/reports/only-9-percent-of-largest-us-
    companies-offer-at-least-12-weeks-of-paid-parental-leave-parity/
    #::text=Disclosure%20of%20a%20paid%20parental,to%2047%25%
    20the%20year%20before.

    We also believe that paid leave policies must be inclusive of, and
    accessible to the self-employed. Several existing state paid leave
    programs do not allow the self-
    employed to opt in. Other states, like New York and California, impose
    long waiting periods before the self-employed can access benefits. Cost
    is often another barrier. Premiums for the self-employed can vary
    widely depending on the state. Self-
    employed individuals may often pay higher contribution rates or overall
    annual premium amounts than employees depending on the formula the
    state uses. For example, in California, the current premium rate for
    self-employed individuals is generally 6.93% of the first $153,164 of
    net income \2\ while the employee contribution rate is 0.9% of up to
    $153,164 in annual wages.\3\ We believe in supporting accessible and
    affordable national policies that enable parents and families,
    regardless of gender, to play equal roles in building successful
    companies and nurturing their families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ California Employment Development Department Self-Employed
    Benefit Amounts 2023, https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/Self-
    Employed_Benefit_Amounts/.
        \3\ California Employment Development Department Employee
    Contribution Rates 2023, https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/
    Contribution_Rates_and_Benefit_Amounts/.

    Thank you for your consideration of these issues. Etsy looks forward to
    working with Congress to ensure that the interests of America's self-
    employed and small businesses are represented as Congress moves forward
    with these important measures to address paid leave. We are eager to
    work together to help America make this needed investment in our
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    children, for our families and for our economy.

    Thank you.

                                     ______

                          Family Values @ Work et al.

                        207 E Buffalo Street, Suite 501

                           Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

                                 (414) 436-9536

                        https://familyvaluesatwork.org/

    October 25, 2023

    Chairman Ron Wyden                  Ranking Member Mike Crapo
    United States Senate                United States Senate
    Washington, DC 20510                Washington, DC 20510

    CC: Senate Finance Committee Members

    Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:

    Family Values @ Work (FV@W) and our movement network grew from the
    reality that valuing caregiving and enabling people to be good
    providers and family members are essential to achieving racial, gender,
    disability, immigrant, and economic justice. For twenty years, our
    movement has shaped the debates around Paid Sick and Safe Days (PSSD)
    and Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML), engaged a wide range of
    partners, and guided the development of the most inclusive policies to
    date, and with our Network Members, have passed paid leave in 14 states
    including Washington, DC, and paid sick and safe days in more than 50
    jurisdictions.

    As you all know well, thirty years ago, President Clinton signed the
    Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which established that (many but
    not all) workers could take unpaid, job-protected leave to care for
    themselves or (some of their) families. It was the first, and so far
    only, national law protecting workers needing time to care.

    It was a critical victory as the first federal law established that
    having a family shouldn't cost you your job or health insurance. Yet
    the FMLA excludes 40 percent of the workforce, and many who are
    eligible cannot take the time they need because they can't afford to be
    without pay. The law's narrow definition of family leaves out many who
    need time to care for a loved one.

    Tomorrow's hearing represents an important step toward prioritizing the
    passage of job-protected Paid Family and Medical Leave during the 118th
    Congress.

    Our movement has brought together more than 2,000 diverse partner
    organizations and engaged thousands affected by the lack of paid family
    and medical leave. We fight for these issues because we know the
    building blocks of upward economic mobility--job retention, raises,
    promotions, and asset development--depend on access to paid family and
    medical leave, paid sick and safe days, and affordable child care. When
    taking time for caregiving leads to job or pay loss, economic
    opportunity dries up.

    We know from experience that without prioritizing accessibility,
    affordability, and adequate duration of leave, a paid leave program
    will not meet the needs of millions of Americans. The following
    principles should guide the creation of policy moving forward. Federal
    PFML policy must:

          Be equitable in its impact, especially considering the needs of
    low-wage, BIPOC, female, LGBTQIA, disabled, immigrant, part-time, and
    non-traditional workers;

          Support healthier outcomes across the age span for all workers
    and families;

          Ensure that every worker keeps their health insurance during
    leave and has a job to come back to after taking leave;

          Protect the gains of states that paved the way for our proposed
    federal advances.

    At a minimum, paid leave must include the following policies to promote
    equitable access and healthier outcomes:

          Ensure a universal, publicly administered, and permanent paid
    leave program. State experiences show that it takes many years to
    implement a program that voters have time to access and take advantage
    of. Permanence will ensure that all who need paid leave can access it.

          Include all four FMLA-covered conditions in a permanent program
    including care to welcome a new child, care for yourself, care for a
    loved one, family military leave, and, additionally, safe time for
    self-care and family caregiving purposes. This must include
    intermittent leave.

          Make benefit amounts progressive and affordable. Benefits should
    aim to provide the full wage replacement but start at no less than 90%
    replacement of usual wages for the lowest earners.

              Low-wage workers are among the least protected due to the
            current paid leave provisions. With new findings showing that
            full-time minimum wage workers can't afford rent anywhere in
            the US anymore,\1\ it is unacceptable for legislators to offer
            wage replacement that is too low a portion of that income.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/14/full-time-minimum-wage-workers-
    cant-afford-rent-anywhere-in-the-us.html

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Maintain a minimum of 12 weeks of leave.

              12 weeks is often not enough to care for a dying parent,
            welcome a new child, or receive treatment and recover from
            serious health conditions such as cancer. Workers in physically
            demanding jobs, disproportionately BIPOC workers, would be
            especially harmed by reducing weeks of leave.

              Many common surgeries require at least 6 to 8 weeks of
            recovery (assuming no complications), including C-sections
            (which account for 32% of births).\2\ Therefore, 8 weeks would
            still force some to return to work before medically ready.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/delivery.htm.

          Keep eligibility requirements simple, understandable, and based
    on currently collected data. State programs typically look at data from
    4 of the last 5 completed quarters. The most recently adopted standards
    in Oregon and Colorado set a threshold of $1,000 in earnings in the
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    lookback period and provide a good model for equitable access.

          Require employers seeking reimbursement to meet every federal
    standard, including equitable oversight of denials and appeals and data
    collection of applicants. Employers should not be able to seek federal
    reimbursement unless they meet all programmatic standards at a minimum
    of either the federal or state program.

          Allow state programs to continue operating. States will need at
    least a three-year window to comply with all federal standards,
    including federal reimbursement for federal base benefits,
    administrative costs, and technology upgrades to interface with the
    federal program.

          Develop program materials, applications, and outreach strategies
    that reach communities whose first language isn't English or who have
    limited English proficiency.

          Establish worker and small business advisory boards that help to
    guide equitable implementation of a paid family and medical leave
    program. Workers, families, business owners, and administering agencies
    in already-existing programs have reported this need to our Network
    Members repeatedly.

          Honor the inherent Tribal Sovereignty of the over 570 federally
    recognized Tribal Nations by going through consultation reconciliation
    processes with bodies such as the Tribal and Indigenous Advisory
    Council to create the best solutions for how Tribal Government
    employees and Tribally-enrolled individuals can access paid family and
    medical leave.

    We look forward to working with this Congress to champion guaranteed
    paid family and medical leave, paid sick and safe days, and all of the
    policies we know create shared prosperity for working people including
    affordable child care, living wages, supporting workers' involvement in
    unions, access to healthcare, and fair and accessible elections that
    ensure every voter's ballot matters. The families we represent
    literally cannot afford anything less than a comprehensive paid leave
    program. Together, we can transform the nation's care economy.

    Sincerely,

    National Partners

    Equal Rights Advocates
    Family Values @ Work
    Main Street Alliance
    9 to 5, National Association of Working Women

    Arizona

    Corazon Arizona
    Poder Latinx--Arizona

    California

    California Federation Business and Professional Women
    California WIC Association
    California Work & Family Coalition
    Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
    Evolve California
    Family Caregiver Alliance
    First 5 California
    Friends Committee on Legislation of California
    Human Impact Partners
    LA Best Babies Network
    Legal Aid at Work
    National Council of Jewish Women--Los Angeles
    Public Counsel
    Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition

    Colorado

    9 to 5--Colorado

    Connecticut

    She Leads Justice

    District of Columbia

    Many Languages One Voice (MLOV)

    Florida

    Poder Latinx--Florida

    Georgia

    Poder Latinx--Georgia
    9 to 5--Georgia

    Hawaii

    Hawai`i Children's Action Network Speaks!

    Illinois

    Women Employed

    Maryland

    United Workers

    Massachusetts

    Coalition for Social Justice

    Michigan

    Mothering Justice

    Minnesota

    TakeAction Minnesota

    Nevada

    Make It Work Nevada
    Nevada County Citizen for Choice

    New Jersey

    New Jersey Citizen Action
    New Jersey Time to Care Coalition

    New York

    Citizen Action New York

    North Carolina

    LGBT Center of Raleigh
    North Carolina Council of Churches
    North Carolina Families Care Coalition
    North Carolina Justice Center
    United Steel Workers
    Women AdvaNCe

    Oregon

    Family Forward Oregon

    Pennsylvania

    Black Women's Policy Center

    Rhode Island

    Economic Progress Institute
    Rhode Island Black Business Association
    Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence
    Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
    Rhode Island Parent Information Network
    Right from the Start Campaign
    Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island

    Texas

    Workers Defense Project

    Washington

    Economic Opportunity Institute

    Wisconsin

    9 to 5--Wisconsin

                                     ______

                             HR Policy Association

                        4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 110-368

                              Arlington, VA 22203

                                  202-375-5011

                             https://www.chro.org/

    October 24, 2023

    Dear Senate Finance Committee Colleagues,

    In anticipation of tomorrow's Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled
    ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the Workforce''
    and as lawmakers pursue legislative proposals I am writing to offer HR
    Policy Association staff and members as a resource to aid in your
    efforts. HR Policy member companies understand the importance of paid
    family and medical leave and already provide generous benefits that
    generally extend beyond what is currently required under federal,
    state, and local law. Our members have expertise in implementing paid
    leave benefits across the nation.

    HR Policy Association \1\ is the lead organization representing the
    Chief Human Resource Officers of major employers. The Association
    consists of more than 390 of the largest corporations doing business in
    the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in
    the organization by their most senior human resource executive.
    Collectively, their companies employ more than ten million employees in
    the United States--nearly nine percent of the private sector
    workforce--and 20 million employees worldwide. The Association brings
    these executives together not simply to discuss how human resource
    practices and policies should be improved, but also to create a vision
    for successful HR strategies and pursue initiatives that promote job
    growth, employment security and competitiveness.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ http://www.hrpolicy.org/.

    According to an HR Policy Association survey of its membership, 83% of
    respondents said they offer their own short-term disability plan that
    employees can use for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) purposes, a
    separate paid family leave program, or both. Since our initial survey
    of membership, the world of work has been altered dramatically and we
    expect that the number of employers voluntarily offering paid leave
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    benefits has increased to meet the evolving needs of the workforce.

    As the Committee considers a Federal paid leave insurance program,
    consider the questions below. The questions were informed by HR
    Policy's Employment and Labor Group,\2\ members of the Association who
    are directly responsible for employment and labor relations matters in
    their respective companies. The Employment and Labor Group's mission is
    to guide the Association's advocacy on workplace policies of concern to
    HR Policy Association members.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://www.hrpolicy.org/initiatives/employment-and-labor-
    group/about-elg/.

    Q: How would a federal paid family and medical leave insurance program
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    coordinate and interact with existing employer programs?

    It is critical that a federal program be tailored to allow flexibility
    to employers that choose to continue their existing leave programs
    without imposing additional, substantial compliance burdens associated
    with a federal program. In addition, will there be a mechanism in place
    for employers to know, in real time, the benefits current employees are
    receiving under the federal program? Transparent and timely information
    will be paramount to the success of any federal paid FMLA program. If
    employees become eligible to receive federal paid leave benefits, are
    there ways the program should be structured to remove any disincentives
    for employers to provide their own benefits, such as those that may
    have already been subject to collective bargaining with unions?

    Q: How will a federal program coordinate and interact with existing
    state and local programs?

    Most large employers already offer competitive paid family and medical
    leave benefits, often exceeding what is required under state and local
    laws and what would likely be required under a potential federal
    program. The central issue for multi-jurisdictional employers is not
    the level of benefits required under applicable laws, but the
    compliance burden (including the coordination and administration of
    benefits) associated with the increasing patchwork of conflicting state
    and local leave laws. Differing state and local requirements make it
    difficult for employers with operations in several jurisdictions to
    offer uniform benefit plans for all or most of their employees. For
    example, the only way to offer concurrent paid leave programs is for
    the state to be primary and the employer plan to be secondary. In doing
    so, the employee must apply and receive pay from the state (which is
    generally not timely) and supplement from the employer instead of
    receiving full pay from the employer for a company benefit they are
    already entitled to and employees from other states automatically
    receive. In recognition of this, a federal program should operate as a
    national standard, under which an employer would be exempted from state
    and local requirements if it was in compliance with such a standard.
    The Workflex in the 21st Century Act (H.R. 4248) addresses this issue.

    Q: How will a federal program be funded?

    Existing state and local paid family and medical leave programs are
    funded through some form of a payroll tax--either on the employer, the
    employee, or both. Many employers are therefore already familiar with a
    leave program being funded through a payroll tax. Historically,
    legislative proposals have proposed to fund the program through general
    revenues. There are pros and cons with both approaches.

    Placing the tax on both the employer and the employee could ensure that
    both parties have an appropriate stake in the benefit program, which
    could disincentivize abuses. Additionally, a payroll tax affords a
    level of stability in ensuring that a federal program would remain
    adequately funded without further financial burdens placed on employers
    or employees. If a payroll tax is used under a federal program,
    employers who already provide paid leave benefits comparable to what
    would be required under the program should be entitled to opt out of
    the program and/or receive an offset based on what they are already
    providing. Without such an opt-out or offset mechanism, employers would
    be disincentivized from continuing to offer their own generous leave
    benefits exceeding what is required under a federal standard, resulting
    in benefit reductions for employees.

    With regard to funding a federal program through general revenues only,
    the obvious advantage to this approach is that, in theory, there would
    not be any new financial burdens placed on employers or employees
    directly associated with the federal paid leave program. Nevertheless,
    to ensure the program remains adequately funded, funding through
    general revenue would likely require increased corporate tax rates and/
    or increased taxes on high-income earners, either in conjunction with
    the rollout of a federal program and/or in future years.

    Q. Under a federal program, who would make eligibility determinations?

    Currently, employers make decisions regarding who is eligible for leave
    under the FMLA. If an employee disagrees with an employer's decision,
    their remedy is to sue or bring an administrative charge. Under a
    federal paid family and medical leave program, would eligibility
    determinations be made by specialized federal claim adjudicators? Such
    an approach would inappropriately leave employers out of a process that
    they are best equipped to manage. Alternatively, would employers
    continue to make eligibility determinations for unpaid leave under
    FMLA, while federal claim adjudicators make decisions for paid leave
    benefits? This could result in divergent conclusions for similar or
    identical requests for leave, creating numerous complications for both
    employers and their employees.

    Q. Under a federal program, which party/parties will police potential
    abuse of benefits?

    A federal program should include a transparent process for policing
    potential abuse of benefits. Unchecked leave abuse can leave employers
    strained for sufficient workers, threatening the viability of their
    operations. Although employers may be best placed to police potential
    leave abuse, this approach may place an unsustainable administrative
    burden on employers. If the federal government is responsible for
    policing potential leave abuse, employers should be given an
    administrative process to submit claims of potential leave abuse that
    are resolved in a timely and transparent manner.

    For questions, additional information, a Hill briefing, or general
    inquiries about workplace matters including paid leave benefits, feel
    free to contact me at Cbirbal@HRPolicy.org.

    Chatrane Birbal
    Vice President
    Public Policy and Government Relations

                                     ______

                                IBM Corporation

                          600 14th St., NW, Suite 300

                              Washington, DC 20005

    International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) appreciates the
    opportunity to submit a statement for the record regarding the U.S.
    Senate Finance Committee's hearing on paid leave.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Paid leave programs typically provide wage replacement to
    eligible workers for specific and significant purposes: i) family
    caregiving needs (i.e., to care for a family member with a serious
    health condition or to care for a newborn or newly adopted/fostered
    child); or ii) an employee's own medical needs (i.e., to recover from a
    serious health condition).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. IBM Recognizes That Paid Leave is Critical.

    For more than 100 years, IBM has been committed to a ``people-first''
    workplace culture. We strive to create and foster a supportive,
    flexible work environment that supports IBMers and their families with
    critical benefits like paid time off to welcome a new child or manage
    their own or a loved one's serious health condition.

    Our paid leave benefit programs are generous and expansive.\2\ Our
    regular full time and part time U.S. employees receive:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ IBM also provides regular full-time employees with a maximum of
    12 paid holidays and a minimum of 120 hours of paid vacation. Long-term
    disability benefits are available to eligible employees.

            --  Up to 26 weeks of short-term disability benefits, i.e.,
            own-medical leave (13 weeks at full pay and another 13 weeks at
            a minimum of two-thirds of their pay);
            --  Up to 12 weeks of parental bonding leave for new, eligible
            parents at full pay (whether newborn, adoption, or foster
            placement);
            --  Paid care leave at full pay for family care, marriage, or
            bereavement--ranging from three days to four weeks, depending
            on the use; and
            --  A minimum of 56 hours of paid sick leave annually.

    2. Employer-Based Paid Leave Is Part of the Solution.

    As a large business with employees in all 50 states, IBM understands
    the importance of providing equitable and user-friendly benefits to our
    workers regardless of geography. IBM also believes that all workers in
    the United States deserve access to paid leave benefits, and small
    employers may find it particularly difficult to fund these benefits and
    manage work during employee leaves.

    While government can play an essential role in filling the gaps in paid
    leave benefit offerings, employers can--and many do already--provide
    access to robust, efficient, and effective leave benefits.

     3. Multiple, Individual Paid Leave Programs Present Complex Challenges
                        Across States.

    In the absence of federal action, 13 states and DC have now enacted
    state paid family and medical leave programs (bulleted below).\3\ This
    includes four more states since negotiations stalled on the larger
    House-passed budget reconciliation bill in 2021.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ The early state adopters of paid leave built paid family
    caregiving leave as a complement to existing decades-old temporary
    disability insurance (TDI) programs that date back to the 1940s. The
    states that followed built new combined paid family and medical leave
    programs.
        \4\ In Nov. 2021, the U.S. House passed legislation to establish a
    national paid leave program; see H.R. 5376, engrossed in the House
    (Title XIII, Subtitle A); https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/
    house-bill/5376/text/eh.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            --  Thirteen states and DC have enacted state paid family and
            medical leave programs: California (2002), New Jersey (2008),
            Rhode Island (2013), New York (2016), Washington (2017),
            District of Columbia (2017), Massachusetts (2018), Connecticut
            (2019), Oregon (2019), Colorado (2020), Delaware (2022),
            Maryland (2022), Minnesota (May 2023), and Maine (July
            2023).\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Several of the most recently created programs are not yet
    paying benefits: Colorado (Jan. 2024); Delaware, Maryland, and
    Minnesota (all Jan. 2026); and Maine (May 2026).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     4. Congress Has an Opportunity to Build a Bridge to National Paid
                        Leave.

    We believe that paid leave is a bipartisan issue, but a national
    approach to paid leave has eluded Congress for more than a decade now
    despite its growing popularity and recognition of its importance.

    The lack of uniformity and connective tissue across existing state paid
    leave programs has hindered the goal of advancing a national solution
    for paid leave.

    While the 13 states and DC with paid leave programs share a common
    purpose--to provide workers with access to paid leave benefits--the
    structural variations in how they were built and designed result in
    fundamental differences in standards, definitions, requirements, and
    processes. These programs were not designed to function in tandem with
    the program of another state, let alone with unique programs
    implemented in ten or more states, undermining the important goal of
    portability of benefits.

    Impact on employers: Many states with paid leave programs allow for
    employer-based, private paid leave plans when plan benefits meet or
    exceed the state program benefits.\6\ However, there is no way for
    companies to thread the needle across existing paid leave states and
    offer a uniform, equitable set of benefits to all workers regardless of
    work location in the face of a growing number of programs with varied
    and sometimes inconsistent requirements.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Many states allow private employer paid leave plans when their
    benefits meet or exceed the state program benefits. However, Rhode
    Island and Washington, DC, currently prohibit employer-provided plans.
    California allows for employer plans provided they are self-insured
    plans.

    Employers also have significant administrative burdens in complying
    with state paid leave programs and determining where workers are
    covered if they work in multiple states for the purpose of collecting
    contributions and paying benefits, costing money that could be better
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    spent funding employee benefits or other productive investments.

    Impact on workers: This patchwork has led to inequity,
    unpredictability, and confusion for employees as they must navigate
    multiple sources of paid leave depending on their work location(s) and
    employer, particularly with the increase in hybrid work and employees
    who work in multiple states.

    Impact on states: There is no system currently in place for state paid
    leave programs to exchange paid leave data, information, and best
    practices to improve the effectiveness of their programs, boost
    education and outreach, and enhance program integrity.

    5. Call for Congressional Action.

    Congressional legislation is needed to help drive improvements in
    coordination and harmonization of these benefits across the growing
    number of states with their own paid leave programs.

    This can be done in a way that works for states, employers, and
    employees. Doing so would simplify the process for workers accessing
    these benefits, help employers offer a standardized paid leave benefit
    to their employees, and support greater fairness and portability for an
    increasingly mobile workforce.

    We are committed to working closely with Congress to make progress on
    this effort.

    Thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement for the record.

                                     ______

                      Letter Submitted by Jackie Martinez
    Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the Workforce

    Hearing Date: October 25th, 2023

    To Whom it May Concern,

    I want to say that I know I am privileged to have gotten a 12 week,
    fully paid maternity leave without having to use any of my personal
    time off. That should be the bare minimum, and it isn't. I know people
    who, depending on how long they've worked or how small their company
    is, don't even qualify for FMLA, the only nationwide law providing
    family leave--a law that only mandates that employers hold your job for
    12 weeks, not that they pay you while you're out. Parental leave in the
    United States needs a total overhaul. We have some of the worst--that
    is to say, none--parental leave laws in the developed world. Having
    paid maternity leave had a direct impact on my physical health, mental
    well-being, and stability of my entire family. I had reduced financial
    stress that allowed me time to focus on bonding with my premature twin
    boys. This privilege is not extended to our most vulnerable
    underprivileged families, who are likely to face higher stressors due
    to education levels, socioeconomic status, and racial discrimination.
    The research is endless on the positive impact that paid maternity
    leave has on not only the mother and baby but on the entire family and
    furthermore on our society's health.

    Sincerely,

    Jackie Martinez

                                     ______

                                   MomsRising

                                October 24, 2023

    The Honorable Ron Wyden
    Chairman
    U.S. Senate
    Committee on Finance

    Dear Chair Wyden,

    MomsRising submits the following statement for the record as part of
    the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on ``Exploring Paid Leave:
    Policy, Practice, and Impact on the Workforce'' on October 25, 2023.

    MomsRising is a grassroots organization with over one million members,
    including members in every state in our nation. Established in 2006,
    MomsRising and its members advocate for public policies that are
    critical for women and families, including maternal health, paid family
    medical leave, affordable childcare, universal pre-k, and more.

    Paid family and medical leave is good for businesses, for our economy,
    for taxpayers, for public health, and for our families. Yet, our
    nation's current laws are failing parents and caregivers across the
    country, who are too often forced to neglect the needs of critically
    ill loved ones or must return to work shortly after welcoming a newborn
    or child. We are the only industrialized nation, and one of only six
    countries in the world, without a national paid family and medical
    leave policy. In fact, while a small percentage of people have access
    to paid family and medical leave through their work or through state
    law, our nation guarantees zero weeks of paid family or medical leave.
    At the same time, of the 186 countries that offer paid leave for new
    mothers, only one offers fewer than four weeks.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Miller, Claire Cain. ``The World `Has Found a Way to Do This':
    The U.S. Lags on Paid Leave.'' The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2021,
    www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/upshot/paid-leave-democrats.html; Deahl,
    Jessica. ``Countries around the World Beat the U.S. on Paid Parental
    Leave.'' NPR, 6 Oct. 2016, https://www.npr.org/2016/10/06/495839588/
    countries-around-the-world-beat-the-u-s-on-paid-parental-leave.

    A national paid family and medical leave policy would help businesses
    by carrying some of the cost when an employee must go on leave, while
    reducing recruitment and retraining costs, and raising employee
    productivity.\2\ Taxpayers benefit too: one study showed that paid
    family and medical leave reduced the need for food stamps by 40
    percent.\3\ Studies also show that infant and maternal health are
    improved when people have access to paid family and medical leave. This
    policy is cost-saving, life-saving, and business-lifting. Policies like
    paid family and medical leave would go a long way towards ensuring
    justice and equity in our systems of care.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ ``Paid Leave Works: Evidence from State Programs.'' National
    Partnership for Women and Families, https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-
    content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-works-evidence-from-state-
    programs.pdf. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.
        \3\ ``Paid Family Care Leave: A Missing Piece in the U.S. Social
    Insurance System.'' Washington Center for Equitable Growth, 10 Jun.
    2019, https://equitablegrowth.org/research-paper/paid-family-care-
    leave/?longform=true. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.

