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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 25, 2023 03:22 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Devlin J. Robinson and Sen. Maria Collett |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Establishing the Family Care Act |
| In the near future, we plan to re-introduce the “The Family Care Act,” bi-partisan legislation that would establish a statewide family and medical leave insurance program. This important legislation will help hard-working Pennsylvanians care for themselves and their families when a serious health issue strikes or a new child is born, adopted, or placed with them. This legislation will protect our citizens who experience an illness and afford peace of mind against the economic disaster of lost wages. As the Pennsylvania workforce changes, work policies must also evolve to serve a growing and diverse population. Employers should not have to choose between the health of their business and loyalty to their employees. And no employee should have to choose between taking care of a sick child or an aging parent or a job. In Pennsylvania, families should come first. In 2018, the Swain family of Montgomery County was struck with the news that their infant daughter Emersyn had a congenital heart defect. These hardworking parents struggled to make ends meet without access to paid family and medical leave while spending months on end at the hospital with Emersyn before her tragic and untimely passing. In Emersyn’s honor, they have been committed to advocating for paid family and medical leave so that other families can spend time caring for their loved ones without the added stress of financial hardship and fear of job loss. Under the proposed legislation, all working individuals would contribute to support the program, which would be administered by the Department of Labor & Industry. Eligible employees would be able to care for themselves in the event of a serious health condition, care for a close family member with a serious health condition, care for a new child, or care for a member of the military in qualifying exigent circumstances. Benefits will be calculated on a graduated scale based on a percentage of the statewide average weekly wage to ensure the program provides adequate wage replacement for lower wage workers. This will enable workers to utilize the fund when they need it, retain their jobs, and return to work, rather than utilizing state human services programs. The Family Care Act is modeled off similar state insurance funds already in place in other states. These funds help ensure small businesses can compete with large companies to recruit and retain top tier talent. State taxpayers will also benefit long-term from this program. Data shows that women who take paid leave are 39% less likely to report using public assistance in the year following a child’s birth. Yet it is estimated that approximately two-thirds of Pennsylvanians do not have access to paid leave through their jobs. While the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees unpaid time off to care for a new child or ill family member, those who work for small businesses are not covered by FMLA, and most Americans cannot sustain their families for a duration of time without a paycheck. This bill will be similar to SB 580 last session, which in addition to being sponsored by us, was sponsored by Senators Boscola, Cappelletti, Comitta, Fontana, Kane, Kearney, Laughlin, Muth, Schwank, Tartaglione, and Lindsey Williams. Please join us in sponsoring this important bipartisan legislation to help hard-working Pennsylvanians take care of their families as we confront the realization that unexpected and protracted illness can strike anyone at any time. The Family Care Act is the right thing to do – and now is the right time to do it. |
Introduced as SB580