Bipartisan Bill Would Help States, Businesses Expand Paid Leave

by Kerrie Rushton

Top image: Representatives Stephenie Bice and Chrissy Houlahan at a 2023 event to launch the House Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group

Thirty-two years ago, u.s. lawmakers approved the Family and Medical Leave Act, a bill that would allow eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for specific family and medical reasons without fear of losing their jobs. Since then, private sector businesses, along with local and state lawmakers, have worked to shift this leave from unpaid to paid.

Paid family leave is a win-win for American families and businesses. For individuals, the benefits are obvious: peace of mind and a paycheck when taking off work after the birth of a child, to care for a sick relative, or recover from a serious illness.

“We’re not mandating a one-size-fits-all federal program, we’re building a flexible federal strategy that supports state innovation and addresses the real challenges families face today.” –Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK)

For employers, the positive outcomes also are clear. According to a Joint Economic Committee report, having access to paid family leave significantly increases the likelihood that a worker will return to their job instead of dropping out of the labor force. “Businesses gain from retaining workers with firm-specific knowledge and skills, and from not having to bear the sizable costs of finding and training new employees,” the report concluded. Businesses that offer paid leave also enjoy increased productivity and higher levels of employee satisfaction.

Despite positive outcomes and growing public support, less than one-quarter of civilian workers have access to paid family leave. The United States is one of only seven countries that do not have some form of paid leave.

Two federal lawmakers are working to address that deficit.

With six bipartisan cosponsors, in April U.S. Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) introduced legislation, the More Paid Leave for More Americans Act, which would expand access to paid family leave across the country by providing resources to states to facilitate change. The legislation, which is the first-ever bipartisan paid leave bill introduced in the U.S. House, is the culmination of two years of collaboration by a working group that included an equal number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

“The American people have waited too long for us to solve a major issue that vexes nearly every family in the nation,” Rep. Houlahan said last year.

Engage, since its founding in 2018, has been instrumental in supporting the House Bipartisan Working Group from the beginning, and continues to work closely with Reps. Bice and Houlahan.

As the working group researched options for reform, it became clear that, on this issue, U.S. states had been acting as laboratories for thoughtful debate and policymaking that addressed workers’ needs — and the needs of their employers. So when Reps. Bice and Houlahan went to put pen to legislative paper, they devised a framework that, if signed into law, will allow each state the flexibility to develop a system that works best for residents, families, and businesses in their respective jurisdictions.

For Rep. Bice and her GOP colleagues, this framework is particularly important. “The More Paid Leave for More Americans Act empowers states to create their own sustainable paid leave programs through public-private partnerships, while also ensuring coordination and consistency across state lines,” said Rep. Bice. “We’re not mandating a one-size-fits-all federal program, we’re building a flexible federal strategy that supports state innovation and addresses the real challenges families face today.”

The More Paid Leave For More Americans Act would establish a three-year pilot program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), that would offer competitive grants to states that establish paid family leave programs through partnerships with private entities. To qualify for grants, states would have to meet certain minimum standards, including offering at least six weeks of paid leave and wage replacement of 50-67% based on income with a maximum benefit cap.

The bill also calls for the creation a national framework that would help states coordinate benefits, share data, and reduce confusion for workers who live and work in different states. More specifically, the framework would help states:

• Develop best practices from existing state programs.
• Harmonize policies and resolve conflicts; and
• Support the creation of an electronic communication system to promote integrity, efficiency, and accessibility.

To be eligible for the competitive grants described above, states would have to contribute to the national framework. Rep. Bice offered two innovative options state policymakers could find in this type of database. Colorado offers a state-administered social insurance program that provides paid, job-protected leave for eligible employees. It is funded by premiums from employers with 10 or more employers and their employees. Similarly in New Hampshire, employers and employees contribute insurance premiums to fund the leave benefit while a private partner administers program benefits.

Rep. Bice is proud of the bipartisan process that birthed the More Paid Leave for More Americans Act. “We met with numerous stakeholder groups, industry leaders, state and federal officials, and even business leaders to understand the need,” she said in an interview. “Chrissy and I, alongside other members of the working group Reps. Colin Allred (D-TX), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Julia Letlow (R-LA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), wanted a product that could get bipartisan support and we have achieved that goal.”