    Despite the proven benefits for workers, families, and the economy,
    just 20 percent of private sector workers in our nation, including only
    eight percent of the lowest wage earners, have access to some form of
    paid family or medical leave.\4\ As a result, one in four women are
    pushed back to work within just two weeks of giving birth or welcoming
    a new child.\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ ``Quick Facts on Paid Family and Medical Leave.'' Center for
    American Progress, 5 Feb. 2021, https://www.americanprogress.org/
    article/quick-facts-paid-family-medical-leave/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.
        \5\ Bryant, Miranda. `` `I Was Risking My Life': Why One in Four US
    Women Return to Work Two Weeks After Childbirth.'' The Guardian, 27
    Jan. 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/27/maternity-
    paid-leave-women-work-childbirth-us.

    Moms like Nancy are directly affected by the lack of federal paid
    family and medical leave policies. Nancy has two kids, a 3.5-year-old
    son and a 1-year-old daughter, in Pennsylvania. She went into labor
    with her son prematurely and had an emergency c-section. Nancy was
    working-part-time as a teacher and had zero paid leave. Her husband
    only had 2 weeks of paid leave. She had a difficult recovery from
    birth--she had limited mobility, couldn't pick up her 6 pound son, and
    at 5 weeks postpartum, her incision opened up and she got an infection.
    She also struggled with breastfeeding and battled postpartum anxiety.
    During this time, her husband had to work full-time while also caring
    for their son, repacking Nancy's wound each day, and driving them to
    doctor's appointments. Their insurance wouldn't cover a home nurse.
    ``It was awful. If we'd had true paid parental leave, it would have
    taken that stress away. We could have focused on being new parents and
    working through my health situation. It would have made it so much
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    easier.''

    Working families and business leaders across the country agree that
    passing strong paid family and medical leave policy would boost
    businesses, our economy, and the health and well-being of families
    across the country. In fact, polling shows that four in five Americans
    support paid family and medical leave.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Bennett, Bryan. ``Americans Overwhelmingly Support Paid Family
    And Medical Leave.'' Navigator, 23 Sept. 2022, https://
    navigatorresearch.org/americans-overwhelmingly-support-paid-family-and-
    medical-leave/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.

    We thank you for the committee's attention to this crucial issue.
    MomsRising is happy to serve as a resource as the committee continues
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    to consider paid family and medical leave policies.

    Sincerely,

    Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
    Executive Director/CEO & Co-Founder
    MomsRising Together & MomsRising Education Fund

    Namatie Mansaray
    Senior Director: Workplace Justice
    MomsRising Together & MomsRising Education Fund

    Ruth Martin
    Senior Vice President & Chief Workplace Justice Officer
    MomsRising Together & MomsRising Education Fund

                                     ______

                        National Council of Jewish Women

                           2055 L St., NW, Suite 650

                              Washington, DC 20036

                                T: 202-296-2588

                             https://www.ncjw.org/

    Dear Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the Senate
    Committee on Finance, since our founding in 1893, National Council of
    Jewish Women (NCJW) has worked toward a world where women, children,
    and families are fully valued and supported. Inspired by Jewish values,
    NCJW advocates strive to turn progressive ideals into action by
    safeguarding individual rights and freedoms. Through education,
    advocacy, and community service, our network of 210,000 advocates has
    worked to make this vision a reality at all levels of government and in
    communities across the United States.

    We appreciate today's hearing, ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy,
    Practice, and Impact on the Workforce,'' and the opportunity to submit
    a statement for the record in support of paid leave. A key area of
    focus for the organization is our pursuit of economic justice, work
    that is true to that of our ancestors. As the Torah commands the newly
    liberated Israelites in the Book of Exodus and beyond to set up a new
    society, it is notably designed around a myriad of systems to ensure
    economic justice. Later Rabbinic teachings, too, center the urgent,
    lived experiences of those who are less financially secure and create
    additional legal structures to protect them. NCJW believes that the
    moral test of a nation is how it treats people who face the steepest
    barriers to success due to structural inequities. We champion policies
    to end poverty in America and, until that is achieved, to improve the
    lives of those who experience it--disproportionately women and
    children, people who are transgender, Black, Indigenous, and other
    people of color, and individuals with disabilities. Each of us has the
    right to thrive. No matter who we are, where we are from, our ability,
    or income, we all have the right to live with dignity, in health, and
    with financial stability, and to provide for our families. Ensuring
    families have what they need is essential to creating a vibrant economy
    and shared prosperity.

    As part of this work, NCJW endeavors to guarantee nationwide,
    comprehensive paid family and medical leave and paid sick days. Our
    efforts over the past 130 years have taught us that the success of our
    economy depends on the success of our families. Each of us should be
    able to achieve economic stability while caring for our health and
    family. Paid leave is a critical part of making that goal a reality.
    Stronger paid leave programs will help us build a stronger economy.

    Paid leave reduces employee turnover,\1\ which allows employers to save
    on hiring costs. For example, under California's family leave insurance
    program, workers in high-turnover industries are much more likely to
    return to their jobs \2\ after using the program. Paid leave also
    allows parents and family caregivers to remain in the workforce,
    preventing income loss and contributing to economic productivity and
    growth.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ http://www.americanprogress.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/11/
    CostofTurnover.pdf.
        \2\ https://fhop.ucsf.edu/sites/fhop.ucsf.edu/files/
    custom_download/Unfinished%20Business%
    20-
    %20Paid%20Family%20leave%20in%20CA%20and%20the%20future%20of%20US%20Work
    -Family%20Policy.pdf.

    However, recent data show that most workers cannot access paid leave
    benefits. Over thirty million workers \3\ across the United States lack
    access to paid sick leave. And, the Bureau of Labor Statistics \4\
    shows that 76% of private sector employees do not have access to paid
    family leave.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/HFA-Fact-
    Sheet-118th.pdf.
        \4\ https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2022/home.htm.

    Without access to paid leave, workers who face serious medical or
    caregiving needs are unable to afford the most basic necessities.
    Missing even one paycheck can affect a person's ability to afford
    groceries, rent, and other daily necessities. These families face
    devastating consequences when the women who lead them are forced to
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    choose between their jobs and caring for their families.

    This policy gap most harms women, especially women of color, single
    mothers, and women struggling to make ends meet. Women are more likely
    than men to be caregivers to children and elderly parents, which makes
    them more vulnerable to the absence of paid family leave. The situation
    is even worse for women of color. Studies have shown that women of
    color play an outsized role in supporting their families. While over 80
    percent of Black mothers are primary, sole, or co-breadwinners for
    their households,\5\ more than six in ten Black women either do not
    take paid leave or do so without pay. As a result, Black women lose
    about $3.9 billion each year due to lost wages while on leave
    (according to a 2022 Center for American Progress report).\6\
    Additionally, the inaccessibility of paid leave for Black women is
    exacerbated by existing health disparities in the US; this includes
    high rates of chronic illness as well as unacceptably high maternal and
    infant mortality rates. With access to paid leave, Black women who are
    ill or caring for a sick person would have both the time and economic
    resources to seek treatment in a timely manner.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/breadwinning-mothers-
    critical-familys-economic-security/.
        \6\ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/black-women-need-
    access-to-paid-family-and-medical-leave/.

    A basic workplace paid sick and safe days standard, and assured paid
    time off for family needs, would ensure that all workers receive this
    necessary benefit no matter where they work, without having to
    sacrifice their financial stability. A national paid leave program
    would also allow parents and family caregivers to remain in the
    workforce, preventing income loss and contributing to economic
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    productivity and growth.

    Congress has the opportunity to improve the paid leave landscape in
    this country through legislative avenues. First, through the Family and
    Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, Congress can provide twelve weeks
    of job-protected paid time off for employees of any company to take
    care of their children, spouses, parents, and themselves. Second,
    through the Healthy Families Act, Congress can establish a national
    paid sick and safe days standard, allowing workers to earn up to seven
    paid sick days each year to be used to recover from illness; take care
    of family members; seek assistance after incidents of domestic
    violence, stalking, and sexual assault; and more.

    Our country is only able to live up to its ideals of justice and equity
    when our workers and families are supported. Therefore, Congress has a
    responsibility to support and enact legislation that guarantees the
    right to earn paid sick and family leave to ensure that all families do
    not have to choose between providing and caring for their loved ones.
    NCJW urges lawmakers to pass legislation including the FAMILY Act and
    the Healthy Families Act that would expand access to paid family and
    sick leave and help keep families financially secure, workplaces and
    communities healthy, and the economy strong.

                                     ______

                        National Organization for Women

                            1100 H Street, NW, #300

                              Washington, DC 20005

                                 (202) 628-8669

                   Statement of Christian F. Nunes, President

    Mr. Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Committee Members:

    Thank you for convening this critically important hearing that we hope
    will take us many steps closer to having a national policy for paid
    family and medical leave that is affordable and universal.

    In 1967, attendees to a national conference held by the National
    Organization for Women adopted an historic Bill of Rights for Women.
    High on that list was Maternity Leave Rights in Employment. Conference
    attendees affirmed, ``That women be protected by law to ensure their
    rights to return to their jobs within a reasonable time after
    childbirth without loss of seniority or other accrued benefits and be
    paid maternity leave as a form of social security and/or employee
    benefits.''

    Our grassroots activists worked diligently on their members of Congress
    for years to get the Family and Medical Leave Act passed. After
    President George H.W. Bush twice vetoed the FMLA, we didn't give up and
    were overjoyed to see President Bill Clinton sign the legislation into
    law in 1993. But our hopes for leave with pay were not realized. Thirty
    years of experience with the FMLA shows how important this guarantee
    would be for workers and their families.

    The National Organization for Women, our thousands of members and
    supporters in every state, and the District of Columbia, strongly urges
    the Senate to pass legislation that would provide paid family and
    medical leave for every worker. A national approach that covers all
    workers will strengthen our workforce and provide better protection for
    working women who need extended maternity leave and must take time off
    for caregiving responsibilities as well tend to the health needs of
    family members.

    The United States is the only nation in the developed world, according
    to the U.S. Department of Labor, that does not have a national paid
    leave policy for all workers. Surely, in a country with an enviably
    strong economy and a large and diverse--but vulnerable--workforce,
    there should be wide recognition that a national program of paid leave
    is essential. The fact that the FMLA has been used more than 463
    million times, according to the National Partnership for Women and
    Families, since its adoption demonstrates that the need to have access
    to leave without risking one's employment is fundamental. It should be
    a standard feature of the workplace, enabling all workers who must
    eventually take time off and to do so without fear of losing their
    jobs.

    Public support for paid family and medical leave is strong. A September
    2022 national survey by Navigator and reported by the Common Dreams
    organization found that more than eight in ten voters, including 79
    percent of white voters, 88 percent of Black and 89 percent of Latino
    voters want to see a national paid family and medical leave policy
    adopted. A National Partnership for Women and Families poll (2020)
    found that 75 percent of respondents would support a paid family and
    medical leave policy that would cover all workers.

    Because of the current restrictive provision applying the FMLA to
    companies with 50 plus employees only about 56 percent of U.S. workers
    can access the federal FMLA leave, according to the Department of
    Labor. Portions of the remaining 44 percent of workers may obtain leave
    through their company's disability insurance plans or may be covered in
    the 16 states that offer (or will soon) state-based family and medical
    leave programs. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut,
    Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New
    Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, plus the
    District of Columbia.

    Legislation that expands the thirty-year old Family and Medical Leave
    Act to better address the needs of the nation's workforce should be a
    priority for the 118th Congress. The FAMILY Act, which is an expansion
    of the FMLA that addresses many of the problems identified in this
    testimony, would be a positive step. NOW urges the Senate to move this
    legislation to a floor vote soon. We look forward to working with
    senators to gain passage of this legislation that would greatly
    strengthen the U.S. workforce.

    MAJOR CONCERNS

    Women Workers Remain Vulnerable

    Large segments of the workforce are without any leave protections. At
    the top of the list are women who historically have provided
    uncompensated caregiving and have often worked in low-paid jobs, facing
    barriers to better compensated employment. The stubborn gender wage
    gap--hovering around 78--84 cents for many years testifies to that
    point, according to analyses by the Institute for Women's Policy
    Research. The long-standing segregation of work according to racial and
    ethnic identities, has channeled women workers of color to the most
    poorly compensated jobs in domestic, service, seasonal and laborer
    jobs. Workers in these groups also provide a substantial share of
    unpaid caregiving. Research by the National Partnership for Women and
    Families found that unpaid caregiving--the majority of which is
    provided by women--is likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars
    annually. These same workers also face precarious situations when
    illness strikes, and a job is lost. The lack of accessible and
    affordable childcare is a further complication,

    Women Head Half of All Households

    In addition, single parent-headed households--a growing segment of the
    population--would value the availability of paid family and medical
    leave. The number of women-headed households (including those who are
    married but are the primary breadwinner) has grown steadily so that by
    2019 they constituted half of all households, according to the Urban
    Institute. This is true for all racial and ethnic groups, with Black
    households headed by women at 60 percent, according to the Pew Research
    Center. Also, single parent heads of household, including caregivers
    tending an ill or elderly person, are themselves vulnerable without a
    paid leave assurance.

    Abortion Access Barriers Impact Workers

    The loss of access to reproductive healthcare experienced by persons in
    states that have banned abortion adds uncertainty for millions of
    childbearing age. An unplanned pregnancy or a pregnancy complication
    necessitating medical attention when workers are not covered by the
    Family and Medical Leave Act can be a serious hardship. Planning and
    traveling to another state means taking days off work along with a need
    for further time off for health reasons. Lack of paid leave would help.
    The 14 states with abortion bans are causing tens of thousands of
    pregnant women to travel to another state for abortion care, according
    to the Guttmacher Institute.

    Maternal Health Complications a Serious Problem

    A factor that heightens the need by Black women as well as indigenous
    women is their dramatically higher risk of complications to pregnancy,
    delivery and postpartum health. The mortality rate of Black women in
    the U.S. is between two and three times higher than that for white
    women, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control
    (CDC). Tragically, hundreds of women die from pregnancy related
    illnesses or complications each year. Considering a significant level
    of complications of pregnancy and childbirth, paid family and medical
    leave would offer crucial support. Many women experience life-
    threatening complications during childbirth, often causing lifelong
    health challenges. Since the usual causes of maternal mortality are
    conditions that occur or are exacerbated during pregnancy, the vast
    majority of these deaths are preventable, according to CDC research.
    Twelve weeks of paid medical leave could play an important role in
    reducing complications in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum health--
    and even save lives.

    Violence Survivors Need Paid Leave Protections

    A further importance of paid family and medical leave is the need for
    persons--mostly women--who are survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
    (IVP) who may require time off for medical care, and court appearances.
    Counseling and other safety measures to be taken are an additional
    need. A significant portion of the population--about 41% of women and
    26% of men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence and/
    or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime, according to
    the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and miss at least one
    day of work. Counselors who work with domestic and sexual violence
    survivors also report that further time off from work involves medical
    attention and possible court appearances.

    Workers at the Poverty Line

    Another segment of the workforce that would benefit from paid leave are
    workers who live close to the federal poverty line. Census data from
    2022 found that 12.4 percent of Americans were subsisting at that low-
    income level. That figure was up from 7.8 percent in 2021. The poverty
    rate for children in 2022 more than doubled from the year before,
    according to Census data. This was due to the discontinuation of the
    expanded Child Tax Credit which was in place for a year during the
    COVID-19 pandemic. The expiration of other pandemic relief measures has
    led to an increase in poverty rates. Such figures represent roughly 40
    million Americans living without the minimum level of resources to meet
    their needs. Many may be part-time or seasonal workers who would likely
    not qualify for paid FMLA that required higher minimum hours worked
    each year, but nonetheless should become part of an FMLA-covered
    workforce.

    No doubt the lack of a guaranteed paid family and medical leave program
    has exacerbated economic and health challenges for the millions of
    Americans living near the federal poverty line, despite the fact that
    many are employed. Inclusion under a FMLA would contribute to a more
    stable economic situation for families who are impacted by poverty. No
    doubt many of these workers and their families are persons of color who
    have experienced this country's history of structural and
    discriminatory barriers that have contributed to serious economic,
    health and wealth disparities. A family and medical leave policy that
    meets the needs of these workers must be adopted. We believe that full
    coverage under a paid family and medical leave program will advance
    racial equity in the workforce and help build economic security for
    these workers and their families.

    Lack of Paid Leave Deepens Wealth Divide

    A failure to provide coverage for low-income workers under a national
    family and medical leave policy will continue to contribute to the
    deepening wealth divide that afflicts this country. In the first
    quarter of 2023, the top ten percent of households held about 67
    percent of total household wealth. By contrast, the bottom 90 percent
    of households by wealth held around 31 percent, according to the
    Federal Reserve. Inflation-adjusted figures for various demographic
    groups also show that Black families owned about 24 cents for every $1
    of white family wealth, on average and Hispanic families owned about
    the same.

    THE FAMILY ACT WOULD ADDRESS CONCERNS

    The updated and expanded FAMILY Act, introduced by Sen. Kirsten
    Gillibrand (S. 1714) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (H.R. 481) would address
    many of the concerns raised in this testimony. According to a summary
    from the National Partnership for Women and Families, this legislation
    would authorize paid leave, bringing the United States up to a level
    with other developed nations. In addition, paid leave would strengthen
    a workforce that will need leave at some point in their lives but would
    hesitate taking leave because there would be no paycheck during that
    period. History shows that many workers over the past thirty years of
    FMLA have forgone leave out of that concern.

    The FAMILY Act would allow for up to 12 weeks of paid family and
    medical leave for a majority of workers to care for a new child, a
    family member or loved one with a serious health condition, or to allow
    a worker to address their own serious health condition. Leave would
    also be available for military families facing circumstances arising
    from a service member's deployment and for survivors of domestic
    violence, stalking, and sexual assault to seek services related to the
    violence. According to a summary provided by the National Partnership
    for Women and Families, family members for whom a worker would be able
    to provide care include immediate family members and extended blood-
    related and chosen family. Workers would receive benefit payments on a
    sliding scale, so that lower-wage workers would receive up to 85
    percent of their usual wages with workers at the country's median wage
    receiving about 70 percent of their usual pay. Workers' jobs would be
    protected, regardless of the size of the employer they work for or
    their tenure or hours at their job, allowing them to return to work
    without facing job loss or retaliation related to their leave.

    The National Organization for Women advocates for Senate passage of the
    FAMILY Act that will go a long way to address the many concerns that
    women and all workers have about safeguarding their livelihoods while
    caring for their families.

                                     ______

                  National Partnership for Women and Families

                         1725 Eye Street, NW, Suite 950

                              Washington, DC 20006

                           Statement of Michelle Feit

                 Organizational Endorsements of the FAMILY Act

    On behalf of the undersigned organizations and the tens of millions of
    working families we represent, we write in strong support of the Family
    And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. The FAMILY Act would create a
    national paid family and medical leave insurance program to help ensure
    that people who work can take the time they need to address serious
    health and caregiving needs. It would help support working families'
    economic security, promote racial and gender equity, create a more
    level playing field for businesses of all sizes and strengthen our
    economy. The FAMILY Act is the national paid family and medical leave
    plan voters want and our country needs.

    The benefits of paid family and medical leave are well documented, yet
    the vast majority of working people in the United States do not have
    access to this basic protection. More than 100 million people--or 73
    percent of workers--do not have paid family leave through their jobs,
    and nearly 60 percent lack access to paid personal medical leave
    through their employer.\1\ Access rates for workers in lower-wage jobs
    are even lower, and advances over the past decade have been
    concentrated among higher-paid employees, creating even greater
    disparities between lower- and higher-paid workers.\2\ Even unpaid
    leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is inaccessible
    to 44 percent of working people because of eligibility restrictions,
    and many who are eligible cannot afford to take unpaid leave.\3\ This
    means that when serious personal or family health needs inevitably
    arise, people face impossible choices between their families' well-
    being, their financial security and their jobs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September). National
    Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023
    (See Excel tables, Civilian workers, Short term disability and Leave).
    Retrieved 24 October 2023, from https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/
    employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2023.htm.
        \2\ Since 2013, access to paid family leave has increased just four
    percentage points for the
    lowest-paid workers, to eight percent in 2022, but 22 percentage points
    for the highest-paid workers, to 44 percent in 2022. U.S. Bureau of
    Labor Statistics. (n.d.) Employee Benefits Survey (2010-2022 Excel
    dataset). Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://www.bls.gov/ebs/
    data.htm.
        \3\ Brown, S., Herr, J., Roy, R., & Klerman, J.A. (2020, July).
    Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical Leave Act:
    Results from the 2018 Surveys. Abt Associates Publication prepared for
    the U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://
    www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/
    WHD_FMLA2018SurveyResults_Final
    Report_Aug2020.pdf.

    Women of color are especially harmed by the lack of paid leave. Racial
    disparities are stark in meaningful access to leave: about 54 percent
    of Asian and Pacific Islander workers, 64 percent of Native American
    workers, 66 percent of Black workers and 69 percent of Latinx workers
    are either not eligible for or cannot afford to take unpaid FMLA
    leave.\4\ And even while women of color are so often key breadwinners
    for their families,\5\ they continue to face punishing wage gaps: for
    every dollar paid to white men, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and
    Pacific Islander women are paid as little as 52 cents, as Burmese women
    are, and overall just 80 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-
    Hispanic men, Black women 64 cents, Latina women 54 cents and Native
    American women just 51 cents.\6\ The combination of inequities,
    including the racial wealth gap, and discrimination also means that
    families of color may be less able to withstand the financial hardship
    associated with a serious family or medical event and struggle more to
    recover their stability afterward.\7\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Joshi, P., Walters, A.N., Wong, E., Shafter, L., & Acevedo-
    Garcia, D. (2023, March 1). Inequitable access to FMLA continues.
    Retrieved 4 April 2023, from Brandeis University, The Heller School,
    Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy website: https://
    www.diversitydatakids.
    org/research-library/data-visualization/inequitable-access-fmla-
    continues.
        \5\ Glynn, S.J. (2019, May 10). Breadwinning Mothers Continue To Be
    the U.S. Norm. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from Center for American
    Progress website: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/
    reports/2019/05/10/469739/breadwinning-mothers-continue-u-s-norm/.
        \6\ National Partnership for Women & Families. (2023, March).
    America's Women and the Wage Gap. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://
    www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/fair-
    pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf.
        \7\ Mason, J. & Molina Acosta, P. (2021, March). Called to Care: A
    Racially Just Recovery Demands Paid Family and Medical Leave. Retrieved
    4 April 2023, from National Partnership for Women & Families website:
    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/called-to-
    care-a-racially-just-recovery-demands-paid-family-and-medical-
    leave.pdf.

    Paid leave is also an essential support for disabled workers. Disabled
    workers are also more likely to work in low-wage jobs without access to
    paid leave. Disabled workers are disproportionately harmed by a lack of
    paid leave policies that allow them to take care of not only themselves
    but also their loved ones. The 10 occupations employing the most
    disabled women pay, on average, $41,200 per year--$15,800 less than the
    average annual wage across the 10 most-common occupations for non-
    disabled men.\8\ In 2020, disabled people overall earned about 74 cents
    for every dollar a non-disabled person is paid.\9\ Disabled people are
    also less likely to be able to come up with emergency funds for
    unexpected needs.\10\ Nationally, subminimum wage for disabled workers
    is also still permitted. Employment discrimination and payment
    inequities contributed to the critical need for a paid leave
    infrastructure for disabled women and their families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ National Partnership for Women & Families (2023 March). Women's
    Work is Undervalued, and It's Costing Us Billions. Retrieved April
    2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/
    womens-work-is-undervalued.pdf.
        \9\ The Century Foundation (2022 April). Economic Justice is
    Disability Justice. Retrieved April 2023, from https://tcf.org/content/
    report/economic-justice-disability-justice/.
        \10\ National Disability Institute (2017). Financial Capability of
    Adults with Disabilities. Retrieved April 2023, from https://
    www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ndi-
    finra-report-2017.pdf.

    The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the consequences faced by
    working people when they lack access to paid leave. Even with
    widespread access to the COVID-19 vaccine, long-term health and
    caregiving consequences of the pandemic continue to impact public
    health and our economy. An estimated 10 to 33 million adults in the
    United States are affected by long COVID symptoms, including two to
    four million who are out of work due to long COVID.\11\ In part due to
    long COVID, people with disabilities are a growing share of the
    population and the labor force.\12\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Burns, A. (2022, August 1). What are the Implications of Long
    COVID for Employment and Health Coverage? Retrieved 4 April 2023, from
    Kaiser Family Foundation website: https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/
    what-are-the-implications-of-long-covid-for-employment-and-health-
    coverage/.
        \12\ Ditkowsky, M. (2023, February 23). New Data on Disability
    Employment: Small Gains But Institutional Barriers Remain. Retrieved 4
    April 2023, from National Partnership for Women & Families website:
    https://nationalpartnership.org/new-data-on-disability-employment-
    small-gains-but-institutional-barriers-remain/.

