Washington, D.C. — On Tuesday, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to require employers to provide six weeks of fully paid leave for new parents, expanding on California’s existing partial paid leave law. Center for American Progress President and CEO Neera Tanden issued the following statement in response:
The unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors to provide San Francisco residents with stronger paid family leave benefits is an important step forward for working families. While Washington remains gridlocked, a growing number of states and cities are leading the way to ensure that today’s workplace policies meet the demands of a 21st-century economy.
All workers deserve to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they will no longer be forced to choose between their caregiving responsibilities and keeping their jobs. It is now time for Congress to step up for working families and pass a national paid family leave program.
San Francisco’s paid leave program comes just days after New York state passed a budget agreement that would provide up to 12 weeks of paid family leave. The United States remains an extreme outlier among advanced economies because U.S. workers have no right to access paid leave for any reason at all.
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For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Chelsea Kiene at [email protected] or 202.478.5328.
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