Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Provide Universal Paid Leave

73 percent of American workers do not have access to paid leave

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that they joined their colleagues in introducing legislation that would guarantee up to 12 weeks of partial income for workers who are forced to take leave for serious medical and family events.

Paid medical and family leave is especially helpful for new parents and older Americans who are more likely to have health issues or caregiving obligations. Despite research showing that paid leave improves workers' mental health, boosts employee retention and productivity, and helps businesses, working families lose $22.5 billion per year in wages due to a lack of paid family and medical leave.

"Our country is forcing workers to make impossible choices between caring for their families and keeping a paycheck," Wyden said. "Instead of investing in resources like paid leave to help new moms and working parents, Republicans gave another round of tax breaks to their billionaire buddies at the expense of working families. I'm all in to make sure paid leave is the law of the land for every single worker in America, and Senator Gillibrand's FAMILY Act is the bill to get it done."

"Our families and communities are stronger when employees can take time off of work to bond with their children or care for the health of their families," said Merkley. "Guaranteed paid leave is standard throughout the developed world - except here in the US. It's way past time to remedy that fact."

The FAMILY Act would provide workers with paid leave for a range of major life events, including:

1. Recovering from their own serious health condition;

2. Caring for a family member with a serious health condition;

3. Bonding with a new child-whether newborn, adopted, or placed through foster care;

4. Handling responsibilities related to a family member's military deployment;

5. Taking "safe leave" to respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

This legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the legislation was also cosponsored by Senators Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Chris Coons, D-Del., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, Andy Kim, D-N.J., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Brian Schatz, D-Hawai'i, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

The bill text is available here.

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