    The FAMILY Act would create a strong, inclusive national paid family
    and medical leave insurance program and set a nationwide paid leave
    baseline. Workers would earn partial pay, for a limited period of time
    (up to 60 workdays, or 12 workweeks in a year) to address their own
    serious health issue, including pregnancy or childbirth; to deal with
    the serious health issue of a family member, including chosen family;
    to care for a new child; to address the effects of domestic violence,
    sexual assault or stalking; and for certain military caregiving and
    leave purposes. The lowest-paid workers would earn up to 85 percent of
    their normal wages, with the typical full-time worker earning around
    two-thirds of their wages. Workers who have been at their job for more
    than 90 days will have the right to be reinstated following their
    leave, and all workers will be protected from retaliation. Employees,
    employers, and self-employed workers would fund both the benefits and
    the administrative costs of the program by contributing a small amount
    in each pay period to a self-sustaining fund, administered through a
    new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave. Eligibility rules would
    allow younger, part-time, low-wage and contingent workers to contribute
    and benefit, regardless of their employer's size or their length of
    time on the job. States with existing paid leave programs would be
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    empowered to continue running them.

    The FAMILY Act builds on data and lessons from successful state
    programs. California has had a paid family and medical leave insurance
    program in place since 2004, New Jersey since 2009, Rhode Island since
    2014, New York since 2018, Washington and the District of Columbia
    since 2020, Massachusetts since 2021, Connecticut since 2022, and
    Oregon since September 2023. And momentum continues to grow: Colorado
    passed a paid leave law in 2020, Maryland and Delaware in 2022, and
    Minnesota and Maine in 2023. Evidence from the existing state programs
    shows their value and affordability; all are financially sound and
    self-
    sustaining, and each state that has paid leave in place has or is
    exploring ways to make it even more accessible to people who need
    family leave.\13\ Analyses of California's law show that both employers
    and employees benefit from the program.\14\ In New Jersey, the
    program's costs have been lower than expected,\15\ and in New Jersey
    and New York, small business support for paid leave programs increased
    after the pandemic began.\16\ Research on Rhode Island's program found
    positive effects for new parents, and a majority of small- and medium-
    sized employers were in favor of the program one year after it took
    effect.\17\ Paid leave programs also helped states quickly address
    health and caregiving needs in the early stages of the pandemic.\18\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ National Partnership for Women & Families. (2022, February).
    Paid Leave Works: Evidence from State Programs. Retrieved 4 April 2023,
    from https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-
    leave-works-evidence-from-state-programs.pdf.
        \14\ Appelbaum, E., & Milkman, R. (2013). Unfinished Business: Paid
    Family Leave in California and the Future of U.S. Work-Family Policy.
    Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
        \15\ Press of Atlantic City. (2010, November 15). Paid Family
    Leave/Working Well. Retrieved 22 March 2023, from http://
    www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/editorials/article--0d6ba980-3a1d-
    56f7-9101-258999b5d9d0.html.
        \16\ Bartel, A.P., Rossin-Slate, M., Waldfogel, J. et al. (2021,
    December 9). Support for Paid Family Leave among Small Employers
    Increases during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Socius: Sociological Research
    for a Dynamic World, 7. doi: 10.1177/23780231211061959.
        \17\ National Partnership for Women & Families. (2015, February).
    First Impressions: Comparing State Paid Family Leave Programs in Their
    First Years. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/first-impressions-
    comparing-state-paid-family-leave-programs-in-their-first-years.pdf;
    Bartel, A., Rossin-Slater, M., Ruhm, C., & Waldfogel, J. (2016,
    January). Assessing Rhode Island's Temporary Caregiver Insurance Act:
    Insights from a Survey of Employers. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from U.S.
    Department of Labor website: https://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/
    completed-studies/AssessingRhodeIslandTempo
    raryCaregiverInsuranceAct_InsightsFromSurveyOfEmployers.pdf.
        \18\ Boyens, C. (2020, June). State Paid Family and Medical Leave
    Programs Helped a Surge of Workers Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
    Urban Institute Publication. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://
    www.urban.org/research/publication/state-paid-family-and-medical-leave-
    programs-helped-surge-workers-affected-covid-19-pandemic.

    The FAMILY Act would address the range of care needs people face,
    including the growing need to provide elder care. Changing demographics
    mean more adults will need elder care and the number of potential
    family caregivers is shrinking: For every person age 80 and older, the
    number of potential family caregivers will fall from about seven in
    2010 to four by 2030, and then to less than three by 2050.\19\ It is
    also important to note that about three-quarters of people who take
    family or medical leave each year do so for reasons other than
    maternity or paternity care, taking leave to care for family members
    with serious illnesses, injuries or disabilities or for their own
    serious health issue.\20\ The majority of parents, adult children and
    spouses who provide care for ill family members or family members with
    disabilities also have paying jobs, and on average work more than 30
    hours per week while also managing their caregiving
    responsibilities.\21\ The majority of military caregivers--and more
    than three-quarters of caregivers for post-9/11 wounded warriors--are
    also in the labor force.\22\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ Redfoot, D., Feinberg, L., & Houser, A. (2013, August). The
    Aging of the Baby Boom and the Growing Care Gap: A Look at Future
    Declines in the Availability of Family Caregivers. AARP Public Policy
    Institute Publication. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from http://
    www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/public_policy_institute/ltc/
    2013/baby-boom-and-the-growing-care-gap-insight-AARP-ppi-ltc.pdf.
        \20\ National Partnership for Women & Families. (2023, February).
    Key Facts: The Family and Medical Leave Act. Retrieved 4 April 2023,
    from https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/key-
    facts-the-family-and-medical-leave-act.pdf.
        \21\ National Alliance for Caregiving. (2020, May). Caregiving in
    the U.S.: 2020 Report. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP Public
    Policy Institute Publication. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://
    www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Full-Report-Caregiving-
    in-the-United-States-2020.pdf.
        \22\ Ramchand, R., Tanielian, T., Fisher, M.P., Vaughan, C.A. et
    al. (2014). Hidden Heroes: America's Military Caregivers (Figure 3.8).
    Retrieved 4 April 2023 from RAND Corporation website: http://
    www.rand.org/health/projects/military-caregivers.html.

    The FAMILY Act would support improved health outcomes and could lower
    health care costs. New mothers who take paid leave have improved
    overall health, reduced likelihood of re-hospitalization and of
    postpartum depression, and lower likelihood of reporting intimate
    partner violence.\23\ Their children are more likely to be breastfed,
    receive medical check-ups and get critical immunizations.\24\ When
    children are seriously ill, the presence of a parent shortens a child's
    hospital stay by 31 percent;\25\ active parental involvement in a
    child's hospital care may head off future health problems, especially
    for children with chronic health conditions,\26\ and thus reduce costs.
    Paid leave also lets people support older family members with serious
    health conditions, helping them fulfill treatment plans, manage their
    care, and avoid complications and hospital readmissions.\27\ Research
    has found that California's paid leave program reduced nursing home
    utilization.\28\ And, for the millions of families in communities that
    are struggling with opioid and other substance use disorders, paid
    leave supports family caregivers, who play a key role in care and
    recovery by helping loved ones with health care arrangements and
    treatment.\29\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \23\ Coombs, S. (2020, August). Paid Leave Is Essential for Healthy
    Moms and Babies. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from National Partnership for
    Women & Families website: https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/
    uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-is-essential-for-healthy-moms-and-
    babies.pdf.
        \24\ Heymann, J., Sprague, A.R., Nandi, A., Earle, A., et al.
    (2017). Paid parental leave and family well-being in the sustainable
    development era. Public Health Reviews, 38(21). doi: 10.1186/s40985-
    017-0067-2.
        \25\ Heymann. J. (2001, October 15). The Widening Gap: Why
    America's Working Families Are in Jeopardy--and What Can Be Done About
    It. New York, NY: Basic Books.
        \26\ Heymann, J., & Earle, A. (2010). Raising the global floor:
    dismantling the myth that we can't afford good working conditions for
    everyone. Stanford, CA.: Stanford Politics and Policy.
        \27\ See e.g., Institute of Medicine. (2008, April 11). Retooling
    for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce, 254.
    Retrieved March 2023, from http://www.nationalacademies.
    org/hmd/reports/2008/retooling-for-an-aging-america-building-the-
    health-care-workforce.aspx; Arbaje, A.I., Wolff, J.L., Yu, Q., Powe,
    N.R., et al. (2008, August). Postdischarge Environmental and
    Socioeconomic Factors and the Likelihood of Early Hospital Readmission
    Among Community-Dwelling Medicare Beneficiaries. The Gerontologist,
    48(4), 495-504. doi: 10.1093/geront/48.4.495.
        \28\ Arora, K., & Wolf, D.A. (2017, November 3). Does Paid Family
    Leave Reduce Nursing Home Use? The California Experience. Journal of
    Policy Analysis and Management, 37(1), 38-62. doi: 10.1002/pam.22038.
        \29\ Biegel, D.E., Katz-Saltzman, S., Meeks, D., Brown, S., &
    Tracy, E.M. (2010). Predictors of Depressive Symptomatology in Family
    Caregivers of Women With Substance Use Disorders or Co-Occurring
    Substance Use and Mental Disorders. Journal of Family Social Work,
    13(2), 25-44. doi: 10.1080/10522150903437458.

    The FAMILY Act would also strengthen large and small businesses and
    support entrepreneurs. Paid leave reduces turnover costs--typically
    more than one-fifth of an employee's salary \30\--and increases
    employee loyalty. In California, nine out of 10 businesses surveyed
    reported positive effects or no impacts on profitability and
    productivity after the state's paid leave program went into effect.\31\
    Small businesses reported even more positive or neutral outcomes than
    larger businesses.\32\ Small business owners from across the nation
    expect that the FAMILY Act model would help level the playing field
    with large corporations; improve worker retention, productivity and
    morale; and help protect their economic security if an accident or
    medical emergency occurs.\33\ About two-thirds of small business owners
    support a national paid family and medical leave policy.\34\ By
    including self-employed people, the FAMILY Act would also help
    entrepreneurs balance the risks of starting a new business with the
    need to ensure their families' health and security.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \30\ Bahn, K., & Sanchez Cumming, C. (2020, December). Improving
    U.S. labor standards and the quality of jobs to reduce the costs of
    employee turnover to U.S. companies. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from
    Washington Center for Equitable Growth website: https://
    equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/122120-turnover-costs-
    ib.pdf.
        \31\ See note 13.
        \32\ Ibid.
        \33\ Main Street Alliance. (2018). The View from Main Street: Paid
    Family and Medical Leave, 2018 Report. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from
    https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ff74507e375c
    93150f0ca32/t/6005b387c50f244aee789e87/1610986375301/MSA_PFML_Report_-
    _Phase_1_v3.
    pdf.
        \34\ Lake Research Partners. (2020, October 2). Small business
    owners' attitudes on paid family and medical leave. Retrieved 4 April
    2023, from https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/167e816a/files/uploaded/
    Paid%20Leave%20for%20All.small%20business.pdf?emci=4dc34eed-b40d-eb11-
    96f5-00155d03affc&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=.

    National paid family and medical leave has broad support from voters
    across party lines. Four out of five 2022 voters support a national
    paid family and medical leave policy, including 70 percent of
    Republicans, 76 percent of independents and 89 percent of
    Democrats.\35\ And qualitative research shows voters prefer a national
    plan that covers all family relationships and includes employment
    protections.\36\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \35\ Navigator Research. (2022, September 23). Paid Family and
    Medical Leave: A Guide for Advocates. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from
    https://navigatorresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Navigator-
    Update-09.23.2022.pdf.
        \36\ Lake Research Partners and MomsRising.org (2018, February).
    Interested Parties Memo on Key Findings from Recent Qualitative
    Research. Retrieved 4 April 2023, from https://s3.amazon
    aws.com/s3.momsrising.org/images/
    MomsRising__LPR_Interested_Parties_memo_on_paid_leave
    .pdf.

    Working families need a nationwide paid family and medical leave
    standard that is comprehensive, inclusive, and sustainable. The FAMILY
    Act is the only national paid family and medical leave proposal that
    reflects what most people in the United States need. We urge you to co-
    sponsor this essential legislation today, to push for swift and
    thorough consideration that surfaces the best practices and lessons
    learned from state policies, and to reject inadequate proposals that
    would fail to meet the needs of the nation's workforce, families or
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    businesses--and that would do more harm than good.

    Sincerely,

    National:

    1,000 Days, an Initiative of FHI
    360                                 American Academy of Pediatrics
    American Association of University
    Women                               American Civil Liberties Union
    American Muslim Health
    Professionals                       American Public Health Association
    Asset Building Strategies           Campaign for a Family Friendly
                                        Economy
    Caring Across Generations           Center for American Progress
    Center for Biological Diversity     Center For Economic And Policy
                                        Research
    Center for Law and Social Policy
    (CLASP)                             Center for Science in the Public
                                        Interest
    CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ
    Centers                             ChangeLab Solutions
    Child Welfare League of America     Children's Defense Fund
    Coalition on Human Needs            Coalition of Labor Union Women,
                                        AFL-CIO
    COVID Survivors for Change          Equal Rights Advocates
    Family Values @ Work                Family Values @ Work Action
    Federally Employed Women (FEW)      First Focus Campaign for Children
    FreeFrom                            Futures Without Violence
    The Gerontological Society of
    America                             Health Care Voices
    Human Rights Campaign               Interfaith Center on Corporate
                                        Responsibility
    International Brotherhood of
    Teamsters                           Institute for Women's Policy
                                        Research
    Ipas                                Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
    Jobs With Justice                   Justice for Migrant Women
    La Leche League of the United
    States of America, Inc.             Lactation Education Resources
    Latter-day Saint Democrats          League of Women Voters of the
                                        United States
    Main Street Alliance                March for Moms
    March of Dimes                      MomsRising
    Mom Congress                        Movement Advancement Project
    National Association of Social
    Workers                             National Center for Lesbian Rights
    National Coalition Against Domestic
    Violence                            National Community Reinvestment
                                        Coalition (NCRC)
    National Council of Jewish Women    National Education Association
    National Employment Law Project     National Immigration Law Center
    National Network to End Domestic
    Violence                            National Organization for Women
    National Partnership for Women &
    Families                            National Respite Coalition
    National Women's Law Center         NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social
                                        Justice
    Oxfam America                       Paid Leave for All
    PAVE                                PFLAG National
    PHI                                 Positive Women's Network-USA
    Prevent Child Abuse America         Prosperity Now
    Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)      Public Justice Center
    Reproductive Freedom for All        ROC United
    Service Employees International
    Union (SEIU)                        Shriver Center on Poverty Law
    Sojourners                          SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
    T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human
    Rights                              The Collaborative
    The National Domestic Violence
    Hotline                             The National Women's Health Network
    UnidosUS                            United Food and Commercial Workers
                                        International Union (UFCW)
    U.S. Breastfeeding Committee        USOW
    Washington Premier Group            Workplace Fairness
    Young Invincibles                   YWCA USA
    ZERO TO THREE

    Alaska:

    Alaska Children's Trust

    California:

    BreastfeedLA                        Golden State Opportunity
    Legal Aid at Work

    Colorado:

    Clayton Early Learning

    Florida:

    Florida Alliance for Community
    Solutions, Inc.

    Illinois:

    AIDS Foundation Chicago             Prevent Child Abuse Illinois
    YWCA Champaign County

    Indiana:

    AAUW Indiana                        AAUW Indianapolis
    AAUW Valparaiso                     Healthier Moms and Babies
    Indiana Association of Area
    Agencies on Aging                   Indiana Coalition Against Domestic
                                        Violence
    Indiana Community Action Poverty
    Institute                           MCCOY (Marion County Commission on
                                        Youth, Inc.)
    Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg   Thrive Alliance

    Kansas:

    First 1,000 Days Kansas/Kansas
    Breastfeeding Coalition

    Kentucky:

    United Food and Commercial Workers
    Local 227

    Massachusetts:

    Jewish Alliance for Law and Social
    Action

    Michigan:

    Oakland Forward Action Fund

    Missouri:

    Healthy Nourishments, LLC

    New Jersey:

    Family Voices NJ                    New Jersey Citizen Action
    NJ Time to Care Coalition

    North Carolina:

    North Carolina Justice Center

    Pennsylvania:

    Children First PA                   Women's Law Project

    Rhode Island:

    Rhode Island KIDS COUNT

    Vermont:

    Hunger Free Vermont                 Voices for Vermont's Children

    Virginia:

    Virginia Breastfeeding Coalition

    Washington:

    Breastfeeding Coalition of
    Washington

    West Virginia:

    TEAM for West Virginia Children

    Wisconsin:

    Seventh Generation Interfaith
    Coalition for Responsible
    Investment

                                     ______

                          National Women's Law Center

                          1350 I Street, NW, Suite 700

                              Washington, DC 20005

                                  202-588-5180

    November 6, 2023

    The Honorable Ron Wyden             The Honorable Mike Crapo
    Chairman                            Ranking Member
    Committee on Finance                Committee on Finance
    United States Senate                United States Senate

    RE: Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Exploring Paid Leave: Policy,
    Practice, and Impact on the Workforce

    Dear Chair Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:

    The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) appreciates the opportunity to
    submit a written statement for the record to the Senate Committee on
    Finance regarding the hearing Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice,
    and Impact on the Workforce held on October 25, 2023.

    The National Women's Law Center fights for gender justice--in the
    courts, in public policy, and in our society--working across the issues
    that are central to the lives of women and girls. We use the law in all
    its forms to change culture and drive solutions to the gender inequity
    that shapes our society and to break down the barriers that harm all of
    us--especially women of color, LGBTQ people, and women and families
    with low incomes.

    Care is an issue that impacts everyone--at some point, we will all need
    to provide care for a loved one or receive care ourselves. Yet the U.S.
    remains one of the only nations in the world with no national paid
    family and medical leave policy to support caregivers. As a result,
    people across the country--especially women--are struggling to care for
    themselves and their loved ones while paying the bills and supporting
    their families. While the American Rescue Plan Act and other federal
    pandemic relief measures provided critical support for struggling
    families and set the stage for a strong jobs recovery, they were
    temporary. Lawmakers did not make the permanent structural changes
    needed to address longstanding inequities or ensure widespread job
    quality. And in the face of the loss of federal supports, rising costs,
    depleted savings, and ongoing caregiving challenges, the modest wage
    gains spurred by a tight labor market have not been sufficient for many
    people working in low-paying jobs to achieve economic security. Working
    families are still waiting for Congress to take action to remedy the
    deep gaps in our economic and social infrastructure that have resulted
    from decades of failure to center the needs of women, people of color,
    and families.

    Working people are struggling without policies that support caregivers.
    Only around 25 percent of workers in the United States have access to
    paid family leave through their employers (i.e., paid time away from
    work to, for example, care for a family member with a serious health
    condition or a new baby),\1\ and just over 40 percent have paid medical
    leave to address their own serious health conditions through an
    employer-provided short-term disability program.\2\ For people working
    in low-paid and part-time jobs--most of whom are women \3\--access is
    even more limited; among workers in the lowest 25 percent of wage
    earners, for example, only 13 percent have access to paid family
    leave.\4\ And while men are taking on increasing shares of family
    caregiving,\5\ women are still spending more time caring for children
    and other family members,\6\ and are therefore more likely to need paid
    time off to ensure loved ones receive the medical care and attention
    that they need.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),
    ``Table 7. Leave benefits by average wage category, private industry
    workers, March 2022,'' National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits
    in the United States, Sept. 2022, https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/
    september-2022-landing-page-employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-
    march-2022.htm.
        \2\ BLS, ``Table 5. Short-term disability plans by average wage
    category, private industry workers, March 2022,'' National Compensation
    Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, Sept. 2022, https://
    www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/september-2022-landing-page-employee-
    benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2022.htm.
        \3\ Jasmine Tucker and Julie Vogtman, ``When Hard Work Is Not
    Enough: Women in Low-Paid Jobs,'' National Women's Law Center, April
    2020, https://nwlc.org/resource/when-hard-work-is-not-enough-women-in-
    low-paid-jobs.
        \4\ National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United
    States, https://www.
    bls.gov/ebs/publications/september-2022-landing-page-employee-benefits-
    in-the-united-states-march-2022.htm.
        \5\ Amanda Lenhart, Haley Swenson & Brigid Schulte, ``Lifting the
    Barriers to Paid Family and Medical Leave for Men in the United
    States,'' New America--Better Life Lab, Dec. 2019, https://
    www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/lifting-barriers-paid-
    family-and-medical-leave-men-united-states.
        \6\ BLS, ``Table 1. Time Spent in Primary Activities and Percent of
    the Civilian Population Engaging in Each Activity, Averages Per Day by
    Sex, 2021 Annual Averages,'' American Time Use Survey, June 2022,
    https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t01.htm.

    In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which
    provides eligible workers with unpaid, job-protected leave to care for
    themselves and their families. In the intervening 30 years, it is
    estimated that workers have used FMLA leave nearly 463 million
    times.\7\ Unfortunately, strict eligibility requirements--including
    employer size thresholds, hours worked requirements, and job tenure
    minimums--mean that millions of workers never qualify for FMLA leave.
    And because the FMLA only provides unpaid leave, many workers are still
    forced to choose between providing or receiving care and their own
    economic security.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ ``Key Facts: The Family and Medical Leave Act,'' National
    Partnership for Women & Families, Feb. 2023, https://
    nationalpartnership.org/report/fmla-key-facts.

    The way forward is clear: it is time for Congress to establish paid
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    family and medical leave for all working people.

    Paid family and medical leave is a proven solution to help families
    manage work and care.
    In the absence of action by the federal government to establish a
    universal paid family and medical leave program, several states have
    passed their own laws. Eleven states and the District of Columbia
    currently have laws guaranteeing workers paid leave.\8\ The impact of
    these laws clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of paid leave
    policies and the benefits felt by workers, businesses, and our overall
    economy.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ ``State Paid Family & Medical Leave Insurance Laws,'' National
    Partnership for Women & Families, Oct. 2022, https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/state-paid-family-
    leave-laws.pdf.

          Paid leave promotes gender equity. Women working full time,
    year-round are typically paid only 84 cents for every dollar paid to
    men; that translates to nearly $400,000 lost over a 40-year career.\9\
    That lifetime loss doesn't account for the women who are pushed out of
    the labor force each year when their caregiving responsibilities come
    into conflict with their jobs. Women are particularly likely to
    struggle as they are overrepresented in low paid and part-time jobs,
    which are less likely to offer employer sponsored benefits like paid
    leave.\10\ The harm to women's economic security stemming from a lack
    of paid leave compounds over time: retirement programs like social
    security and employer-
    sponsored pensions disadvantage people who take time out of the
    workforce, including for caregiving responsibilities. In 2019, women on
    average received around $5,000 less in annual Social Security benefits
    than men, driven in part by the gender pay gap and in part by women
    spending fewer years in the workforce.\11\ But providing national paid
    family and medical leave can help narrow these disparities by
    increasing women's ability to stay attached to the workforce,\12\
    destigmatizing caregiving for men, and increasing father's involvement
    in child care.\13\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Jasmine Tucker, ``The Wage Gap Robs Women Working Full Time,
    Year Round of Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Over a Lifetime,''
    National Women's Law Center, March 2023, https://nwlc.org/wp-content/
    uploads/2023/03/lifetime_loss_factsheet_v1.pdf.
        \10\ Brooke LePage, ``Part-Time Workers Are Facing Heightened
    Uncertainty During COVID--and Most Are Women,'' National Women's Law
    Center, Feb. 2022, https://nwlc.org/resource/part-time-workers-
    factsheet.
        \11\ Robert Paul Hartley et al., ``A Lifetime's Worth of Benefits:
    The Effects of Affordable, High-quality Child Care on Family Income,
    the Gender Earnings Gap, and Women's Retirement Security,'' National
    Women's Law Center & Center on Poverty & Social Policy (2021), https://
    nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/A-Lifetimes-Worth-of-Benefits-
    _FD.pdf.
        \12\ Kelly Jones and Britni Wilcher, ``Reducing Maternal Labor
    Market Detachment: A Role for Paid Family Leave,'' Working Paper Series
    Washington Center for Equitable Growth, March 2020, https://
    equitablegrowth.org/working-papers/reducing-maternal-labor-market-
    detachment-a-role-for-paid-family-leave.
        \13\ Chris Knoester, Richard J. Petts & Brianne Pragg, ``Paternity
    Leave-Taking and Father Involvement Among Socioeconomically
    Disadvantaged U.S. Fathers,'' Sex Roles 81 (2019), https://doi.org/
    10.1007/s11199-018-0994-5.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Paid leave improves individual and public health. Guaranteeing
    paid time off work means workers are more likely to stay home to
    recover when they fall ill \14\ and their loved ones are more likely to
    receive necessary medical check-ups \15\ and critical immunizations.
    When new mothers have access to paid leave, they experience
    improvements in their own physical and mental health, including a
    decrease in postpartum depression.\16\ A national paid leave policy
    would contribute to improved health outcomes \17\ and could help lower
    health care costs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ Kaitlin Piper et al., ``Paid Sick Days and Stay-at-Home
    Behavior for Influenza,'' PLOS ONE 12, no. 2 (Feb. 2017), https://
    doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0170698.
        \15\ Jody Heymann et al., ``Paid Parental Leave and Family Well-
    being in the Sustainable Development Era,'' Public Health Reviews 38,
    no. 21 (2017), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-017-0067-2.
        \16\ Maureen Sayres Van Niel et al., ``The Impact of Paid Maternity
    Leave on the Mental and Physical Health of Mothers and Children: A
    Review of the Literature and Policy Implications,'' Harvard Review of
    Psychiatry 28, no.2 (2020): 113-126, https://doi.org/10.1097/
    hrp.000000000
    0000246.
        \17\ Lisa Weber-Raley et al., ``Burning the Candle at Both Ends:
    Sandwich Generation Caregiving in the U.S.'' National Alliance for
    Caregiving and Caring Across Generations, 2019, https://
    caringacross.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/
    NAC_SandwichCaregiving_Report_
    digital112019.pdf.

