BAY SHORE, N.Y. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Thursday that she and other Democrats have a plan that would make every American eligible for up to three months of paid leave from their jobs in the case of a family emergency - and the average cost would amount to one cup of coffee a week.
Gillibrand has introduced federal legislation to establish a program to be run by the Social Security Administration that would give workers about two-thirds of their salaries for up to 12 weeks in a family crisis. The proposal would supplement the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act that protects workers who take unpaid leave for family emergencies.
“Too many families can’t afford to take that time off unpaid,” Gillibrand said. “They have mortgage payments, they have car payments, they have to feed their children, and so taking a leave that is unpaid isn’t feasible.”
Under the proposal, which also has been introduced in the House by Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Social Security Administration would operate the program. It would be funded by employee and employer contributions of 0.2 percent of wages. She said that would amount to an average of $2 a week. “It’s such a small amount,” she said.
Gillibrand said the program would be self-sufficient and not add to the federal budget.
“We are the only industrialized country in the world that does not have paid family medical leave,” the senator told reporters.
Gillibrand said the current law makes only about half of the workforce eligible to take unpaid leave in an emergency. She said only 12 percent of workers get paid leave through their employers.
Although there are no Republican co-sponsors to either the House or Senate legislation, Gillibrand said she will work in the coming months to build bi-partisan support.
Her staff provided results from a January 2013 poll conducted for the Washington-based advocacy group Small Business Majority that found 60 percent of small businesses in New York supported the idea of paid leave with shared contributions from employers and employees.
A message was left seeking comment with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of which more than 3 million businesses are members.
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