PAID Leave Act: Senator Murray to Introduce Updated Emergency Paid Leave; Small Business Support Bill In Response to Worsening Coronavirus Crisis

PAID Leave Act builds on bipartisan agreement in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that the U.S. needs a federal paid leave policy 

Under new PAID Leave Act, all workers will be allowed to take advantage of 14 paid sick days and 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave 

Bill will fully and quickly reimburse employers for all paid sick days and paid leave in 2020 and 2021 

(Washington, D.C.) – Today U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health and labor committee, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Chairwoman of the House Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senate lead on the FAMILY Act, announced plans to introduce the PAID Leave Act (Providing Americans Insured Days of Leave Act). The PAID Leave Act is a comprehensive emergency paid sick days and paid family and medical leave bill—fully funded by the federal government during this emergency—to provide additional support to workers and businesses during the coronavirus outbreak and future public health emergencies.

“I’m hearing from workers who urgently need to have the ability to stay home without losing a pay check or their job, and I’m hearing from businesses in Washington state and nationwide who care deeply about seeing their employees through these hard times but just don’t have the cash flow,” said Senator Murray. “Our legislation will ensure all workers have paid sick leave while protecting small businesses that are suddenly finding themselves struggling. This is good for workers, businesses, and critically, it will help slow the spread of the coronavirus. We should get it to the President’s desk as quickly as possible.”

Because small businesses across the country continue to feel the effects of the public health crisis, the bill will fully and quickly reimburse employers for all paid sick days and paid leave in 2020 and 2021. In order to ensure that business do no need to wait for tax credits, the bill will only require employers to provide documentation to the Department of Labor (DOL) to demonstrate they paid out sick days or leave in order to receive reimbursement. After 2021, the bill would allow workers to accrue seven paid sick days and establish a self-sustaining family and medical leave insurance program for all workers.

For all employees and independent contractors, this bill would:

• Provide 14 emergency paid sick days in the event of a public health emergency, including the current coronavirus crisis, reimbursed in full by the federal government.
• Provide workers with 12 weeks emergency paid family and medical leave, fully reimbursed by the federal government.
• Permanently ensure workers can accrue 7 paid sick days.
• Permanently enact a paid family and medical leave program (Senator Gillibrand’s and Representative DeLauro’s FAMILY Act).

The bill is being endorsed by: National Partnership for Women and Families, CLASP, Family Values at Work, Paid Leave for All, Center for American Progress, American Federation of Teachers.

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