          Paid leave supports a stronger economy. Research shows that paid
    leave strengthens businesses of all sizes by reducing turnover costs,
    increasing employee loyalty.\18\ A national paid family and medical
    leave policy also helps businesses by minimizing administrative and
    financial costs,\19\ which is particularly important for small business
    owners. And because paid leave helps improve women's labor force
    participation,\20\ implementing strong care policies could help
    increase the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by at least 5
    percent \21\--or over a trillion dollars of economic growth.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \18\ Brigid Schulte et al., ``Paid Family Leave: How Much Time is
    Enough?'' New America--Better Life Lab, June 2017, https://
    www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/paid-family-leave-how-much-
    time-enough/economic-impact.
        \19\ Danielle Corley, ``Paid Leave is Good for Small Business,''
    Center for American Progress, Oct. 2016, https://
    www.americanprogress.org/article/paid-leave-is-good-for-small-business.
        \20\ Tanya S. Byker, ``Paid Parental Leave Laws in the United
    States: Does Short-Duration Leave Affect Women's Labor-Force
    Attachment?'' American Economic Association 106, no. 6 (May 2016): 242-
    46, https://doi.org/10.1257%2Faer.p20161118.
        \21\ Beth Ann Bovino and Jason Gold, ``The Key to Unlocking U.S.
    GDP Growth? Women,'' S&P Global, 2017, https://www.spglobal.com/_Media/
    Documents/03651.00_Women_at_Work_Doc.
    8.5x11-R4.pdf.

          Paid leave helps combat racial inequality. Workers of color are
    less likely to have access to paid family and medical leave than white
    workers.\22\ At the same time, Black women are more likely to be both
    primary breadwinners and caregivers in their families.\23\ And when
    faced with an unforeseen illness or caregiving need, the racial and
    gender wealth gaps \24\ in this country mean that women of color and
    their families are less likely to have the economic resources to allow
    them to take time away from work. Providing all workers with paid time
    to care would help close these gaps, while also improving persistent
    racial health disparities.\25\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \22\ Julia M. Goodman, Dawn M. Richardson & William H. Dow,
    ``Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Paid Family and Medical Leave: United
    States, 2011 and 2017-2018,'' American Journal of Public Health 112,
    no. 7 (2022): 1050-1058, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306825.
        \23\ Sarah Jane Glynn, ``Breadwinning Mothers Are Critical to
    Families' Economic Security,'' Center for American Progress, March
    2021, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2021/03/29/
    497658/breadwinning-mothers-critical-familys-economic-security.
        \24\ Brooke LePage and Jasmine Tucker, ``A Window Into the Wage
    Gap: What's Behind It and How to Close It,'' National Women's Law
    Center, Jan. 2023, https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2022-
    Wage-Gap-Factsheet-1.10.23.pdf.
        \25\ Daria Grayer et al., ``Paid Leave: A Health Justice Imperative
    for Maternal Mental Health,'' AAMC Center for Health Justice, Nov.
    2022, https://www.aamchealthjustice.org/news/policy/paid-leave.

    There is also evidence from the national level that paid leave is
    effective. In 2020, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus
    Response Act (FFCRA),\26\ which provided some employees with up to 10
    weeks of paid, job-protected ``public health emergency leave'' for
    parents caring for children whose school, child care provider or usual
    source of care had closed. Research shows that the law helped flatten
    the curve \27\ in the early days of the pandemic and was cost
    effective, with a lower price tag than the government initially
    predicted.\28\ But the FFCRA paid leave program expired in 2021, and no
    action has been taken since.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \26\ Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. No. 116-127,
    https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ127/PLAW-116publ127.pdf.
        \27\ Stefan Pichler, Katherine Wen, & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, ``COVID-
    19 Emergency Sick Leave Has Helped Flatten The Curve In The United
    States,'' Health Affairs 39, no. 12 (Oct. 2020), https://
    www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00863.
        \28\ ``COVID-19: Urgent Actions Needed to Better Ensure an
    Effective Federal Response,'' United States Government Accountability
    Office, Report to Congressional Committees, Nov. 2020, https://
    www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-191.pdf.

    We appreciate the Committee's bipartisan recognition of the urgency in
    solving the crisis caused by a lack of paid leave. But the design of a
    paid family and medical leave program is critical to ensuring that the
    law has the desired impact of supporting working families and making
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    sure that workers aren't left behind.

    Some opponents of comprehensive paid family and medical leave assert
    that as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employers are
    offering higher pay and better benefits to employees. Indeed, we heard
    similar arguments made at the hearing, suggesting that employer
    flexibility is the key to implementing paid leave. In fact, data
    indicate that rather than increasing investments in their workers as a
    result of the 2017 law, businesses issued record stock buybacks
    benefiting executives, boards of directors, and shareholders.\29\ While
    some employers in a limited number of sectors have been increasing paid
    family and medical leave policies, women, people of color, and low-wage
    workers are least likely to work within those sectors.\30\ Further,
    provisions of the 2017 tax law, such as the pass-through deduction, may
    have incentivized companies to provide fewer, rather than more,
    benefits and protections to workers.\31\ Thus, the evidence
    demonstrates that the 2017 tax law did not lessen the need for
    comprehensive, national paid family and medical leave.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \29\ National Women's Law Center, Two Years Later: The Impact of
    the 2017 Tax Law on Women & Families (Dec. 2019), https://nwlc.org/
    resources/two-years-later-the-impact-of-the-2017-tax-law-on-women-
    families/.
        \30\ PL+US Employer Trends Report, Paid Leave for the U.S. (PL+US)
    (2019), https://paidleave.us/plusemployertrendsreport.
        \31\ Brendan Duke, Pass-Through Deduction in 2017 Tax Law Could
    Weaken Wages and Workplace Standards, Ctr. on Budget and Pol'y
    Priorities (Dec. 2018), https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/pass-
    through-deduction-in-2017-tax-law-could-weaken-wages-and-workplace.

    Years of progress in states have helped researchers identify components
    that make a strong paid family and medical leave program. When creating
    a national paid leave program, it is critical that that Congress crafts
    a policy that is inclusive, comprehensive, and builds on common sense
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    solutions tested at the state level.

    A national paid family and medical leave policy must include:

          Meaningful duration and progressive wage replacement rate. A
    paid family and medical leave program must provide at least 12 weeks of
    paid leave and replace all or most wages during leave to ensure that
    working people--especially those in low-paid jobs--can meaningfully
    access the benefit.
          Broad coverage and job protection. Paid family and medical leave
    must be available to all working people, including part-time workers
    and independent contractors. It must also give workers access to
    benefits quickly and guarantee that all workers are protected from
    retaliation for taking leave, can continue health insurance coverage
    during leave, and have the right to return to their jobs following
    leave.
          Expansive and inclusive uses. A strong paid leave policy must
    ensure that working people may take leave to care for themselves and
    their loved ones, including spouses, domestic partners, parents,
    children of any age, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and other
    individuals who comprise someone's ``chosen family.''
          Stable funding source. A national paid family and medical leave
    plan must be funded with new revenue--not through cuts or reductions to
    existing benefits from programs on which people rely. Small
    contributions shared by employers and working people will create a
    system to equitably and sustainably fund a permanent national paid
    leave program.

    The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, first introduced
    over a decade ago and strengthened this Congress, was the first
    comprehensive national paid family and medical leave plan designed to
    provide people, especially women and families, with the supports they
    need. The FAMILY Act builds on the progress made at the state level and
    represents the gold standard of federal paid leave proposals.

    Building an economy that works for all people requires us to address
    not only the long-term impacts of the pandemic on women of color and
    women more generally, but also the deep underlying flaws in our social
    infrastructure that have long harmed women of color and their families.
    Paid family and medical leave is a vital part of how we build a new and
    better economy that finally works for women--and for all of us.

    Sincerely,

    Laura Narefsky
    Senior Counsel, Workplace Justice

                                     ______

                          New America, Better Life Lab

                         740 15th Street, NW, Suite 900

                              Washington, DC 20005

                              Phone: 202-986-2700

                          https://www.newamerica.org/

    October 25, 2023

    Chairman Ron Wyden
    Ranking Member Mike Crapo
    U.S. Senate
    Committee on Finance
    219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20510-6200

    Re: October 25, 2023 full committee hearing: Exploring Paid Leave:
    Policy, Practice, and Impact on the Workforce

    Dear Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the
    Committee:

    Thank you for convening this hearing, which is the first ever held by
    the full Senate Finance Committee focused exclusively on paid family
    and medical leave. I am a gender equity and work-family policy expert,
    and it has been my pleasure to testify and submit letters to Congress
    numerous times over the past decade about the need to guarantee
    universal access to meaningful paid family and medical leave as a
    national policy priority. I write today as a senior fellow at New
    America, a 501(c)(3) think tank ``dedicated to renewing, reimagining,
    and realizing the promise of America in an era of rapid technological
    and social change,'' though the views expressed here are my own.

    The testimony and discussion at this hearing will undoubtedly build on
    the evidentiary record created in both the House and Senate over many
    years of committee hearings and congressional fact-finding.\1\ That
    record includes data, analysis, and testimonials about: the value of
    paid leave for workers, families, smaller and larger businesses, and
    the economy; the multiple harms and costs of legislative inaction; and
    workable policy models and best practices for both delivering paid
    leave benefits and the importance of extending unpaid leave protections
    beyond the coverage of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Prior Senate hearings and roundtables on paid family and
    medical leave include: Senate HELP Committee, July 2021 (https://
    www.help.senate.gov/hearings/paid-leave-for-working-families-examining-
    access-options-and-impacts); Senate Finance Bipartisan Working Group on
    Paid Leave, June 2020 (https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/paid-
    leave-proposals-in-the-covid-era); Senate Finance Subcommittee on
    Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy, July 2018 (https://
    www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/39619.pdf); Senate HELP
    Subcommittee on Children and Families, July 2014 (https://
    www.help.senate.gov/hearings/paid-family-leave-the-benefits-for-
    businesses-and-working-families).
        Prior House hearings include: House Oversight and Reform Select
    Subcommittee on the Coronavirus, July 2022 (https://www.govinfo.gov/
    content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg47667/html/CH
    RG-117hhrg47667.htm); House Ways & Means Markup of the Build Back
    Better Act, Sept. 2021; House Oversight and Reform, July 2021 (https://
    oversightdemocrats.house.gov/legislation/hearings/leading-by-example-
    the-need-for-comprehensive-paid-leave-for-the-federal); House Ways &
    Means Committee, April 2021 (https://democrats-waysandmeans.house.gov/
    legislation/hearings
    /full-committee-hearing-their-own-words-paid-leave-child-care-and-
    economy-failed); House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on
    Worker Protections, February 2020 (https://democrats-
    edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/balancing-work-health-and-family-the-
    case-for-expanding-the-family-and-medical-leave-act); House Ways &
    Means Committee, January 2020 (https://democrats-
    waysandmeans.house.gov/legislation/hearings/legislative-proposals-paid-
    family-and-medical-leave); House Ways & Means Committee, May 2019
    (https://democrats-waysandmeans
    .house.gov/legislation/hearings/paid-family-and-medical-leave-helping-
    workers-and-employers-succeed-0); House Education and the Workforce
    HELP Subcommittee, July 2018 (https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/
    hearings/hr-4219-workflex-in-the-21st-century-act); House Education and
    the Workforce Subcommittee on Worker Protections, April 2017 (https://
    edworkforce.
    house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=401520); House Education
    and the Workforce Subcommittee on Worker Protections, April 2013
    (https://edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/event
    single.aspx?EventID=326446).

    We often invoke values of freedom and family in this country, but our
    country's current approach to people's need to care for themselves and
    their loved ones does not honor or respect these values. A brief review
    of workers' variable, disparate and often precarious access to paid
    leave reveals a nation of ``haves'' and ``have-nots'' when it comes to
    the ability to take paid time away from work to care for ourselves and
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    our loved ones.

    Employers as Gatekeepers Between Workers and their Families in Times of
    Need. Employers are gatekeepers to most workers' ability to care and
    provide for loved ones. For the vast majority of workers, the gate is
    closed.

    Just 27 percent of private sector workers \2\ have paid family leave
    through their jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
    as of March 2023. Access for workers in the top decile of earners is 10
    times greater \3\ than for the lowest decile of earners (51 percent,
    still only a bare majority, vs. 5 percent)--and the gap has been
    growing over the past decade rather than shrinking. In addition, only
    about four in 10 workers \4\ have paid medical leave through an
    employer-provided short-term disability insurance plan for their own
    serious personal health issue.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/employee-benefits-in-the-
    united-states-march-2023.htm.
        \3\ https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/blog/bls-family-
    leave-2023/.
        \4\ https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/employee-benefits-in-the-
    united-states-march-2023.htm.

    The percentage of workers with access to employer-provided paid family
    leave has grown over the past decade, from 12 percent to 27 percent,
    but not evenly across industry, occupation, region, or wage level--and
    not nearly enough given the tens of millions of workers without paid
    family leave. Short-term disability insurance access rates have been
    relatively static. It would take well beyond the year 2100 to create
    universal access to paid family and medical leave if the private sector
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    were left to its own devices.

    In December 2017, Congress enacted the 45S paid family and medical
    leave tax credit \5\ and subsequently extended the availability of the
    credit through the end of 2025, but this nudge to incentivize employers
    to provide paid leave does not seem to have made an appreciable
    difference. BLS data shows that access to paid leave is higher and has
    grown more for higher-wage workers (for whom employers cannot seek the
    credit), and has grown more modestly for some lower-wage workers and
    hardly at all for the lowest wage workers for whom employers can seek
    the credit. Temporary disability insurance access has increased for
    some workers, but the gains have been modest and most middle- and
    lower-wage workers do not have coverage.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/section-45s-employer-credit-for-
    paid-family-and-medical-leave-
    faqs#:%7E:text=Internal%20Revenue%20Code%20Section%2045S,on%20family%20a
    nd%
    20medical%20leave.

    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T0253.006

    IRS data show that the 45S credit isn't widely used. In the 2020
    tax year, only 1230 firms nationwide filed claims for 45S credits,\6\
    according to a review of the most IRS recent data--a tiny proportion of
    all firms in the country. In addition, an overwhelming share of federal
    dollars spent on the credit are flowing to higher-revenue firms: of the
    $101 million given to firms in tax credits between July 2020 and June
    2021, $89 million went to pay 180 claims from firms with over $1
    billion in revenue, whereas the remaining $12 million went to the other
    1000+ lower-revenue, perhaps smaller, firms. Finally, there's no
    indication whether these firms are using the credit to expand access to
    new benefits or simply to offset existing costs of paid leave they had
    already been providing; there is also no information about the number
    of employees who have been able to take leave or the quality of the
    leave they are provided by duration, purpose or wage replacement rate
    (the 45S credit is available for employer plans that offer as little as
    two weeks of leave at 50 percent pay, for one FMLA purpose).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/131/Section-45S-Claims-
    Tables-10172023.pdf.

    States as Laboratories for Experimentation and Coverage. State-created
    comprehensive paid family and medical leave programs are the one
    mechanism that has dramatically increased access for workers, no matter
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    their employer, their job, or their wage level.

    As of October 2023, 13 states plus the District of Columbia \7\ have
    adopted paid leave programs that extend eligibility in a state to all
    or most private sector workers based on well-defined criteria; nine of
    these are currently operational (California, Connecticut, D.C.,
    Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and
    Washington), a tenth will begin paying benefits to eligible applicants
    in January 2024 (Connecticut), and four more will begin to operate
    fully in 2026 (Delaware, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/briefs/explainer-
    paid-and-unpaid-leave-policies-in-the-united-states/.

    Paid leave is not a new or experimental idea in the United States. The
    oldest paid family leave program in the country (California) has been
    providing security to workers for nearly 20 years (since mid-2004); the
    second oldest, New Jersey, has been in operation for nearly 15 years
    (since mid-2009); the third, Rhode Island, has been in place for nearly
    10 years (since mid-2014). New York's program began providing benefits
    in 2018. These four states had pre-existing temporary disability
    insurance programs to build on. Newer state programs--Washington state
    and Washington, D.C. (beginning in 2020), Massachusetts (beginning in
    2021), Connecticut (beginning in 2022), and Oregon beginning not even
    two months ago in September 2023)--all built new programs from scratch
    and have shown their ability to deliver benefits to workers as well as
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    shed light on the best ways to structure and resource a new program.

    Working people use paid leave programs judiciously to care for
    themselves and their loved ones. State program data show that only a
    small share of workers \8\ use these programs in a year (no more than
    6.3 percent in one state (RI) in 2021 and typically a far smaller 3
    percent share in others in the most recent year for which data is
    available) and, if anything, they have been underutilized.\9\
    Underutilization has been due, in part, to low wage replacement rates
    that were part of original program structures and have since been
    improved in most places; lack of job protections, which have now been
    improved but are still imperfect in some places; and low levels of
    awareness, which states are now intentionally seeking to address
    earlier on. The older programs in California, New Jersey, Rhode Island
    and New York have been improved multiple times to be responsive to
    workers' and families' needs. These findings provide useful lessons for
    crafting new state programs and--one day, soon--a federal program.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ https://www.datawrapper.de/_/f0R9V.
        \9\ https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    meeting-the-promise-of-paid-leave.pdf.

    Elements of Comprehensive State Paid Leave Program Coverage and
    Benefits. State paid leave programs cover workers with recent earnings
    or work history, regardless of their job or their employer, in most
    cases. They provide anywhere between 60% and 100% of a worker's typical
    wages \10\ up to a weekly cap, for a period of time (12 weeks is most
    common)\11\ to care for a new child, a seriously ill injured or
    disabled loved one, or a workers' own serious health issue. Some state
    programs also cover leave for military families when a loved one's
    deployment triggers caregiving needs for family members and/or for
    circumstances related to domestic violence. Most workers claim benefits
    by applying to a state agency, which reviews and approves or denies
    claims, operates an adjudication system, and ensures program integrity.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ https://www.datawrapper.de/_/d7HGz.
        \11\ https://www.datawrapper.de/_/zqft6.

    These programs are sustainably funded \12\ through small payroll
    deductions from workers, employers, or both (often with contribution
    exemptions for the smallest employers). Small businesses in these
    states benefit from, and are not harmed by these programs. In fact, in
    states with the longest-standing paid leave programs, California,\13\
    New Jersey,\14\ Rhode Island,\15\ and New York,\16\ small employers are
    supportive of paid leave programs and overwhelmingly report positive or
    neutral effects on productivity, morale, loyalty, and the ease of
    dealing with employees' leaves.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ https://www.datawrapper.de/_/D7vN6.
        \13\ https://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-family-leave-
    1-2011.pdf.
        \14\ https://www.cepr.net/documents/nj-fli-2014-06.pdf.
        \15\ https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/legacy/files/
    AssessingRhodeIslandTempor
    aryCaregiverInsuranceAct_InsightsFromSurveyOfEmployers.pdf.
        \16\ https://www.nber.org/papers/
    w28672?utm_campaign=ntwh&utm_medium=email&utm_
    source=ntwg1.

    Voluntary Programs. There are other state models aimed at creating
    pathways for employers to offer paid leave to their workers, but these
    have not expanded paid leave access in appreciable ways. For example,
    New Hampshire created a pooled fund run and operated by a private
    insurer \17\ that employers can choose to pay into; individuals whose
    employers do not provide coverage can choose to individually insure
    themselves beginning in 2024. In the first year of the New Hampshire
    program, only a tiny fraction of employers bought into the state plan,
    which means that the share of workers with access to paid leave is
    unlikely to have increased appreciably, if at all. Vermont is
    experimenting with this same approach; private employers are able to
    buy in now, with coverage that begins in January 2024. Watching these
    two states in 2024 will provide important information about the
    effectiveness and reach of this approach.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ https://www.paidfamilymedicalleave.nh.gov/.

    Virginia and a few other states have created a process to license
    private insurers to expand their lines of coverage from short-term
    disability insurance to family leave insurance. This option has been
    open to insurers in Virginia for more than one year, but--as of October
    2023, only one insurer has secured the ability to offer a paid family
    leave product to sell to employers in the commonwealth of Virginia, and
    only two insurers, including the one that was approved, have tried. It
    is too early to find data whether insurers will choose to offer this
    product in the other states, which passed legislation in 2023. And
    there is currently no way to tell whether employers are buying the lone
    insurer's product that is offered in Virginia or to predict whether
    they will buy private insurance in other states. If short-term
    disability insurance purchase is any guide, the answer is that employee
    coverage will be disparate by job, industry and wage level, and far
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    from universal.

    The Current Patchwork Perpetuates Compounding Inequality. The status
    quo--with employers as gatekeepers and states divided into have- and
    have-not geographies--translates into vast inequalities in workers'
    access to paid leave and both families' and small business' access to
    support. For larger companies, different rules mean employees in one
    state may have different benefits than workers in another even within
    the same firm. Inequality in access to paid leave perpetuates
    inequities in economic security, wealth, health, and employment in ways
    that particularly disadvantage women, people of color, and people with
    low incomes.

    Geographic and employer variation also disproportionately harm rural
    communities. According to original research \18\ I had the privilege to
    collaborate on with researchers at the University of North Carolina in
    2022, people in rural communities must travel three to five times
    further \19\ than people in metro areas to seek six major kinds of
    hospital-based services (OB, NICU, pediatric care, cancer screening,
    cancer treatment, and cardiac care) and nursing home care. At the same
    time, workers in rural areas--especially women--are less likely to have
    access to paid time away from work \20\ for health or caregiving
    reasons than those in metro areas. Our research concluded that paid
    leave is a rural health, labor force, and economic development
    imperative.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \18\ https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/health-
    work-and-care-rural-america/key-findings.
        \19\ https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/health-
    work-and-care-rural-america/distances-to-travel-to-hospital-based-
    health-care.
        \20\ https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/health-
    work-and-care-rural-america/lack-of-paid-leave-as-a-barrier-to-care-
    health-and-economic-security/#c-additional-insights-on-access-to-paid-
    leave-in-rural-america.

    It Is Well Past Time To Establish a National Paid Leave Program. Today,
    more than 30 years after the FMLA went into effect, millions of people
    in this country (an estimated 44 percent of the workforce) still do not
    have any federal family or medical leave protections because of the
    FMLA's exclusion of businesses with fewer than 50 employees within a
    75-mile radius and restrictive eligibility rules for workers, which
    require a year of tenure and at least 1,250 hours of work for one's
    employer within the past year. And, as explained above, millions more
    do not have paid leave to use through their jobs when a child arrives
    or a family member needs care, or a serious health issue of their own
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    requires time away from work.

    The federal government has taken steps toward universal paid leave. In
    2014-2016, DOL funds helped spur state paid leave innovation and study,
    to expand access to more workers. The 2017 federal paid leave 45S tax
    credit, while ineffective, revealed an interest in a national approach.
    In 2019, the federal government created new rights for parents in the
    federal workforce in the bipartisan NDAA. In 2020, the bipartisan
    Families First Coronavirus Response Act included a first-ever, limited
    paid sick and child care leave benefit. In 2021, the House passed the
    first-ever comprehensive paid family and medical leave program in the
    Build Back Better Act. All of these steps, plus lessons about paid
    leave benefits and administration at the state level, shows us what a
    national paid leave program should include and offers models for how
    such a program could be structured.

    As detailed in this short article,\21\ a well-designed, well-
    implemented, and well-
    funded comprehensive national paid leave program that follows best-
    practices from state programs and looks like other models Congress has
    considered before \22\ (e.g., the Build Back Better Act as approved by
    the House Ways & Means Committee) and currently before it (The Family
    and Medical Insurance Leave Act)\23\ would improve the economic
    security and health of individuals; contribute to a stronger and more
    inclusive labor force; support thriving large and small businesses and
    promote entrepreneurship; and help grow the economy. It would also
    advance gender, racial and economic equity, reduce health disparities
    and promote the efficient use of health resources and other public
    expenditures.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ https://www.newamerica.org/the-thread/seven-outcomes-of-
    implementing-a-universal-paid-leave-policy-in-the-united-states/.
        \22\ https://www.urban.org/research/publication/evolution-federal-
    paid-family-and-medical-leave-policy.
        \23\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1714.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A national program should:

          Make at least 12 weeks of paid leave available to all workers so
    that they can address their serious personal and family medical and
    caregiving needs. This treats all of the caregiving needs people have
    as equally important and valuable; it minimizes the risk of unintended
    consequences with respect to gender or age discrimination; and it is
    particularly beneficial for women and people of color, who are least
    likely to have meaningful paid leave provided by employers but are more
    likely to take on family caregiving responsibilities. This federal
    standard would set a meaningful and familiar baseline that serves the
    needs of the vast majority of workers who need leave. It is also
    consistent with most state programs--though some state programs provide
    even more time.

          Have eligibility rules that are inclusive of all working people,
    whether full-time or part-time; in the private-, non-profit, or public-
    sector; traditional employees, self-employed and independent workers;
    younger workers; people with intermittent work histories; and people
    with limited earnings but recent attachment to the labor force.

          Replace a high share of wages, or all wages, for lower-wage
    workers while providing middle-wage workers at least two-thirds of
    their wages, using a sliding scale for wage replacement. This reflects
    important lessons from state paid leave programs and international
    experience, and incorporates recommendations of leading researchers.

          Include family caregiving rules that reflects the diversity of
    caregiving relationships people have. This reflects state best
    practices: virtually all states with paid leave programs now provide
    paid leave for workers to care for loved ones beyond immediate family
    and several include family members related by affinity as well as
    blood.

          Ensure that all paid leave is job protected so that workers feel
    secure using the paid leave that is available without risking job loss;
    this is especially important in any system that is funded fully or
    partially through worker contributions. Anti-retaliation protections
    for all workers are also very important.

          Harmonize federal and state programs' administration so that
    workers in states where paid leave is available and either equal to or
    more generous than a federal program can maintain the value of their
    state policies and state benefit administration. Federal legislation
    should provide states the time and financial resources they need to
    adapt their existing programs to a new federal landscape. It should
    also create rules for employers who operate across multiple states that
    honor state-level benefits, especially where those benefits exceed
    federal benefits, while also acknowledging these employers' unique need
    to harmonize benefits across states.

          Offer assistance for small businesses so that small employers--
    like their workers--are grateful beneficiaries of this new benefit.
    Research from states shows the value of paid leave programs for small
    businesses in terms of attracting and retaining workers, helping to
    navigate employees' absences, and promoting productivity, among other
    positive outcomes.

          Include resources for agency implementation, research, outreach
    and enforcement so that the promise of the program can be realized.
    State paid leave experience underscores the importance of continued
    investments in ensuring people understand and can use the benefits
    available and in analyzing the way benefits are delivered to ensure
    equitable utilization.

    Paid leave rewards work and helps build a strong economy at the same
    time as it supports families. It strengthens people's attachment to the
    workforce and promotes employee retention while honoring people's
    responsibilities to their loved ones. It also reflects values that
    unite us, like love, responsibility, care, dignity, freedom, and
    family.

    A national paid family and medical leave program isn't a ``nice to
    have'' and is not experimental. It's essential. I urge you to address
    both the needs and the desires of the American public, who--across
    demographic, ideological and regional lines--have long been
    overwhelmingly supportive of national action on paid leave.

    When Congress enacts a national paid leave plan, the United States will
    no longer force working people, families, or businesses to go it alone.
    It is well past time to make access to meaningful , inclusive,
    comprehensive paid family and medical leave a reality for every working
    person in the United States, no matter where they live, work, their
    job, or their serious care or health need.

    With appreciation for the committee's time, attention, and care,

    Vicki Shabo
    Senior Fellow for Gender Equity, Paid Leave, and Care Policy and
    Strategy
    Better Life Lab at New America

                                     ______

                                   1,000 Days

                            An Initiative of FHI 360

                          2101 L Street, NW, Suite 700

                              Washington, DC 20037

                                                       October 26, 2023

    This week, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on paid leave,
    highlighting the critical need for family and medical paid leave and
    how our current patchwork of paid leave policies falls short of
    supporting all infants and families. It also confirmed the importance
    of paid leave for workers, businesses, and the country.

    While there have been some gains in paid family leave over the past
    five years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only about 1 in 4
    employees (27 percent)\1\ in the private sector workforce have access
    to paid family leave. Access to paid family leave is lower among those
    receiving lower wages or working part-time. People of color also have
    less access to paid family leave than their white counterparts.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.bls.gov/ebs/factsheets/family-leave-benefits-fact-
    sheet.htm.

    This lack of paid family leave means parents are often forced to choose
    between taking time off from work to care for their young children and
    earning the income they need to support their families. It means that 1
    in 4 women in America \2\ return to work just 2 weeks after giving
    birth, putting their health and that of their infant at risk. Policies
    that enable parents to spend time nurturing and caring for their
    babies--particularly in the early weeks after birth and for babies that
    are born pre-term, low birthweight or with illness--are critical to the
    healthy cognitive, social, and emotional development of children.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://inthesetimes.com/article/the-real-war-on-families.

    We applaud state, local and business-level efforts to increase access
    to paid family leave, but it is not enough to address this public
    health crisis. We need a national paid family and medical leave program
    that is comprehensive and covers all workers, including small business
    employees and the self-employed. Paid leave is the biggest obstacle to
    working women in the U.S. in the 1,000-day window and can reduce racial
    and ethnic health disparities. Our 2020 qualitative paid leave report
    \3\ highlights real stories from families without access to paid leave
    and the detrimental impacts it had on their family, including their
    health and the health of their baby.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://thousanddays.org/wp-content/uploads/Qualitative-paid-
    leave-report_FINAL-single-pages-1.pdf.

    We appreciate the Senate Finance Committee's thoughtful attention to
    this issue. We call on Congress to take the next step, moving
    legislation to enact a comprehensive national paid leave policy that
    supports mothers and families and ensures children get the strongest
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    start to life.

    Solianna Meaza
    Interim Initiative Director

                                     ______

                                 Oxfam America

                        1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 1300

                            Washington, DC 20036 USA

                             TEL +1 (202) 496-1180

                             FAX +1 (202) 496-1190

                         https://www.oxfamamerica.org/

    October 25, 2023

    Dear Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the
    Committee,

    Thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement for the record for
    the hearing on ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice and Impact on
    the Workforce.'' Oxfam is a global organization whose mission is to
    fight inequality to end poverty and injustice. As part of that mission,
    we advocate for economic justice and gender equality. Domestically in
    the US, we conduct research and advocate for policies that improve the
    well-being of workers, working families, and their communities.

    We focus on labor and care policies that directly or disproportionately
    impact low-wage workers, who are disproportionately women and people of
    color.\1\ We believe that policies that improve conditions for the most
    marginalized workers raise standards for all workers, while helping to
    fight gender, racial, and economic inequality. These include policies
    to support unpaid caregivers and care workers, as care work is not only
    inherently valuable, but it also makes all other work possible.
    Policies centering care are essential to supporting workers and working
    families; they have the potential to lift people out of poverty; and
    because women are often responsible for a disproportionate share of
    unpaid care work, they can help fight gender inequality.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Oxfam America, ``The Crisis of Low Wages in the U.S.: Who Makes
    Less Than $15 an Hour in 2022,'' March 21, 2022 at https://
    webassets.oxfamamerica.org/media/documents/low_wage_
    report_2022_final.pdf.

    Providing paid family and medical leave to all workers will help
    workers care for themselves and their families without having to
    sacrifice their livelihoods. Low-wage workers are less likely to have
    access to any form of leave, and they are more likely to face harmful
    financial consequences from taking leave. This especially harms women
    and people of color, who are overrepresented in the low-wage workforce.
    With access to paid family and medical leave, workers will not be
    forced to choose between caring for themselves and their families, and
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    keeping their jobs.

    One crucial way to work toward a more equitable and prosperous United
    States is to provide paid family and medical leave to all workers.
    Oxfam's research and analysis demonstrates that while the US is far
    behind its economic peer nations when it comes to supporting workers
    and working families, there are models both in US states and peer
    nations that demonstrate the benefits of paid family and medical leave
    to both the economy and the well-being of working families.

    We appreciate the attention the Committee has given to this topic.

     Congress Can Support Workers, Caregivers, and Working Families

    The workforce is the backbone of our economy. The paid and unpaid labor
    people do outside and within their homes is what keeps this country
    running. But without workplace policies that allow them to care for
    themselves and their families, we strip workers of their dignity, cause
    workers and caregivers harm, and devalue care work. Paid family and
    medical leave is a critical policy that contributes to workers' and
    their families' financial security and their physical, mental, and
    emotional well-being. This is especially true for workers who are women
    and people of color, groups who are least likely to have paid family
    and medical benefits through their employer or due to the state in
    which they live.

    Oxfam America's US Care Policy Scorecard,\2\ developed together with
    the National Partnership for Women and Families, the National Women's
    Law Center, and Notre Dame University, analyzes 30 federal policy
    indicators related to unpaid care work, underpaid care work, and
    workplace policies in the US. Under this analysis, the US scores a
    shameful 43% overall. Under our category of ``Care Supporting
    Workplaces,'' the US scores a 7%, in part because there is no federally
    mandated paid leave of any kind in this country. This shows that we are
    failing at ensuring workplaces meet the needs of our paid workforce,
    especially by providing workers with the support needed to provide and
    receive care at home.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Oxfam America, ``US Care Policy Scorecard: Assessing federal
    unpaid and underpaid care policies in the US,'' July 19, 2023 at
    https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/
    uscarescorecard/.
        \3\ Ibid.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    LExamples from US States and Peer Nations Show Paid Family and Medical
                        Leave Policies Contribute to a Strong Economy

    The United States is the only economically advanced country that does
    not guarantee a single day of paid family or sick leave for its
    workers. In Oxfam America's 2023 report, Where Hard Work Doesn't Pay
    Off, we analyze 56 policies across all 38 OECD member nations in three
    key dimensions: wages, worker protections, and rights to organize. In
    all three categories, the US ranks near-last or last among our economic
    peer nations. In other OECD countries, new parents are guaranteed
    months of paid leave to care for and bond with their new children,
    while in the United States new parents are guaranteed zero paid days
    off. Our research comparing the US to its economic peers shows that
    critical workplace and caregiving policies like paid family and medical
    leave are in fact a key part of a robust workforce and thriving
    economy.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Oxfam America, ``Where Hard Work Doesn't Pay Off: An index of
    US labor policies compared to peer nations,'' May 3, 2023 at https://
    www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/where-hard-work-
    doesnt-pay-off/.

    In 2023, Oxfam released our fifth annual Best and Worst States to Work
    in America and Best States for Working Women Index, which analyzes 26
    policies in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Our
    report rank states from best to worst across three policy dimensions:
    wages, worker protections (including paid family and medical leave),
    and rights to organize. Our Best States for Working Women Index looks
    specifically at labor policies that directly or disproportionately
    impact working women, including paid family and medical leave. Our
    research not only highlights effective state-level models for paid
    leave programs, but it also finds that states with stronger labor
    policies experience better measures of household income, GDP per
    capita, food security, and even lower rates of infant mortality.
    Minnesota's new paid leave program, for example, is comprehensive,
    providing up to 20 weeks of paid leave for private, public, and part-
    time employees, and extending ``safe leave'' coverage for survivors of
    sexual or domestic violence. Further, the policy's definition of family
    is expansive, recognizing that workers may routinely care for people to
    whom they aren't legally or biologically related. Examples from US
    states demonstrate that a federal paid family and medical leave policy
    will have beneficial impacts on our country's economy and its
    workforce.\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Oxfam America, ``Best and Worst States to Work in America
    2023,'' August 20, 2023, at https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/
    research-publications/best-and-worst-states-to-work-in-america-2023/.

    While state policies provide useful models, the variation from state to
    state is perpetuating inequality in our country; a federal paid family
    and medical leave program is crucial to ensuring that a worker's
    dignity, health, and prosperity does not depend on where they live.

     Paid Family and Medical Leave Promotes Gender and Racial Equity

    In a 2020 report, Oxfam America and Institute for Women's Policy
    Research demonstrated that, prior to COVID-19, women in the US spent
    37% more time on unpaid care work than men--that is an average of more
    than 2 hours a day. A conservative estimate of the value of women and
    girls' unpaid care work in the United States is $1.48 trillion
    annually--more than twice the US defense budget or about double the
    combined annual revenue of America's top five technology companies.\6\
    Stagnating wages in the U.S. disproportionately harm women,
    specifically women of color, who are often caught in low-wage positions
    and are overwhelmingly breadwinners for their families. Occupational
    segregation means women, and especially women of color, are stuck in
    low-wage positions lacking paid family leave or paid sick leave. For
    those women who are primary breadwinners or single parents, illness or
    family concerns often mean losing pay to care for oneself or others,
    putting these families' ability to afford basic costs of living at
    risk, continuing the cycle of poverty even for full-time workers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Oxfam America and Promundo, ``Caring Under COVID-19: How the
    Pandemic Is and Is Not Changing the Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
    Responsibilities in the United States,'' July 29, 2020 at https://
    www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/caring-under-covid-
    19/.

    This makes paid family and medical leave especially crucial for
    ensuring that all women can stay in the paid workforce without losing
    pay, while protecting their own and their families' health and well-
    being. Federal paid family and medical leave would have tremendous
    impacts for all women of color, as workers of color are the least
    likely to be able to afford to take Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
    leave because it is unpaid. Additionally, paid family and medical leave
    helps combat the maternal health crisis that Black women face in this
    country, while also increasing their earnings and reducing their
    ``parenthood penalty.''\7\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ National Partnership for Women and Families, ``For Women and
    Workers of Color in Every State, Paid Leave Is a Lifeline,'' October
    2021, at https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    paid-leave-lifeline-in-states.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    LPaid Family and Medical Leave Will Support Working Families and
                        Strengthen the Economy

    We applaud the bipartisan congressional support for enacting paid leave
    and we are grateful to the Committee for prioritizing this issue.
    Passing federal paid leave legislation is essential to supporting
    workers and working families--especially women, who are more likely to
    have caregiving responsibilities--and to strengthening our economy.
    Oxfam joins our allies in urging Congress to enact federal paid family
    and medical leave that meets the needs of all workers.

    This is why we are calling for the passage of the Family and Medical
    Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which provides up to 12 weeks of paid
    family and medical leave for reasons ranging from medical issues to
    childbirth, or to support caregiving responsibilities.

    Thank you for your consideration of these perspectives and
    recommendations, and for the important work the Committee is doing to
    meet the needs of workers and caregivers in the United States. Oxfam
    America's experts welcome the opportunity to further discuss the need
    for paid family and medical leave, including sharing more about our
    research, analysis, and policy recommendations outlined above. We look
    forward to working with the Committee.

    Sincerely,

    Oxfam America

                                     ______

                                      PHI

                       quality care through quality jobs

                         261 Madison Avenue, Suite 913

                               New York, NY 10016

                                  718-402-7766

                          https://www.phinational.org/

    Thank you for the opportunity to provide a statement regarding the need
    for a national paid leave policy that includes direct care workers.

    About Us. PHI is a national organization committed to strengthening the
    direct care workforce by producing robust research and analysis,
    leading federal and state advocacy initiatives, and designing
    groundbreaking workforce interventions and models. For more than 30
    years, we have brought a 360-degree perspective on the long-term care
    sector to our evidence-informed strategies. As the nation's leading
    authority on the direct care workforce, PHI promotes quality direct
    care jobs as the foundation for quality care.

    Direct care workers need and deserve access to paid leave. Direct care
    workers assist older adults and people with disabilities with essential
    daily tasks and activities across a range of long-term care settings.
    They include 4.8 million home care workers, residential care aides, and
    nursing assistants in nursing homes.\1\ Tragically, most of these
    workers cannot take paid time off to care for themselves or a loved
    one: one study found that only 35 percent of direct care workers who
    took time off for family care or medical reasons were able to take paid
    leave.\2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ PHI. 2023. Direct Care Workers in the United States: Key Facts.
    New York, NY: PHI. https://www.phinational.org/resource/direct-care-
    workers-in-the-united-states-key-facts-2023/.
        \2\ Cook, Allison. 2018. Paid Family and Medical Leave: How States
    Should Support Direct Care Workers. New York, NY: PHI. https://
    phinational.org/resource/paid-family-medical-leave-states-support-
    direct-care-workers/.

    Paid family and medical leave is a crucial benefit that direct care
    workers--who earn poverty-level wages--need to succeed and remain in
    their jobs. Nearly a third of direct care workers have children under
    the age of 18 living at home--including one in ten who live with a
    child or children under the age of five.\3\ Many direct care workers
    manage other caregiving responsibilities as well: 17 percent of direct
    care workers live with someone with long-term care needs, while 29
    percent of home care workers, 31 percent of residential care aides, and
    18 percent of nursing assistants are family caregivers.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ PHI. 2023. ``Workforce Data Center.'' https://phinational.org/
    policy-research/workforce-data-center/.
        \4\ Ruggles, Steven, Sarah Flood, Ronald Goeken, Josiah Grover,
    Erin Meyer, Jose Pacas, and Matthew Sobek. 2020. IPUMS USA: Version
    10.0. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V10.0; analysis by PHI (May 2021);
    PHI. 2023. Direct Care Workers in the United States: Key Facts. New
    York, NY: PHI. https://www.phinational.org/resource/direct-care-
    workers-in-the-united-states-key-facts-2023/.

    The need direct care workers have for paid leave was reinforced and
    amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. While providing essential care for
    older adults and people with disabilities across settings during an
    unprecedented crisis, most workers could not afford to take time off
    when needed, for example, to quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure or
    illness--and as a result, many left their jobs altogether.\5\
    Unfortunately, few of these workers returned to the field.\6\ With a
    national program of paid family and medical leave in place, these
    workers would not be forced to choose between keeping their jobs to
    survive financially or safeguarding their own health or that of their
    families and clients.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Campbell, Stephen. 2021. ``Will COVID-19 Change Direct Care
    Employment? New Data Offer Clues.'' PHI Newsroom, April 12, 2021.
    https://www.phinational.org/will-COVID-19-change-direct-care-
    employment-new-data-offer-clues/.
        \6\ McCall, Stephen, Kezia Scales, and Joanne Spetz. 2021.
    Workforce Displacement and Re-
    Employment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Direct Care
    Workforce Recruitment and Retention. San Francisco, CA: UCSF Health
    Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care. https://
    www.phinational.org/resource/workforce-displacement-and-re-employment-
    during-the-COVID-19-pandemic/.

    Paid leave is a critical component to overcoming our nationwide direct
    care workforce crisis. Home care agencies, residential care
    environments, nursing homes, and individual consumers are struggling
    across the country to recruit and retain direct care workers.\7\ This
    problem will only worsen, absent significant policy changes. Given our
    rapidly aging population and increasing need for long-term services and
    supports, the direct care workforce is expected to add over one million
    new jobs from 2021 to 2031--more new jobs than any other single
    occupation in the country.\8\ When also accounting for direct care
    positions created as workers leave their jobs--a symptom of poor job
    quality in this sector--there will be an estimated 9.3 million total
    job openings in direct care from 2021 to 2031.\9\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ American Health Care Association. 2022. State of the Nursing
    Home Industry: Survey of 759 nursing home providers show industry still
    facing major staffing and economic crisis. Washington, DC. https://
    www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Fact-Sheets/FactSheets/SN
    F-Survey-June2022.pdf; Kerr, Natalie. 2022. ``A Shortage of Health
    Aides is Forcing out Those Who Wish to Get Care at Home.'' Shots:
    Health News from NPR, May 5, 2022. https://www.npr.org/sections/
    healthshots/2022/05/05/1095050780/a-shortage-of-health-aides-is-
    forcing-out-those-who-wish-to-get-care-athome https://www.npr.org/
    sections/health-shots/2021/06/30/1010328071/with-workers-in-short-
    supplyseniors-often-wait-months-for-home-health-care.
        \8\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Employment Projections
    Program (EPP). 2022a. National Employment Matrix--Industry. https://
    data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrixHome?io
    Type=i; analysis by PHI (June 2023). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
    (BLS), Employment Projections Program (EPP). 2022. EP Data Tables,
    Table 1.10 Occupational Separations and Openings, Projected 2021-2031.
    https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm; analysis by PHI (June 2023).
        \9\ BLS EPP, 2022.

    At the heart of this quickly deepening workforce crisis is a policy and
    financing framework that perpetuates the historical undervaluing of
    essential, professional, and high-quality direct care work. Direct care
    workers' economic security and willingness to stay in the field rely on
    livable wages and comprehensive employment benefits. Higher wages in
    direct care are desperately needed: median annual earnings are just
    $23,688, while 39 percent of these workers live in low-income
    households and 46 percent rely on public benefits, such as Medicaid,
    SNAP, and cash assistance.\10\ In this context, increasing access to
    employment benefits and protections--especially paid leave--is crucial
    for ensuring direct care workers have the total compensation they need
    to meet their basic needs and improve economic security across the
    workforce.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ PHI. 2023. ``Workforce Data Center.'' https://phinational.org/
    policy-research/workforce-data-center/.

    Paid leave is critical for equity, especially for a diverse and
    marginalized direct care workforce. More broadly, lack of access to
    paid leave disproportionately impacts women and people of color, who
    are at greater risk of taking unpaid leave or exiting the labor force
    if they experience a serious illness or need to care for a family
    member (which they are also more likely to experience).\11\ Lack of
    access to paid leave also disproportionately impacts low-wage workers,
    who are less likely to have that benefit through their employers and,
    even when they have access to unpaid leave, often cannot afford to take
    it.\12\ The direct care workforce falls largely into these categories:
    86 percent are women, 62 percent are people of color, and median annual
    earnings are a mere $23,688--well below a living wage in any state.\13\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Milli, Jessica, Jocelyn Frye, and Maggie Jo Buchanan. 2022.
    ``Black Women Need Access to Paid Family and Medical Leave.'' Center
    for American Progress, March 4, 2022. https://www.americanprogress.org/
    article/black-women-need-access-to-paid-family-and-medical-leave/;
    Gallagher Robbins, Katherine & Jessica Mason. 2023. ``Women's unpaid
    caregiving is worth more than $625 billion--and it could cost more.''
    National Partnership for Women & Families Blog, August 14, 2023.
    https://nationalpartnership.org/womens-unpaid-caregiving-worth-more-
    than-625-billion/.
        \12\ Mason, Jessica and Katherine Gallagher Robbins. 2023.
    ``Women's Work Is Undervalued, and It's Costing Us Billions.'' National
    Partnership for Women & Families, March 2023. https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/womens-work-is-
    undervalued.pdf.
        \13\ PHI. 2023. ``Workforce Data Center.'' https://phinational.org/
    policy-research/workforce-data-center/.

    A national paid leave program, like the approach proposed in the FAMILY
    Act, is an important step toward addressing these racial and gender
    inequities in accessing paid leave.\14\ Such a national plan would
    boost labor force participation and reduce turnover in a field
    experiencing both a crisis of turnover and an explosion in need. It
    would also help to address the long-standing historical undervaluing of
    essential workers who provide vital long-term care and need the ability
    to provide that same care to themselves and their loved ones.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. 2023. H.R.
    3481.

                                     ______

                          Reproductive Freedom for All

                         1725 Eye Street, NW, Suite 900

                              Washington, DC 20006

    We thank the Senate Finance Committee and Chairman Ron Wyden for
    scheduling time to discuss the critical need for paid leave and for the
    opportunity to submit a statement to the Committee on this important
    issue. On behalf of our 4 million members, Reproductive Freedom for All
    urges you to pass legislation to establish a comprehensive, inclusive,
    and equitable national paid family and medical leave program for every
    working person in the United States. As Chairman Wyden emphasized
    throughout the hearing, paid leave is not only incredibly popular, but
    it would have profound, positive impacts on the lives and well-being of
    all workers and their families.

      I.  Paid Family and Medical Leave is a Critical Component of
                        Reproductive Freedom

    Paid family and medical leave is a critical component of reproductive
    freedom and everybody deserves the freedom, dignity, and financial
    stability that it offers. Paid leave is essential for allowing
    individuals and families to exercise their freedom to determine if,
    when, and how to have a child. Without it, people do not have the time
    needed to heal from childbirth, families do not have time to bond with
    their new babies, and many working people must risk their livelihoods
    to care for sick or injured family members.

    The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recognized
    the importance of paid leave and the role it plays in improving the
    health of the pregnant/post-partum person and the new baby, reducing
    infant mortality, and strengthening the parent-child bond.\1\ As
    Jocelyn Frye, the President of the National Partnership for Women &
    Families stated in her testimony (https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/
    media/doc/10252023_frye_testimony.pdf) for the hearing, ``paid leave
    programs increase the time new mothers take to bond with new children
    and recover from birth, and reduce the incidence of low birthweight and
    preterm births--with both benefits especially pronounced for Black
    mothers. Research also links state paid leave programs to improved
    physical and mental health for new mothers, including lower postpartum
    distress, improved on-time vaccination rates, greater initiation and
    duration of breastfeeding, fewer infant hospitalizations and more.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Paid Parental Leave Statement of Policy, American College of
    Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Aug. 2020), https://www.acog.org/
    clinical-information/policy-and-position-statements/statements-of-
    policy/2020/paid-parental-leave?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=web&
    utm_campaign=int.

    Yet, because the United States currently lacks a national paid family
    leave program, one in four women returns to work less than 10 days
    after giving birth.\2\ Furthermore, under our current system in which
    workers are at the mercy of employer policies or state laws, Black and
    Hispanic employees are less likely to be eligible for paid leave
    programs than white workers.\3\ These disparities further entrench
    income inequality and contribute to disproportionate maternal mortality
    rates. As Frye explained in her testimony, ``[t]he inadequate access to
    paid leave for women and communities of color compounds other racial
    injustices including the racial wealth gap, maternal morbidity and
    mortality, inequitable access to health care and discriminatory
    experiences with health care providers. Inadequate paid leave policies
    cost Black women and their families nearly $4 billion a year in lost
    wages, a loss that is especially challenging because Black women also
    face a large gender wage gap. Despite their caregiving commitments,
    surveys find that Black and Latino workers are less able to take leave
    when they need it.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ A Quarter of New Moms Return to Work 2 Weeks After Childbirth,
    Chicago Tribune (Aug. 20, 2015), https://www.chicagotribune.com/
    business/ct-maternity-leave-two-weeks-20150820-story.html.
        \3\ Quick Facts on Paid Family and Medical Leave, Center for
    American Progress (Feb. 5, 2021), https://www.americanprogress.org/
    issues/women/news/2021/02/05/495504/quick-facts-paid-family-medical-
    leave.

    All people deserve quality time to nurture their children and to care
    for themselves and their family members without the fear of financial
    instability. A paid family leave program will stop employers from
    denying new parents precious time with their new child and will provide
    all families with the dignity of paid time off to care for loved ones.

      II.  Congress Should Act Now to Establish a Comprehensive, Inclusive,
                        and Equitable National Paid Family and Medical
                        Leave Program for All Workers

    Paid leave legislation is essential for ensuring that all working
    people have the ability to take time off to care for their children and
    family members, and to address their own serious health conditions. The
    U.S. needs a paid leave program that would, at a minimum, provide all
    workers with an adequate portion of their wages for 12 weeks per year
    to:

          Address their own serious health conditions or due to pregnancy
    and childbirth;
          Care for a new child, including an adopted child or a child in
    foster care;
          Care for a family member with a serious health condition; or
          Take on certain caregiving responsibilities.

    We are past due for a national paid leave program to meet the needs of
    new parents and people with serious personal or family health
    conditions.

    Under current law established by the Family and Medical Leave Act
    (FMLA), employers are only required to provide 12 weeks of unpaid
    leave.\4\ FMLA also only applies to employers with over 50 employees,
    leaving millions of people without any workplace leave protections.\5\
    In 2020, only 20% of private sector workers in the United States had
    access to paid family leave through their employers.\6\ In addition,
    93% of people with low income have no access to paid family leave.\7\
    Working people who lack paid family and medical leave face lost wages
    or even job loss when they miss work because of their own illness, to
    recover from pregnancy and childbirth, or to care for an ill child or
    parent.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ 29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 2601 et seq.
        \5\ 29 U.S.C. Sec. 2611(4)(A).
        \6\ Databases, Tables and Calculators by Subject: Percent of
    Private Industry Workers with Access to Paid Family Leave, U.S. Dep't
    of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 3, 2021), https://
    data.bls.gov/timeseries/NBU28700000000000033349.
        \7\ Fact Sheet: Economic Recovery Must Include Job-Protected Paid
    Family and Medical Leave, The Center for Law and Social Policy (March
    2021), https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/publications/2021/03/
    2021_Economic%20Recovery%20PFML.pdf.

    In addition to covering all working people, it is essential that any
    paid leave program include all of the reasons for leave currently
    covered for unpaid leave under FMLA. Proposals that limit paid leave
    only to reasons related to a new child (including pregnancy, birth,
    adoption, or foster care), that offer only temporary help, or that
    penalize parents for taking leave simply do not meet the needs of
    workers across the country.\8\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical
    Leave Act: Results from the 2018 Surveys, U.S. Dep't of Labor (July
    2020) (noting that 51% of employees who take unpaid FMLA leave do so to
    address their own illness, 25% take FMLA leave for pregnancy,
    childbirth, adoption, or foster care, and 19% take FMLA leave to care
    for a parent, spouse, or child), https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/
    files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/WHD_FMLA2018SurveyResults_
    FinalReport_Aug2020.pdf.

    Furthermore, the definition of family must be inclusive to reflect the
    diverse identities and realities of workers across the country. The
    program must be gender-
    inclusive, as well, in order to address persistent sex discrimination
    in the utilization of leave benefits and reduce the disparity between
    women and men regarding who takes time off from work to fulfill
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    caregiving duties.

    To prevent further entrenching gender, race, and income disparities,
    the program should also include job protections for workers who take
    leave. Finally, the program needs to include individuals with low wage
    jobs, self-employed individuals, and others who are currently
    systemically denied access to paid leave.

      III. Conclusion

    All people deserve the freedom to nurture their children and care for
    themselves and their family members without the fear of financial
    instability. It is time to ensure that all working families have the
    freedom to care for their loved ones. NARAL strongly supports the
    creation of a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave
    program and urges lawmakers to pass such a bill.

                                     ______

                            Small Business Majority

                        1015 15th Street, NW, Suite 450

                              Washington, DC 20005

                                 (202) 828-8357

                       https://smallbusinessmajority.org/

                                November 3, 2023

    Thank you, Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo and members of the
    Senate Committee on Finance.

    My name is John Arensmeyer and I'm the founder and CEO of Small
    Business Majority. As a leading representative of America's 33 million
    small businesses, Small Business Majority is pleased to provide written
    testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance regarding the hearing
    on Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice and Impact on the Workforce.

    Small Business Majority is a national small business organization that
    empowers America's diverse entrepreneurs to build a thriving and
    equitable economy. From our nine offices across the country, we engage
    our network of more than 85,000 small businesses and 1,500 business and
    community organizations to deliver resources to entrepreneurs and
    advocate for public policy solutions that promote inclusive small
    business growth. Our work is bolstered by extensive research and deep
    connections with the small business community that enables us to
    educate stakeholders about keys issues impacting America's
    entrepreneurs, with a special focus on the smallest businesses and
    those facing systemic inequities.

    Simply put, access to paid family and medical leave programs is good
    for business. It allows small business owners and their employees to
    access and offer paid time off for individuals to care for their
    families and their well-being. This is an inevitable need that many
    come to experience at one point or another.

    However, the majority of small businesses do not have the resources to
    offer robust benefits that larger companies can provide, like paid
    family and medical leave, which puts them at a disadvantage when it
    comes to attracting and retaining employees. Unfortunately, private
    insurers generally do not offer affordable, adequate paid leave \1\
    policies to small businesses. As a result, as of 2019 only 14% of
    workers in firms with 99 or fewer employees had access to employer-
    provided paid family leave, compared to 29% of workers in firms with
    500 or more employees. These numbers have no doubt become exacerbated
    by the pandemic and the Great Resignation, which both
    disproportionately affected our smallest businesses on Main Street.
    What's more, tight profit margins, lack of human resources staff, and
    limited resources are some of the top reasons why small businesses
    struggle to provide robust benefits on their own.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.bls.gov/ebs/home.htm.

    This is why Small Business Majority has advocated on behalf of and with
    small business owners nationwide for paid family and medical leave
    policies at the federal and state levels. In the absence of a federal
    program, we have mobilized along with small business advocates and
    small business owners to support the enactment, rulemaking and
    expansion of such programs in a number of states \2\ including
    California, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico and
    Virginia, among others. From our experience advocating for state plans,
    we firmly believe that policymakers must meet the moment by providing
    similar policies at the federal level so that small businesses can
    remain competitive in attracting top talent from today's modern
    workforce.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://smallbusinessmajority.org/our-policy-
    statements?issue=18.

    Small businesses know how important it is to access and offer benefits
    such as paid family and medical leave policies, and many have been
    supportive of passing a federal policy that has yet to materialize. In
    fact, a found that 70% of small business owners and operators support
    establishing a federal program to guarantee access to paid family and
    medical leave. When you consider that our small business communities
    nationwide account for the vast majority of businesses in the United
    States and employ nearly half of all U.S. employees, it's clear that
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    there is a critical gap in access to this benefit.

    What's more, most of the small businesses driving our economy--nearly
    82% of them--are solo entrepreneurs or self-employed individuals,
    according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.\3\ These are
    businesses that, with the proper support of the federal government,
    could eventually become employers and contribute even more to our
    economy. These, and small businesses in general, are businesses that
    are in need of a modernized and robust benefits infrastructure that can
    promote wealth creation, financial security and quality jobs. Creating
    a federal paid family and medical leave insurance pool can be the first
    step in providing this much-
    needed infrastructure.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Small-
    Business-Economic-Profile-US.pdf.

    The pandemic left our small business community in dire need of
    resources and support structures, and it became extremely challenging
    for them to recruit and attract a qualified workforce. And while it's
    true that many small businesses increased employee wages and offered
    more flexibility \4\ to attract more candidates during this challenging
    time, doing so while they're struggling with inflation and market
    changes can be devastating to their bottom line. This is why
    entrepreneurs are looking to lawmakers to provide the necessary
    infrastructure to support the small business ecosystem.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ https://smallbusinessmajority.org/our-research/small-business-
    owners-support-criminal-justice-reforms-address-persistent-workforce-
    challenges.

    We thank you for the opportunity to comment on this critical issue and
    welcome the Committee's efforts in ensuring that Main Street can remain
    competitive by providing access to benefit structures that underpin
    quality jobs. For these reasons, implementing a federal paid family and
    medical leave insurance program is an important step forward to
    leveling the playing field for not only small businesses but for our
    economy as a whole. We look forward to working closely with the U.S.
    Senate Committee on Finance to consider the benefits of creating a
    national paid family and medical leave program for our small business
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    community.

    Sincerely,

    John Arensmeyer
    Founder & CEO

                                     ______

                                   Third Way

                      1025 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 400

                              Washington, DC 20036

    Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,

    Thirty years after the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act,
    America is stuck. One in four new mothers return to work within two
    weeks of giving birth. Around 53 million Americans currently act as a
    caregiver for a family member. And yet, just a quarter of workers have
    a paid family leave benefit.

    The pandemic reminded America what is obvious to many--people become
    ill and have to miss work, which can mean missing a paycheck and losing
    one's livelihood. But with our current patchwork of employer-based,
    state, and local leave policies, too many workers are left without the
    time or resources to care for themselves or their families. In this
    moment, making progress on paid leave is a must.

    Thankfully, progress is also possible. As Third Way has written in the
    past, there are a number of policy levers available which can expand
    access to paid leave.\1\ Expanding this important benefit to more
    workers will bolster America's long-term economic growth, help
    businesses attract and retain productive workforces, and improve
    workers' capacity to balance work and family life. We encourage the
    Committee to carefully consider the urgent need for paid leave policy
    and the litany of legislative tools available to better protect
    workers. Our statement for the record walks through both why
    policymakers need to take federal action to expand paid leave and
    options to make progress.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ McSwigan, Curran and Anthony Colavito. ``10 Questions for a New
    Paid Leave Plan.'' Report, Economy, Third Way, 19 Jan. 2023, https://
    www.thirdway.org/report/ten-questions-for-a-new-paid-leave-plan.
    Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

    Third Way applauds the Senate Finance Committee for continuing this
    important conversation and hopes action can be taken to get more
    families the paid leave they need today.

    Why We Need Federal Action on Paid Leave

    1. Paid Leave Fuels Economic Growth

    Federal action on paid leave will boost our economy by helping workers
    and businesses thrive. Economists estimate that family-friendly
    policies, including paid leave, could boost US GDP by as much as $1
    trillion and help curb long-term inflation.\2\ Access to paid leave is
    also shown to bolster female labor force participation. If the number
    of women in the labor force was on par with peer nations, our GDP would
    be a staggering 5% larger.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Stiglitz, Joseph. ``Seventeen winners of the Novel Prize in
    economics sign letter in support of the President's Build Back Better
    package.'' Statement, Economic Policy Institute. 20 Sep. 2021, https://
    www.epi.org/press/nobel-laureate-economist-joseph-stiglitz-issues-
    statement-in-support-of-build-back-better-agenda/. Accessed 1 Nov.
    2023. And; Ceron, Ella. ``Paid Leave and Universal Child Care Could
    Boost U.S. GDP by $1 Trillion.'' Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2022, https://
    www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/paid-leave-and-universal-
    child-care-could-boost-u-s-gdp-by-1-trillion?sref=sLBNpTza. Accessed 1
    Nov. 2023.
        \3\ ``Factsheet: What does the research say about the economics of
    paid leave?'' Equitable Growth, 22 Apr. 2021, https://
    equitablegrowth.org/factsheet-what-does-the-research-say-about-the-
    economics-of-paid-leave/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

    Providing workers with the time to care for themselves and their
    families strengthens personal finances and builds stronger economic
    outcomes. Paid leave access is found to increase household economic
    security, reduce reliance on public assistance, and drive down spending
    from other federal programs.\4\ One study of California's paid leave
    program found the policy was associated with an 11% decline in nursing
    home usage among older adults, which in turn decreased Medicare and
    Medicaid spending.\5\ The same outcomes at the federal level would save
    $3.4 billion annually according to the National Partnership for Women
    and Families.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ ``The Economic Benefits of Paid Leave: Fact Sheet.'' Ranking
    Democrat Carolyn B. Maloney, The Joint Economic Committee, https://
    www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/646d2340-dcd4-4614-ada9-
    be5b1c3f445c/jec-fact-sheet---economic-benefits-of-paid-leave.pdf.
    Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
        \5\ Arora, Kanika and Douglas A. Wolf. ``Does Paid Family Leave
    Reduce Nursing Home Use? The California Experience.'' Journal of Policy
    Analysis and Management, 3 Nov. 2017, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
    doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22038. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
        \6\ Mason, Jessica. ``Paid Leave Would Cut Healthcare Costs.''
    Issue Brief, National Partnership for Women & Families. Oct. 2021,
    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-
    would-cut-health-care-costs.pdf. Accessed 1 November, 2023.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Paid Leave Helps Businesses--Both Big and Small

    Federal action on paid leave will help businesses flourish--whether
    they have two employees or 2,000. Workplaces with paid leave are more
    productive, see lower worker attrition, and are more likely to attract
    talent than businesses without.\7\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ ``The Business Impacts of Paid Leave.'' Panorama and the
    American Sustainable Business Council. Sep. 2019, https://
    www.asbcouncil.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/panorama_
    report_-_business_impacts_of_paid_leave.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023. And;
    Stroman, Trish et al. ``Why Paid Family Leave is Good Business.''
    Boston Consulting Group, Feb. 2017, https://www.bcg.com/publications/
    2017/human-resources-people-organization-why-paid-family-leave-is-good-
    business. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

    While some argue that federal paid leave policies will burden small
    businesses, these programs actually help level the playing field.
    Smaller employers often lack the capital and ability to provide
    benefits like paid leave to their workers; this is especially true for
    service sector industries where offering these benefits can mean
    raising prices for consumers.\8\ Federal efforts can help ensure
    workers at small businesses are able to care for themselves and their
    families and that paid leave is not just a benefit accruing to college-
    educated workers in office jobs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ ``Paid Family and Medical Leave is Good for Business.'' Fact
    Sheet, National Partnership for Women & Families. Oct. 2023, https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-good-for-
    business.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

    Paid leave is good for big businesses as well. One study of large
    employers found that introducing a paid leave policy on average
    increased revenue by almost 5% and profits by 7%.\9\ From New York to
    Rhode Island to California, businesses continue to view states'
    policies positively, including smaller establishments.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ ``Hill Fact Sheet.'' Small Business for Paid Family & Medical
    Leave, 2020, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/
    5cf16d6c89b0940001feec8f/t/5e2b7eae7ef3a12a55b1acfb/1579908783140/
    SB4PL+Hill+Fact+Sheet_1_24_2020_updated.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
        \10\ ``Paid Family and Medical Leave is Good for Business.'' Fact
    Sheet, National Partnership for Women & Families. Oct. 2023, https://
    nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/paid-leave-good-for-
    business.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023. And; Bartel, Ann P. et al.
    ``Support for Paid Family Leave Among Small Employers Increases During
    COVID-19 Pandemic.'' Working Paper 29436, National Bureau of Economic
    Research, Dec. 2021, https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/
    w29486/w29486.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023. And; Corley, Danielle. ``Paid
    Leave is Good for Small Business.'' Center for American Progress, 19
    Oct. 2016, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/paid-leave-is-good-
    for-small-business/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Paid Leave Helps Workers

    By giving workers the capacity to manage their personal affairs, paid
    leave makes it easier for workers to hold their jobs and remain
    productive members of the labor force. Paid leave gives working parents
    and caregivers the time and money needed to recover from childbirth, to
    bond with a newborn, or to handle family matters in a way that best
    positions them to return to work. Few are as exposed to these
    crosscurrents as women, who provide a disproportionate share of
    childcare, and make up over 60% of adult caregivers.\11\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Zamarro, Gema and Maria J Prados. ``Gender differences in
    couples' division of childcare, work and mental health during COVID-
    19.'' Review of Economics of the Household, Vol. 19, Mar. 2021, https:/
    /doi.org/10.1007/s11150-020-09534-7. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023. And;
    ``Caregiving in the U.S.'' Research Report, AARP, May 2020, https://
    www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2020/05/full-report-caregiving-in-
    the-united-states.doi.10.26419-2Fppi.00103.001.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov.
    2023.

    Research confirms that paid leave bolsters labor force participation
    and improves workers' capacity to support themselves. State paid leave
    laws increase work among leave takers, especially among low-income
    women.\12\ Paid leave also reduces reliance on public aid programs. One
    study found that women who took paid leave following the birth of a
    child were 39% less likely to receive public assistance and 40% less
    likely to receive food stamps compared to women who did not.\13\ And
    when caregiving reduces a mother's lifetime earnings by 15%, paid leave
    can reduce inequalities in a manner that is consistent with the value
    Americans place in work.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Rossin-Slater, Maya, Christopher Ruhm, and Jane Waldfogel.
    ``The Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Program on Mothers'
    Leave-Taking and Subsequent Labor Market Outcomes.'' Journal of Policy
    Analysis and Management, Vol. 32, 17 Dec. 2012, https://doi.org/
    10.1002/pam.21676/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023. And; Byker, Tanya S. ``Paid
    Parental Leave Laws in the United States: Does Short-Duration Leave
    Affect Women's Labor-Force Attachment?'' American Economic Review, Vol.
    106, No. 5, May 2016, https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/
    aer.p20161118. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
        \13\ Houser, Linda and Thomas P. Vartanian. ``Pay Matters: The
    Positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leave for Families,
    Businesses, and the Public.'' Center for Women and Work, School of
    Management and Labor Relations, The State University of New Jerseys--
    Rutgers, Jan. 2012, https://smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/smlr/files/
    Documents/Centers/CWW/Publications/
    CWW%20Paid%20Leave%20Brief%20Jan%202012.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
        \14\ Johson, Richard W., Karen E. Smith, and Barbara A. Butrica.
    ``Lifetime Employment-
    Related Costs to Women of Providing Family Care.'' Research Report,
    Program on Retirement Policy, Urban Institute, Feb. 2023, https://
    www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WB/Mothers-Families-Work/Lifetime-
    caregiving-costs_508.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    How We Can Make Progress

    We believe there are paths to making much-needed progress on paid leave
    in our divided government. Below, we have outlined a menu of federal
    policy options to make progress today, while laying building blocks for
    a more comprehensive program in the future.\15\ Ideas include:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ McSwigan, Curran and Anthony Colavito. ``12 Ideas to Jumpstart
    Progress on Paid Leave.'' Third Way, 11 Apr. 2023, https://
    www.thirdway.org/report/12-ideas-to-jumpstart-progress-on-paid-leave.
    Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Parental Leave Progress

          Expand unpaid parental leave to cover all workers.
          Create a national parental-only paid leave program.
          Build in more short-term and long-term flexibility to help
    parents return and stay in the workforce.

    Medical Leave Progress

          Invest in better medical leave data.
          Ensure more workers have basic unpaid medical leave protections
    and businesses can better accommodate leave.
          Make sure all workers have at least 7 days of paid sick leave.
          Expand existing short-term disability insurance to cover more
    workers.

    Caregiving Leave Progress

          Invest in better caregiving data.
          Ensure more workers have basic unpaid caregiving leave
    protections and broaden the definition of caregiving.
          Make a refundable tax credit for lost wages from caregiving.
          Enact a flexible caregiving leave benefit.
          Create a standardized form for employees to request flexible
    work arrangements.

                                     ______

                                    UnidosUS

                            Raul Yzaguirre Building

                        1126 16th Street, NW, Suite 600

                           Washington, DC 20036-4845

             Supporting Latino Workers and Fueling Economic Growth
                               Through Paid Leave

    Statement of Susana Barragan, Policy Analyst, Economic Policy Project,
                              Policy and Advocacy

    On behalf of UnidosUS, we respectfully submit this statement for the
    record to elevate the urgent need for a national paid family and
    medical leave program for Latinos--a critical and growing workforce in
    the United States.

    UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is
    the nation's largest Hispanic \1\ civil rights and advocacy
    organization. Since 1968, we have challenged the social, economic, and
    political barriers that affect Latinos through our unique combination
    of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate network of
    nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States,
    including Puerto Rico.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The terms ``Hispanic'' and ``Latino'' are used interchangeably
    by the U.S. Census Bureau and throughout this document to refer to
    persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American,
    Dominican, Spanish, and other Hispanic descent; they may be of any
    race. This document may also refer to this population as ``Latinx'' to
    represent the diversity of gender identities and expressions that are
    present in the community.

    As we have previously shared,\2\ the creation of a national paid family
    and medical leave program will not only fill in gaps left by current
    family leave policies in place but can serve as a bridge to economic
    security and prosperity. Federal law under the Family Medical Leave Act
    of 1933 (FMLA)\3\ requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of
    guaranteed unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible workers who need
    time off from work to care for their own illness, care for a new child,
    or to care for a seriously ill family member. But only 30.1% of Latino
    workers with low wages are eligible for FMLA,\4\ compared to 56% of all
    U.S. employees.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/
    unidosus_statementfortherecord_paid
    familymedicalleave.pdf.
        \3\ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla.
        \4\ https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation/pdf/
    American%20University_
    Final_20220105_508.pdf.

    This gap is exemplary of how the current structure of the labor system
    is unable to meet the immense value provided by U.S. Latino workers,
    who have the country's highest labor force participation rate \5\ and
    are overrepresented in sectors considered essential to keep our economy
    functioning.\6\ So, when the only federal leave policy in the country
    fails to reach more than two-thirds of Latino families and one of the
    country's strongest economic assets, it is past time for change.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300009.
        \6\ https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/71785c75-00f4-
    4db8-9686-2960f0526b65/hispanic-workers-brief-.pdf.

    Concerning family-friendly policies, the United States is woefully
    outgunned at the international level. The U.S. is one of six countries
    in the world \7\ that lacks any form of national paid leave. And it is
    the only wealthy country in the world without any guaranteed paid
    parental leave \8\ at the national level. This leaves millions of U.S.
    workers unable to take paid time off from work to address a serious
    health condition. If it remains without a national paid leave program,
    the United States will compete with one hand tied behind on a global
    stage alongside countries with more family-friendly policies.\9\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/upshot/paid-leave-
    democrats.html.
        \8\ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/11/global-paid-
    parental-leave-us/.
        \9\ https://athens.indymedia.org/media/old/
    raising_the_global_floor_dismantling_the_myth_
    that_we_can_t_afford_good_working_conditions_for_everyone__stanford_poli
    tics_and_policy_.
    pdf.

    As we noted in our recent report, Making Jobs Work for Latinas,\10\
    Latinas are primed to drive U.S. economic growth in the coming years.
    They are entering the workforce in record numbers and by 2031, the
    number of Latinas in the workforce is expected to grow by approximately
    26%. Notably, no other demographic is projected to grow by as much.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/
    unidosus_makingjobsworkforlatinas.
    pdf.

    But existing headwinds in the labor market threaten Latinas' potential
    labor performance and economic growth. For example, Latinas experience
    one of the largest wage gaps in the marketplace.\11\ Given existing
    wage floors, this pay gap increases as a Latina's education and income
    increase. Still, many Latinas contend with low wages that lag the
    rising cost of living and are unable to build a nest egg to use towards
    emergencies, homeownership, and other paths to build wealth. Latina
    women also experience one of the largest unequal distributions of work
    with their male counterparts. This includes hours spent in household
    activities, like caring for other family members. As one of the fastest
    growing groups in the U.S. workforce, family-friendly policies that
    reflect the reality of its workforce is imperative to the strength and
    future of the labor market.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    latinas-wage-gap.pdf.

    There are few supports in place to ensure Latinas remain in the
    workforce or have a path back if they must exit temporarily. The COVID-
    19 pandemic showed that Latinas were among the first workers to lose
    jobs at the start of the economic crisis. Latinas also dropped out of
    the workforce at higher rates than Latino men, primarily due to
    increased childcare needs. As schools closed, the primary
    responsibility for providing childcare in Latino households fell on
    women. A 2021 UnidosUS report \12\ found that almost half of Latinas
    quit their jobs or reduced their hours during the pandemic.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ https://unidosus.org/publications/2150-closing-the-latina-
    wealth-gap-building-an-inclusive-economic-recovery-after-covid/.

    In emergencies, the burden for keeping their household afloat
    disproportionately lies on the shoulders of Latina women. In fact,
    Latinas are three times more likely to be single heads of households
    than white women. Despite the few resources and support available to
    Latinas, Latinas have marshaled an exceptional recovery in the face of
    a disastrous economic situation. Only three years after the pandemic,
    Latinas reached full employment levels in 2022.\13\ In other words, all
    Latina women who were able and willing to work were virtually all
    employed. A combination of increased worker organizing,\14\ increases
    in real wages,\15\ and recovery in sectors \16\ in which Latinas are
    overrepresented in, such as hospitality and leisure, have ushered the
    Latina workforce into comparable (and at times, improved) pre-pandemic
    levels of employment.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/
    unidosus_makingjobsworkforlatinas.
    pdf.
        \14\ https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-08-30/downtown-l-
    a-hotel-workers-strike-as-political-science-conference-kicks-off-union-
    vows-dirty-rooms-and-non-stop-noise.
        \15\ https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2022/.
        \16\ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USEHS.

    But, we need to ensure this recovery can be sustained in the long term.
    For most U.S. workers, traditional employment is the nexus to critical
    benefits needed to live and build wealth in the U.S., like health
    insurance and retirement accounts. While a 2022 Bureau of Labor
    Statistics analysis \17\ of employer costs related to employee
    compensation found that benefits make up one-third of employee
    compensation packets, nearly two-thirds of Latinos work in low-wage
    jobs that offer few or no benefits.\18\ This includes paid family and
    medical leave.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USEHS.
        \18\ http://www.appam.org/assets/1/7/
    occupational_segregation_report_40219.pdf.

    Latinos are the least likely of any racial or ethnic group to have
    access to paid family leave \19\ through their employer, with only
    25.1% of Latinos reporting access to paid parental leave, compared to
    49.7% of whites.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/latinos-least-likely-
    to-have-paid-leave-or-workplace-flexibility/.

    The lower wages typically earned by Latinas complicate Latinas' take-up
    of Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) even when they are eligible. The
    Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University
    \20\ estimates that of 54% of working parents eligible for FMLA leave,
    only 34% of parents can afford to take unpaid leave. For Latinos, the
    percentage of those who can afford to take leave dwindles to 26%. Yet
    Latino children represent approximately 25% of the U.S. population of
    children, and Latinos are the only group in which a majority of
    households have children. When these children are born, their families
    are likely to have access to supports, like paid leave, that are
    essential to caring for a new infant. And if these children become
    seriously ill, their parents may struggle to provide care if it means
    an absence from work.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \20\ https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2015/november/fmla-qa.html.

    It is unsurprising that almost 40% of Latinas \21\ are very worried
    about having access to paid family and medical leave. More than 20% of
    Latinos serve as caregivers to an adult family member or someone close
    to them, and on average, Latino caregivers spend about 40% more time
    providing care than do white caregivers.\22\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/
    unidosus_makingjobsworkforlatinas.
    pdf.
        \22\ https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2015/caregiving-in-
    the-united-states-2015-report-revised.pdf.

    Congress has an obligation to support policies that reflect the needs
    of America's diverse workforce. A national paid family and medical
    leave policy would help address the most formidable barriers that keep
    Latinas out of the labor market and lay a strong foundation for a
    growing U.S. workforce.
                          U.S. Breastfeeding Committee

                          1629 K Street, NW, Suite 300

                              Washington, DC 20006

    October 25, 2023

    Dear Chair Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:

    The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) submits this letter to the
    Senate Committee on Finance for the record of the full committee
    hearing, ``Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the
    Workforce'' in full support of establishing a paid family and medical
    leave insurance program.

    The USBC is a coalition bringing together 139 organizations--including
    federal agencies, national, state, tribal, and territorial
    organizations, as well as for-profit businesses--that support the USBC
    mission to create a landscape of breastfeeding support across the
    United States. We are committed to ensuring that all families in the
    U.S. have the support, resources, and accommodations to achieve their
    breastfeeding goals in the communities where they live, learn, work,
    and play.

    We know that the vast majority of people become parents during their
    lifetime.\1\ Their needs and the needs of their infants are neither
    surprising nor difficult to meet when anticipated and planned for. Paid
    family and medical leave is a basic necessity, and this committee has a
    critical opportunity to support the establishment of a federal program
    for job-protected, paid family and medical leave for our nation's
    workers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Martinez, G.M., & Daniels, K. (2023). (rep.). Fertility of Men
    and Women Aged 15-49 in the United States: National Survey of Family
    Growth, 2015-2019. National Health Statistics Reports.

    Breastfeeding has a profound impact on population health outcomes. The
    evidence for the value of human milk on overall health for infants,
    children, and mothers is scientific, robust, and continually reaffirmed
    by new research. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants
    be exclusively breastfed for six months with continued breastfeeding
    while introducing complementary foods for two years or as long as
    mutually desired by the mother and child.\2\ Breastfed infants are at
    lower risk of certain infections and sudden unexplained infant death. A
    recent CDC study of over 3 million U.S. births found that ever
    breastfeeding is associated with a 26% reduction in the odds of post-
    perinatal (between 7-364 days) infant death.\3\ Breastfed children have
    a decreased risk of obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, asthma, and
    childhood leukemia. Women who breastfeed their babies reduce their risk
    of specific chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular
    disease, and breast and ovarian cancers.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Meek, J.Y., & Noble, L. (2022). Policy statement: Breastfeeding
    and the use of human milk. Pediatrics, 150(1). doi:10.1542/peds.2022-
    057988.
        \3\ Li, R., Ware, J., Chen, A., Nelson, J.M., Kmet, J.M., Parks,
    S.E., . . . Perrine, C.G. (2022). Breastfeeding and post-perinatal
    infant deaths in the United States, a national prospective cohort
    analysis. The Lancet Regional Health--Americas, 5, 100094. doi:10.1016/
    j.lana.2021.100094.
        \4\ Making the decision to breastfeed, https://
    www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/making-decision-breastfeed/#1.
    Published 2020. Accessed December 20, 2022.

    The majority of pregnant women and new parents want to feed their baby
    breast milk, but significant barriers in the community, health care,
    and employment settings can impede breastfeeding success.\5\ The
    national breastfeeding initiation rate among children born in 2020 was
    83.1%. However, by six months of age, only 25.4% of infants are
    exclusively breastfed in the U.S.\6\ Despite overall increases in
    breastfeeding initiation and duration, deep racial, geographic, and
    socioeconomic disparities in breastfeeding rates persist. Fewer non-
    Hispanic Black infants (77.3%) are ever breastfed compared with Asian
    infants (87.1%), non-Hispanic White infants (85.3%) and Hispanic
    infants (81.9%).\7\ Furthermore, a distressing 60 percent of mothers
    report that they did not breastfeed for as long as they intended.\8\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.
    Clinical Lactation. 2011;2(1):33-34. doi:10.1891/215805311807011746.
        \6\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022).
    Breastfeeding report card, United States, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/
    breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm.
        \7\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2023). Facts.
    https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/facts.html.
        \8\ Odom E.C., Li R., Scanlon K.S., Perrine C.G., Grummer-Strawn L.
    Reasons for Earlier than Desired Cessation of Breastfeeding.
    Pediatrics. 2013;131(3):e726-732. Accessed January 22, 2020, https://
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23420922.

    Structural and environmental barriers can make it difficult or
    impossible for families to establish an adequate milk supply to sustain
    human milk feeding at medically recommended levels.\9\ For many
    families, rather than being a matter of personal choice, infant feeding
    practice is informed by circumstance.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Reis-Reilly H., Fuller-Sankofa N., Tibbs C. Breastfeeding in
    the Community: Addressing Disparities Through Policy, Systems, and
    Environmental Changes Interventions. Journal of Human Lactation.
    2018;34(2):262-271. doi:10.1177/0890334418759055.

    The U.S. is one of only three countries that does not guarantee paid
    leave for new mothers.\10\ Only 19 percent of the workforce has any
    paid family leave through an employer.\11\ The Family and Medical Leave
    Act provides for unpaid leave, but about 40 percent of the workforce is
    not eligible.\12\ Many parents return to work quickly after birth,
    before a strong breastfeeding relationship is established because they
    cannot afford to take unpaid leave or because they do not qualify for
    federal legal protections.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ Data--OECD. Oecd.org. https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/length-
    of-maternity-leave-parental-leave-and-paid-father-specific-leave.htm.
    Accessed January 22, 2020.
        \11\ Bls.gov. https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2019/employee-
    benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2019.pdf. Published 2019. Accessed
    January 22, 2020.
        \12\ FMLA is Working. Dol.gov. https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/survey/
    FMLA_Survey_fact
    sheet.pdf. Accessed January 22, 2020.

            ``Paid family leave is a huge public health need. While my
            daughter was able to take 3 months off, she had to save up all
            her PTO for 2 years to do so, meaning no vacations or extra
            days off. If we want to increase breastfeeding rates and reduce
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  -- Becky, Oklahoma

    A significant barrier to human milk feeding in the United States is the
    social and economic pressure to return to paid employment soon after
    birth. But, as recognized in The Surgeon General's Call to Action to
    Support Breastfeeding, access to paid family leave programs can lay the
    groundwork for breastfeeding success.\13\ Paid family leave programs
    make it possible for employees to take time for childbirth recovery,
    bonding with their baby, establishing feeding routines, and adjusting
    to life with a new child without threatening their family's economic
    well-being. This precious time provides the foundation for success,
    contributing to improved rates of breastfeeding initiation and
    duration.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ Office of the Surgeon General (US); Centers for Disease
    Control and Prevention (US); Office on Women's Health (US). The Surgeon
    General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Rockville (MD):
    Office of the Surgeon General (US); 2011.
        \14\ Hamad R., Modrek S., White J. Paid Family Leave Effects on
    Breastfeeding: A Quasi-
    Experimental Study of US Policies. Am J Public Health. 2019;109(1):164-
    166. doi:10.2105/ajph.2018.304693?

    State paid family and medical leave programs are making a difference
    for families throughout the country. Thanks to recent legislative
    successes, thirteen states and the District of Columbia have paid
    medical leave laws.\15\ In addition, more than 106 cities and counties
    across 32 states enacted paid leave policies.\16\ In California, access
    to paid family leave doubled the median duration of breastfeeding for
    all new mothers who used it during the first six years after the
    state's law went into effect in 2004.\17\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ Comparative Chart of Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws in the
    United States. A Better Balance. https://www.abetterbalance.org/
    resources/paid-family-leave-laws-chart/. Published 2023. Accessed
    October 31, 2023.
        \16\ Paid Family/Parental Leave Policies for Municipal Employees
    (Not Exhaustive). https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/
    2023/02/paid-family-leave-policies-for-municipal-employees.pdf.
    Published 2020. Accessed October 31, 2023.
        \17\ Huang R., Yang M. Paid maternity leave and breastfeeding
    practice before and after California's implementation of the nation's
    first paid family leave program. Economics & Human Biology. 2015;16:45-
    59. doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2013.12.009.

    However, these state-financed family leave programs are not enough.
    Breastfeeding can benefit every family, and paid family and medical
    leave must be accessible to all workers. There are significant
    disparities in access to paid leave among some racial and ethnic
    groups, with Black and Hispanic employees less likely than their white
    non-Hispanic counterparts to have access to paid parental leave.\18\
    There are similar disparities in breastfeeding outcomes among racial
    groups.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \18\ Bartel A., Kim S., Nam J., Rossin-Slater M., Ruhm C.,
    Waldfogel J. Racial and ethnic disparities in access to and use of paid
    family and medical leave: evidence from four nationally representative
    datasets. Mon Labor Rev. 2019:142. doi:10.21916/mlr.2019.2

    Guaranteed paid family and medical leave is a vital component of
    maternal and child health and should be available for all workers
    through a national paid family leave program, like the Family and
    Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. The USBC, our member
    organizations, and our partners continue to stand ready to work with
    policymakers and federal, state, and local agencies to establish at
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    least 12 weeks of job-protected, paid family and medical leave.

    At the national level, improving breastfeeding practices through
    programs and policies has been shown to be one of the best investments
    a country can make, as every dollar invested is estimated to result in
    a US $35 economic return.\19\ For the employer, paid leave policies
    have been shown to benefit businesses' bottom lines by lowering
    turnover costs through greater retention and increasing productivity
    and morale.\20\ It's time to bring these benefits to the entire nation.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ Walters, D., Dayton Eberwein, J., Sullivan, L., D'Alimonte,
    M., & Shekara, M. (2017). An Investment Framework for Meeting the
    Global Nutrition Target for Breastfeeding (Rep.). World Bank Group.
        \20\ Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Good for Business. (2023).
    National Partnership for Women and Families. Retrieved October 31,
    2023, from https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/
    paid-leave-good-for-business.pdf.

            ``I had no access to paid parental leave and was forced,
            financially, to return to work just three days after my son's
            birth. When my wife needed me the most, I could not be there
            because someone had to work. It was my job to care for them in
            those first weeks, but because I had to return to work so soon,
            I failed at that job. As a nation, we need to pull together and
            make it possible for everyday families to stay home with their
            brand-new babies while not worrying about the bills. It is time
            for America to join the rest of the world and offer paid family
            leave to its citizens. Dads: please join me in raising our
            voices and our votes in support of this issue. It is long
            overdue.''
                  -- Jarred, Massachusetts

    We appreciate the opportunity to submit this comment. Thank you for
    considering the positive impact of paid family leave programs on
    breastfeeding families in the United States.Sincerely,

    Cheryl Lebedevitch
    National Policy Director
    U.S. Breastfeeding Committee

                                     ______

                  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

                             3211 Fourth Street, NE

                           Washington, DC 20017-1194

               Statement of Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Chairman,
              Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

        The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has long supported family
    leave.\1\ It is pro-life to support families as they welcome new life
    and care for one another in their most vulnerable periods. National
    support of paid family leave is an important step towards building an
    authentically life-affirming society that prioritizes the well-being of
    families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ See United States Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All,
    1986, https://www.usccb.org/upload/economic_justice_for_all.pdf; United
    States Catholic Conference, Putting Children and Families First, 1991,
    https://www.usccb.org/putting-children-and-families-first-challenge-
    our-church-nation-and-world.

        Catholic tradition teaches that the purpose of the economy is to
    enable families to thrive. ``[I]t is necessary that businesses,
    professional organizations, labor unions and the State promote policies
    that, from an employment point of view, do not penalize but rather
    support the family nucleus.''\2\ Our tradition also holds that the
    State must help attain the common good and that government action is
    necessary to address problems that are beyond the reach of individual
    and community efforts alone.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Compendium of the
    Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 294, 2004, https://www.vatican.va/
    roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/
    rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html.
        \3\ See Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the
    Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 168, 2004, https://www.vatican.va/
    roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/
    rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html; United States
    Conference of Catholic Bishops, A Place at the Table, 2002, https://
    www.usccb.org/resources/place-table; USCCB, Forming Consciences for
    Faithful Citizenship, no. 48, 2020, https://www.usccb.org/resources/
    forming-consciences-faithful-citizenship-pdf.

        The research is clear: paid leave supports families. Parental leave
    is beneficial for child development and infant health;\4\ it
    strengthens the parent-child bond;\5\ it increases family stability;\6\
    and at a time when maternal health is worsening in the United States,
    it aids new mothers' mental and physical health.\7\ Medical leave
    allows workers to pursue medical treatment earlier in their illness and
    to better manage their care throughout their illness.\8\ Caregiving
    leave allows family members to better respond to the needs of their
    loved ones, which is especially important as our nation's population
    ages and the number of people involved in informal caregiving of older
    adults is expected to grow.\9\ Workers with access to paid leave are
    less likely to experience material hardship and financial
    instability.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Lindsey Uniat and Maya Rossin-Slater, ``Paid Family Leave
    Policies and Population Health,'' Health Affairs, March 28, 2019,
    https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hpb20190301.48
    4936/.
        \5\ Raquel Plotka and Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel, ``The Role of
    Length of Maternity Leave in Supporting Mother-Child Interactions and
    Attachment Security Among American Mothers and Their Infants,''
    International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy 12, no. 2,
    January 16, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-018-0041-6.
        \6\ Richard J. Petts, Daniel L. Carlson, and Chris Knoester, ``If I
    [Take] Leave, Will You Stay? Paternity Leave and Relationship
    Stability,'' Journal of Social Policy 49, no. 4, November 14, 2019,
    https://doi.org/10.1017/s0047279419000928.
        \7\ Maureen Sayres Van Niel et al., ``The Impact of Paid Maternity
    Leave on the Mental and Physical Health of Mothers and Children: A
    Review of the Literature and Policy Implications,'' Harvard Review of
    Psychiatry 28, no. 2, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1097/
    hrp.0000000000000246; Zoe Aitken et al., ``The Maternal Health Outcomes
    of Paid Maternity Leave: A Systematic Review,'' Social Science &
    Medicine 130 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.001.
        \8\ Washington Center for Equitable Growth, ``Paid Medical Leave
    Research,'' April 30, 2020, https://equitablegrowth.org/research-paper/
    paid-medical-leave-research/.
        \9\ Juliana M. Horowitz, ``Americans Widely Support Paid Family and
    Medical Leave, but Differ over Specific Policies,'' Pew Research
    Center, March 23, 2017, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/
    03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-
    differ-over-specific-policies/.
        \10\ Alexandra Boyle Stanczyk, ``Does Paid Family Leave Improve
    Household Economic Security Following a Birth? Evidence from
    California,'' Social Service Review 93, no. 2, 2019, https://doi.org/
    10.1086/703138; Linda Houser and Thomas P Vartanian, ``Pay Matters: The
    Positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leave for Families, Businesses
    and the Public,'' Rutgers Center for Women and Work, January 2012,
    https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/pay-
    matters.pdf; Chantel Boyens, Michael Karpman, and Jack Smalligan,
    ``Access to Paid Leave Is Lowest among Workers with the Greatest
    Needs,'' Urban Institute, July 14, 2022, https://www.urban.org/
    research/publication/access-paid-leave-lowest-among-workers-greatest-
    needs.

        The United States is one of only a handful of countries, and the
    only high-income country, that does not guarantee paid family
    leave.\11\ The current patchwork system of family leave programs leaves
    too many families behind. For example:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ WORLD Policy Analysis Center, ``Is Paid Leave Available to
    Mothers of Infants, Including Maternity and Parental?,'' January 2022,
    https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/policies/is-paid-leave-available-to-
    mothers-of-infants-including-maternity-and-parental.

              Only one in four U.S. workers had access to paid family
            leave last year.\12\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
    ``Employee Benefits--EBS Latest Numbers,'' 2023, https://www.bls.gov/
    ebs/latest-numbers.htm; Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``Employee Benefits
    in the United States, March 2023,'' September 2023, https://
    www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-
    march-2023.htm.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Only 56% of U.S. employees are eligible for unpaid leave
            under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), based on employer
            and work history requirements.\13\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ Scott Brown et al., Abt Associates, ``Employee and Worksite
    Perspectives of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Executive Summary for
    Results from the 2018 Surveys,'' U.S. Department of Labor Chief
    Evaluation Office, July 2020, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/
    OASP/evaluation/pdf/
    WHD_FMLA2018SurveyResults_ExecutiveSummary_Aug2020.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Only 43% of private employees and 27% of state and local
            government employees have access to short-term disability
            insurance.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
    ``Employee Benefits in the United States--March 2023,'' September 21,
    2023, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Low-wage workers are less likely to have access to paid
            family leave benefits than high-wage workers.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, ``The
    Economics Daily: A look at paid family leave by wage category in
    2021,'' January 10, 2022, https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/a-look-at-
    paid-family-leave-by-wage-category-in-2021.htm.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Black and especially Hispanic workers are less likely to
            have access to these benefits than white workers.\16\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, ``Racial
    and ethnic disparities in access to and use of paid family and medical
    leave: evidence from four nationally representative datasets,'' January
    2019, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/article/racial-and-ethnic-
    disparities-in-access-to-and-use-of-paid-family-and-medical-leave.htm.

        Given the gaps in the current paid family leave offerings, a
    national paid leave policy is needed to help ensure families,
    especially those who are most vulnerable, have access to paid family
    leave. Many employers would like to offer paid family leave but cannot
    do so financially without a national or state architecture in place to
    make it more feasible. As you work to advance paid family leave
    proposals, I urge you to ensure that such a proposal will not unduly
    burden lower-income organizations or individuals, will not penalize
    larger families, and will not destabilize existing social service
    programs. I encourage your continued efforts to help families and
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    welcome the opportunity to work with you to accomplish this goal.

                                     ______

              Statement Submitted by Laura Valle-Gutierrez, Fellow
                             the century foundation

                      Paid Leave is a Fundamental Worker
                       Protection That Helps the Economy

    The United States is long overdue in creating a permanent,
    comprehensive paid family and medical leave program in the United
    States (U.S.) to ensure that every worker has access to paid leave to
    care for themselves or a loved one with a serious health condition. In
    the U.S. it is still, on the whole, too hard to parent, to foster or
    adopt a child, or to have an aging parent who needs support as they
    face Alzheimer's, cancer, or other diseases of old age; and too hard to
    make ends meet while caring for a seriously ill loved one of any age,
    or to be ill yourself. All of those situations are hard enough on their
    own. Congress should be working to ease the challenges. But the present
    reality is this: just as you face the most emotionally and physically
    draining experiences of your life, you also must shoulder the stress of
    possibly losing your paycheck, multiplying the struggle to pay your
    bills, or derailing your career.

    New research by the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor shows
    that 35 percent of mothers \1\ lack access to paid leave.\2\ The United
    States is the only rich country that doesn't have paid family leave.
    This leads to parents not taking leave, even when they need it,
    including 13 percent of mothers who needed leave but did not take it
    in the past month. For just over one in six mothers who needed leave
    but didn't take it, the main reason was because they could not afford
    losing income.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/leave-job-flexibilities/
    leave-access#Access-to-Leave.
        \2\ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/upshot/paid-leave-
    democrats.html.

    Paid leave is also essential for people taking care of their own or
    family member's serious health conditions. The Family and Medical Leave
    Act--the national unpaid family medical leave program that guarantees
    job protection for time away for caregiving--only covers 56 percent of
    workers.\3\ Moreover, for many workers, taking leave without pay is
    untenable. No one should have to choose between caring for a newborn or
    another loved one, their health and well-being and economic security.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/
    women.s.bureau.department.of.labor/viz/shared/GS56TJD35.

    At the height of the pandemic, care policy moved forward in important,
    but temporary ways. The Families First Response Act, signed into law on
    March 18, 2020, guaranteed two workweeks of emergency paid sick leave
    and ten workweeks of emergency paid family leave to people working in
    businesses with fewer than 500 employees for many pandemic-related
    purposes,\4\ such as quarantines and recovering from the virus. While
    more limited a policy than was truly needed, for those that were
    included and able to use it, the support was vital
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ https://tcf.org/content/commentary/will-congresss-latest-covid-
    19-relief-package-address-paid-sick-family-leave/.

    The emergency paid leave program was discontinued before its impacts
    could be widely felt by workers, however, and the many gaps from
    political compromise weakened what it could have done. Still, the
    emergency program had several tenets that should be considered a model
    for good policy going forward. Notably, the program covered part-time
    workers,\5\ which is especially important for women who are more likely
    to work part-time due to care responsibilities. Unfortunately, Congress
    allowed these provisions to expire at the end of 2020 rather than
    extend them.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-
    leave#::text=For%20
    reasons%20(1)%2D(4,over%20a%20two%2Dweek%20period.

    There is also a strong business case for paid family and medical
    leave--increased recruitment and retention, improved productivity, and
    loyalty, among other benefits. But at its core, this policy is about
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    valuing communities, people, and care.

    A strong paid family and medical leave policy \6\ is one that includes
    everyone who works (including self-employed people, domestic workers,
    and people who work for multiple employers), ensures that workers can
    afford to take the time to care, provides a meaningful duration of
    leave, guarantees job protection, covers a wide variety of family
    members and close relationships, and offers user-friendly ways to find
    out about these benefits and protections and use them.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ https://tcf.org/content/commentary/10-ways-make-workplace-laws-
    work-everyone/.

    Given the clear benefits to both workers and employers, it is critical
    for Congress to act. The United States is long overdue for establishing
    a paid leave program that gives workers and their families the ability
    to take care of their babies, their seriously ill loved ones and their
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    own health without having to risk their economic security.

                                     ______

                                 ZERO TO THREE

                          2445 M Street, NW, Suite 600

                              Washington, DC 20037

               Statement of Miriam Calderon, Chief Policy Officer

    Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:

    Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments for the Committee's
    hearing on Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the
    Workforce. Shining a light on the need for paid leave policy is
    critically important for infants, toddlers, and families, and we
    greatly appreciate your leadership in holding this hearing. Paid leave
    is a pillar of the robust policies our nation's families need and want.
    While paid leave covers many types of family needs, including paid sick
    days, my statement today emphasizes Paid Family and Medical Leave
    (PFML) as precisely the right policy to facilitate one of the most
    profound periods of human development, the first weeks and months of a
    child's life with parents or close caregivers in which they begin to
    forge the bonds foundational to all later development, learning and
    relationships.

    Attention to paid leave has diminished. But the challenges families
    face when they cannot take time off to care for themselves or their
    children continue to cause families distress. Family stories of their
    challenges and the benefits of paid leave punctuate the discussion
    below, illustrating the choices and dilemmas they face. Unmistakably,
    families, their children, their employers and the economy all pay a
    price for the lack of this most basic family policy. Polls consistently
    show support for paid family and medical leave across demographic
    groups.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Bennett, B. (September, 2022). Americans overwhelmingly support
    paid family and medical leave. (https://navigatorresearch.org/
    americans-overwhelmingly-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave/).

    At ZERO TO THREE, our mission is to ensure every infant and toddler has
    what they need to thrive. We translate the science of early childhood
    development into useful knowledge and strategies for parents,
    practitioners, and policymakers. We work to ensure that babies and
    toddlers benefit from the family and community connections critical to
    their well-being and healthy development. And the science of early
    development tells us that nothing is more important to who we become in
    life than the early close relationships we form from birth. The
    protections offered by Paid Family and Medical Leave are essential to
    parents and babies as well as to workers and our country's economy.
    Protections offered by Paid Family and Medical Leave are particularly
    important for families of color, who are more likely to work in jobs
    where such benefits are not offered, and who are less likely to have
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    the financial reserves to take needed time off work.

    As you consider the need for paid leave policies, I call your attention
    to four points.

          Paid Family and Medical Leave is a basic child development
    policy, especially for newborn or newly adopted children, responsive to
    the need for unhurried time for infants and toddlers with the
    caregivers who are important to them, to forge the human connections
    essential to healthy brain connections.

          Paid Family and Medical Leave is a major cross-cutting policy
    with benefits that span improved maternal and infant mortality rates,
    health, mental health, child care and economic stability.

          Paid leave policies can promote equitable access to these
    benefits, of great importance to infants and toddlers of color, who are
    more likely to live with poverty and low income and therefore more
    likely to miss out on responsive, unhurried time with parents.

          The amount and nature of paid leave policies is critical to full
    realization of these benefits, particularly the duration of leave,
    level of wage replacement, definition of family members covered, and
    job protection provided.

    The bottom line: Although time for parents and close caregivers is an
    essential ingredient for young children's development and later
    success, our nation has turned its back on the commonsense policy that
    could supply this time, putting it out of reach for many families,
    often leaving it as the province of families with higher income. We all
    pay for this gap, children and families most of all. Poor health
    outcomes drain potential and increase costs. Economic strain can impact
    children's well-being. In fact, poverty is associated with undermining
    brain growth in areas affecting key areas of self-regulation, learning,
    memory, language and emotional control. The primary factor in buffering
    that harmful development? Strong parental support. As a nation, we
    should be doing everything we can to ensure parents and close
    caregivers can be present for their young children to give this
    responsive support. That begins with paid leave.

            ``When Grayson was born and needed open heart surgery, we were
            stunned and terrified. Everything happened so quickly and I was
            having a hard time processing it all--trying to stay strong,
            trying to be there for both my new baby and toddler at home,
            worried about how we would pay the medical bills, worried about
            finding a new job, worried about how much time I would have to
            stay home and take care of him, worried about keeping track of
            his medicines and appointments, worried about how this would
            impact his future and our lives. Paid family leave would have
            made a tremendous difference during this traumatic time in our
            lives. How? It would have helped us sleep at night. It would
            have helped us get through the day. It would have allowed us to
            not make decisions based on fear and finances. It would have
            enabled us to be present and care for each other fully during
            the most difficult time of our lives.'' Hannah S. (Farmington,
            MN)

    The Importance of Paid Leave to the Earliest Development

    Learning happens from the moment a baby opens their eyes, as billions
    of neurons start forming connections--one million or more every second.
    A baby's earliest relationships are central to this burgeoning brain
    architecture, providing the environment in which experiences unfold. In
    short, healthy brain connections depend on healthy human connections.
    Science tells us that forming secure attachments to a few caring and
    responsive adults is a primary developmental milestone for babies in
    the first year of life. But from the baby's perspective, the way we are
    held, talked to and cared for teaches us about who we are and how we
    are valued, which profoundly shapes who we will become.

    All infants need ample time with their parents at the very beginning of
    their lives to form these critical relationships that are the portal
    through which they first encounter the world. It takes several months
    of ``time off'' from the flow of daily life--not only to adjust to the
    new physical demands of breastfeeding and sleepless nights--but to
    decipher the nuanced patterns and communications of a newborn,
    choreographing the ``dance of development''\2\ that establishes a
    foundation that will influence the child's long-term cognitive, social,
    and emotional development.\3\ Through these positive, meaningful
    relationships and experiences that ideally they have the time to form
    from the beginning, children gain confidence in their ability to
    explore and learn from the world around them.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Zigler, E., Muenchow, S., & Ruhm, C. (2012). Time off with
    baby: the case for paid care leave. ZERO TO THREE Press.
        \3\ Center on the Developing Child (2009). Five Numbers to Remember
    About Early Childhood Development (Brief). Retrieved from
    www.developingchild.harvard.edu.

            When Wendy and her husband adopted Bryce, they prioritized
            having time to properly bond and attach with their new baby.
            She was able to take 12 weeks off work due to a combination of
            personal time off and FMLA, a large part unpaid. While she
            doesn't regret the time she took off at all, having no income
            for several weeks was a financial strain. Paid leave would have
            allowed her to take that valuable bonding time without the
            stress of not having her reliable income to help meet household
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            expenses. In her words:

            ``Bonding is the foundation of our relationship with Bryce.
            From the time we met him in the hospital when he was a day old,
            we immediately began skin to skin contact with him. We were
            able to take time off from work to be with him for the first
            three months of life, and that was extremely important to us.
            Bonding as he is older means reading together, playing on the
            floor with one another, and simply being together as a
            family.'' Wendy D. (Ballwin, MO)

    This dance, as complicated as it can be magical, is the foundation of a
    young child's learning. And yet, as a nation we make it difficult for
    parents to carry it out. Only a quarter of workers have access to paid
    family leave that would ensure they have this unhurried time. While
    current data are scarce, previous research has shown that a quarter of
    all birthing people return to work within 2 weeks of giving birth.\4\
    This short duration of time off from work raises grave concerns for the
    birthing parent who has not had time to heal or cope with mental health
    issues and the role of parenting, and who may face a greater challenge
    in making child care arrangements. But again, thinking from a newborn's
    perspective, they are thrust into an unimaginably strange world at
    birth, striving to connect with the humans who care for them to secure
    he most basic needs in life--sustenance and warmth--beginning to learn
    to count on that special person, their guide to this unfamiliar
    territory. And then suddenly that special person disappears for hours
    at a time.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Van Niel M.S., Bhatia R., Riano N.S., de Faria L., Catapano-
    Friedman L., Ravven S., Weissman B., Nzodom C., Alexander A., Budde K.,
    Mangurian C. The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on the Mental and
    Physical Health of Mothers and Children: A Review of the Literature and
    Policy Implications. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2020 Mar/Apr;28(2):113-126.
    doi: 10.1097/HRP.00000000
    00000246. PMID: 32134836.

    Moreover, just as babies thrive when their emotional needs are met and
    they feel secure, experiences in those early years that are harmful,
    stressful, or traumatic can undermine their development. When the dance
    goes wrong, disrupted by adverse experiences such as economic
    insecurity or parental depression, parents may lose the ability to
    provide responsive, stimulating caregiving.\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Cole, P., Trexberg, K., & Schaffner, M. (2023). State of babies
    yearbook: 2023. Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE. https://
    stateofbabies.org/.

    Paid family and medical leave makes it possible for parents or close
    caregivers with newborn or newly adopted children to form families, to
    have that quality time to forge connections and lay the groundwork for
    the secure attachments and social and emotional development that in
    turn will spark strong cognitive development. Research has found longer
    lengths of leave to be associated with more positive interactions
    between mothers and infants, greater sensitivity, and higher quality
    mother-infant relationships.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Van Niel, et al.

    Fathers also benefit. Studies of two-parent, opposite-sex households
    show a number of positive outcomes when fathers take leave. Fathers who
    take two or more weeks off after the birth of a child are more involved
    in that child's direct care nine months after birth than fathers who
    take no leave.\7\ Involved fathers also promote children's educational
    attainment and emotional stability.\8\ And, a father's involvement in a
    newborn's care in the first six months can mean both mother and baby
    sleep better.\9\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ Nepomnyaschy, L., & Waldfogel, J. Paternity Leave and Fathers'
    Involvement with their Young Children: Evidence from the American Ecls-
    B. Community, Work and Family, 10(4), 427-453. 2007.
        \8\ Michael Lamb, The role of the father in child development, 4th
    ed. (pp. 1-18, 309-313), 2004. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.;
    Kristin Smith, After the Great Recession, More Married Fathers
    Providing Child Care. Carsey School of Public Policy, 2005. Retrieved
    from https://carsey.
        \9\ Liat Tikotzky, Avi Sadeh, Ella Volkovich, Rachel Manber, Gal
    Meiri, and Golan Shahar, Infant sleep development from 3 to 6 months
    postpartum: links with maternal sleep and paternal involvement.
    Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 80(1), p.
    107-124, 2015.

            ``Neither of us get any type of paid maternity/paternity leave
            but it was very important to me to take time off to bond
            together as a family after Penelope's birth. I saved up my sick
            time and was able to take three weeks off after her birth. It
            isn't a ton of time, but I'm thankful that I was able to do it.
            We already feel like a family and I believe that transition
            from being the `three of us' to now being the `four of us'
            really took place for me during those three weeks. I was also
            able to support my wife during that time by letting her sleep
            in, have one-on-one time with each child, spend time with
            friends, etc. in a way that wouldn't have been possible if I
            hadn't been able to take time off.'' Ryan C. (Bozeman, MT)

     Paid Family and Medical Leave Is a Major Cross-cutting Policy

    ZERO TO THREE's recent State of Babies Yearbook: 2023 identified five
    urgent priorities for policymakers to address, along with a
    comprehensive set of policies to do so.\10\ Several foundational
    policies that could improve child and family well-being stood out
    across priority issues. Notably, paid leave played a role in addressing
    multiple needs: improving maternal and infant health, promoting strong
    infant and early childhood mental health and addressing mental health
    needs of women and birthing people, and providing economic security for
    families with young children. Cross-cutting policies such as PFML
    compound their benefits, making them very cost-effective and bolstering
    child and family well-being across multiple domains. While much of our
    focus is on paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, other
    situations in the lives of babies and families, including serious
    childhood illness, also require time off for parents and close
    caregivers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ Cole, P., et al.

    Maternal and Infant Health: Yearbook data reveal the crisis in maternal
    and infant health, beginning with alarming and steadily increasing
    maternal mortality rates for Black women and birthing people. This same
    pattern of racial disparities also is apparent in access to early
    prenatal care as well as infant birth outcomes. The mortality rate for
    Black infants is twice the national average (10.6 deaths per 1,000 live
    births compared with 5.4 nationally), placing the United States 37th
    among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development nations.
    Black infants also are the most likely to be born preterm and with low
    birthweight.\11\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Ibid.

    PFML has a strong association with reduced infant and post-neonatal
    mortality rates. It also yields higher rates and longer periods of
    breastfeeding, which reduce childhood infections, disease and obesity.
    Evidence from California's long-running PFML program shows health and
    developmental improvements continuing into elementary school. as well
    as long-term health benefits for the breastfeeding parent. Time at home
    with young children helps parents ensure their children can attend
    well-child visits and receive vaccinations. The Yearbook shows that 1
    in 10 infants and toddlers had not had a well-child visit in the
    previous year and more than a quarter were not up to date on
    recommended vaccines, with babies in families with low income lagging
    further behind. More time with babies can help parents and
    practitioners identify and intervene in a variety of developmental
    difficulties. This is especially important for caregivers of infants
    who are considered at high risk, such as babies born preterm or at low
    birth weights and those who have illnesses or birth defects.\12\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Zigler, et al.

            ``Zoe is the first newborn that we have had significant time to
            bond with out of the 3 children we have, mainly because I (mom)
            am not working at all and dad was given paid family leave
            through his job as health and physical education instructor at
            a charter school. It has made a world of difference in her
            happiness and overall well-being. I was not able to
            successfully breastfeed for very long with my other children
            due to the stress of returning to work just a few weeks
            postpartum. I am elated that Zoe continues to breastfeed
            strong! Each drop of milk I can provide her contributes to her
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            physical and emotional health.'' RaShona B. (Wilmington, DE)

    Maternal Mental Health: More than one in ten (11.5 percent) of women
    and birthing people are estimated to experience postpartum depression,
    with higher rates for those in lower socioeconomic group.\13\ One fifth
    of maternal deaths in the postpartum period are related to mental
    health conditions.\14\ Moreover, babies' mental well-being is
    intertwined with that of their parents, so a parent's depression can
    affect the attachment process.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ Van Niel, et al.
        \14\ Trost, S., Beauregard, J., Chandra, G., Njie, F., Berry, J.,
    Harvey, A., & Goodman, D.A. (2022). Pregnancy-related deaths: Data from
    Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 36 US states, 2017-2019.
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/
    reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/erase-mm/datammrc.html.

    Paid leave can have a significant impact on maternal mental health.
    Research shows that each week of paid leave up to 12 weeks reduces the
    odds of a new mother/birthing person experiencing symptoms of
    postpartum depression.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ Kornfeind, K.R., & Sipsma, H.L. (2018). Exploring the link
    between maternity leave and postpartum depression. Women's Health
    Issues, 28(4), 321-326.

            ``[When Emmett was in the NICU], I would pump every three
            hours, begin my work days before the sun came up. I would leave
            work before lunch and spend time in the NICU in the afternoon.
            I would come home and finish my work day and after dinner, I
            would go to the NICU for the last feeding. I was trying my best
            to be in two places at once but because there are no resources
            for moms in situations like mine, I was forced to sacrifice my
            mental/physical health and healing to `get it all done.' I
            suffered extreme postpartum depression and anxiety from the
            overwhelm that was on my plate and the fact that I was watching
            a tiny premature baby fight for his life in the NICU. When I
            was postpartum, I still had health complications and I never
            had a chance to take care of myself. My husband and I planned
            for a baby and we tried our best to prepare for the financial
            aspect of unpaid leave. However, as much as we feel like our
            world is in a stand still, the bills do not stop. My husband
            took intermittent parental leave to make sure that we did not
            have a gap in health insurance. Without him doing that, our
            NICU bills would have been astronomical.'' Jessica D.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            (Florence, MA)

    Child Care: PFML is part of a continuum of policies needed to ensure
    families can balance work and family needs. Child care is the next
    step. The majority of families with a newborn or newly adopted child
    very quickly are thrown into a search for child care in a system that
    is not ready for them. Infant care is the most expensive care and
    hardest to find with wait lists exceeding months in many parts of the
    country. The challenges associated with finding high-quality,
    affordable child care add to the strain on a family adjusting to a new
    addition and increased anxiety for the well-being of their child and
    the economic necessity of returning to work.

    Strong PFML policies can help both family transitions back to work as
    well as ease a key strain on the child care system. Families in states
    such as California and Rhode Island report positive effects on their
    ability to arrange child care.\16\ Longer periods of paid leave relieve
    pressure on the child care system.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ Appelbaum, E., & Milkman, R. (2013). Unfinished Business: Paid
    Family Leave in California and the Future of U.S. Work-Family Policy
    (p. 49). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Economic Security: The birth of a child can be an unsettling event
    economically. Recent data show one in four mothers experience poverty
    around the time of their child's birth.\17\ A lack of leave may cause
    pregnant people to leave their jobs entirely, especially since fewer
    than 60 percent of workers are covered by Family and Medical Leave Act
    job protection.\18\ Lack of access to paid leave almost certainly
    propels the high rates of return to work within a few weeks of giving
    birth.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ Hamilton, C., Sariscany, L., Waldfogel, J. & Wimer, C. (2023).
    Experiences of poverty around the time of a birth: A research note.
    Demography, 60(4), 965-976. https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-10837403.
        \18\ National Partnership for Women and Families (2023). Paid
    leave. Paid Leave--National Partnership for Women & Families.

    The economic benefits to families of having paid leave are clear, but
    many of these benefits also accrue to their employers and to society as
    a whole. Paid leave provides wage stability and increases attachment to
    the labor force. It can help the birthing parent remain in line for
    wage increases. Employers avoid recruiting and retraining costs.
    Families are less likely to use public assistance, resulting in reduced
    costs for state and federal governments.\19\ Moreover, the vast
    majority of small business owners, many of which could not afford to
    pay for paid leave on their own, report either positive effects or no
    effect on their profitability and in fact have experienced positive
    effects on turnover and competitiveness with larger businesses.\20\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ Van Niel, et al.
        \20\ National Partnership for Women and Families (2023). Paid
    family and medical leave is good for business. paid-leave-good-for-
    business.pdf (nationalpartnership.org).

            Due to severe health issues, Shawnnita's son, Kaden, was rushed
            to the emergency room countless times in his early years, where
            he was frequently admitted for care. Shawnnita and her husband
            spent many days and nights with Kaden in the hospital. Even as
            their child was receiving emergency care, Shawnnita and her
            husband were compelled to work. Kaden's younger brother, Kairo,
            is now 6 months old and struggling with similar health issues.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            In her words:

            ``This was a challenging time for our family. We spent many
            days and nights in the hospital. Not having adequate time or
            paid leave to take off of work made the challenge even greater.
            Many nights as our son slept in the hospital bed next to us, a
            time we also should have been sleeping, we pulled out our
            laptops to work. We were living on a fixed income, we struggled
            with the expense of the special formula Kaden needed for his
            health issues, and we could not afford to miss work. Ultimately
            we had no choice. It was through this experience that we
            realized how important it was for parents to have access to
            adequate paid time off to take care of their children who has a
            serious health need.'' Shawnnita B. (Bedford, TX)

    Early Childhood Illnesses: Birth or adoption often is not the only time
    an infant or toddler needs their parents' constant presence. For
    example, the rates of childhood cancer have been increasing over the
    past 20 years. Almost half of all pediatric cancer occurs during early
    childhood, with the peak incidence of invasive childhood cancer
    occurring during infancy. Unquestionably, all children and particularly
    very young ones need the reassuring presence of their parents at such
    times. Families who care for a child with cancer incur considerable
    costs during the diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up care phases of
    the disease. Four major factors contribute to these expenses: necessary
    travel; loss of income because of a reduction or termination of
    parental employment; out-of-pocket treatment expenses; and inability to
    draw on assistance programs to supplement or replace lost income.\21\
    As with most caregiving duties, the majority falls on the mother and
    therefore her career and financial stability is most at risk.
    Typically, the mother is the one who terminated or reduced work hours,
    which affects the entire family's financial well-being. This economic
    burden can have long-term effects on the financial security, quality of
    life, and future well-being of the entire family, including the
    siblings of the affected child. Paid family and medical leave would
    help to alleviate the financial burden and eliminate the fear of
    retaliation when returning to work after caring for a chronically ill
    child.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ Miedema, B., Easley, J., Fortin, P., Hamilton, R., & Mathews,
    M. (2008). The economic impact on families when a child is diagnosed
    with cancer. Current Oncology, 15(4), 173-178. Retrieved from https://
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528308/.

            Anna's son, Gareth, had severe allergies and asthma that led to
            multiple hospitalizations in his first year of life. Had Anna
            had access to comprehensive paid family and medical leave, she
            would have been able to spend more time bonding with Gareth and
            understanding what was causing his illness. Instead she had to
            walk away from a job she loved to care for her sick child. In
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            her words:

            ``Having to return to work when your baby is six weeks is no
            mother's dream. I had to return to work due to the exhausting
            my entire leave. None of the leave was paid, but my job was on
            the line if I didn't return to work. If there were more time
            for me to bond with my baby, I would have had more knowledge of
            what was going on with him. I would not have had to resign from
            my job if there was more time allowed to be home with him.''
            Anna A. (Bastrop, LA)

    Paid Leave Policies Promote Equity from the Start

    The ability to take time off at the birth or adoption of a child or
    during a prolonged health need of the worker or family members is
    inextricably bound to a worker's economic situation. One of the most
    important findings in the Yearbook is that ``poverty and low income
    remain the most striking demographic factor of babies in the United
    States, illustrating the intersectionality of income with race and
    ethnicity. In 2021, nearly two in five (38.9 percent) of the nation's
    infants and toddlers lived in families earning less than 200 percent of
    the federal poverty level ($55,000 a year for a family of four). Racial
    and ethnic disparities are clear: 62.3 percent of Black infants and
    toddlers lived in families with low income, as did 61.4 percent of
    Native American and 50.8 percent of Hispanic infants and toddlers.\22\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \22\ Cole, P., et al.

    Because families of color are overrepresented in the population with
    low income, not surprisingly they are less likely to be in jobs that
    provide paid leave and have less ability to use unpaid leave because
    they cannot afford to lose income. The Yearbook describes the racial
    wealth gap for Black and Latine families in particular, noting that
    their overall disparities in having financial assets to fall back on is
    a barrier to taking advantage of unpaid leave,\23\ and saving for time
    off is challenging for families living paycheck to paycheck. An
    additional barrier is wage discrimination where Black, Latine and
    Native workers earn less on average that white men and women
    workers.\24\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \23\ Ibid.
        \24\ National Partnership for Women & Families. (2018). Paid family
    and medical leave: A racial justice issue--and opportunity. https://
    nationalpartnership.org/resource/paid-family-and-medical-leave-a-
    racial-justice-issue-and-opportunity/.

    The ramifications of this inequity go far beyond economics. Families
    with young children who cannot take time off from work are impeded in
    giving their babies the unhurried time for the responsive care that
    promotes positive development. Disparities in health access and
    outcomes are magnified, so that the health and mental health of
    birthing parents and babies alike are placed at risk. Family life could
    be more chaotic simply because parents cannot catch their breath or be
    fully present for their babies. Financial instability, which the
    Yearbook shows is a reality for many babies and especially babies of
    color, could be even more precarious. Parents who return to work must
    continue the family scramble of looking for infant child care, with
    minimal support in that area as well, and less access to quality
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    programs for families of color or with low income.

    One of paid leave's most important impacts thus would be promoting
    equity for families and babies even before birth. Research on
    California's paid family leave program found that the program has not
    only increased the amount of time off taken by all women, but also has
    resulted in parity in the number of weeks taken by Black and white
    mothers/birthing parents.\25\ By promoting job retention, paid leave
    can help promote financial stability not only during the leave period,
    but afterwards as well, especially as women who take paid family leave
    are more likely to have wage increases in the following year.\26\
    Finally, the ability to care for oneself, attend to mental health and
    health needs and potentially reduce maternal and infant mortality would
    be a huge gain in health equity--and should be a fundamental guarantee
    to people in the United States, as it is to residents of other
    industrialized nations.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \25\ Ibid.
        \26\ Van Niel, et al.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Parameters of a Robust Paid Leave Program

    A national paid family and medical leave policy must be broad and
    robust to comprehensively address families' needs for providing care.
    ZERO TO THREE has endorsed the Family and Medical Insurance Leave
    (FAMILY) Act, which meets this goal. It would

          Provide workers a meaningful duration of leave, not less than 12
    weeks, for caring for their own serious health condition, the birth or
    adoption of a child, addressing the effects of domestic violence or
    sexual assault, or to make arrangements for military deployment.

          Provide wage replacement rates to make taking leave financially
    possible for all working people--ensuring the lowest paid workers
    receive 85 percent of their normal wage, with typical workers earning
    around two-thirds of their wages.

          Be inclusive of all working people across the United States,
    covering workers in all companies, no matter their size. Younger, part-
    time, lower-wage, contingent, and self-employed workers would all be
    eligible for benefits.

          Ensure workers on the job for more than 90 days have the right
    to be reinstated following their leave, and all workers are protected
    from retaliation.

          Be affordable, cost-effective, and sustainably funded by small
    employee and employer payroll contributions.

    Conclusion

    Care is a fundamental factor in human life. We all have needed care as
    babies and will almost certainly need care again at some point. Most of
    us also will be called on to be caregivers. And, except in a handful,
    but growing, number of states and the military, families shoulder this
    responsibility with little support from policies that ensure financial
    security and peace of mind. Congress can and should change this with
    policies like paid leave.

    Many potential parents are giving up on our nation, faced with the
    daunting prospect of having a baby during increasingly complex times,
    residing in what amounts to a family policy desert among industrialized
    nations. From the first State of Babies Yearbook five years ago to the
    one just released, the cohort of infants and toddlers in the United
    States dropped by 900,000 babies, from 11.9 million to 11 million. The
    reasons behind the decline in births are complex. Yet, family-friendly
    policies could be an important key to turning the birthrate around and
    ensuring the future generation needed to sustain our economy.

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