
A new North Star on paid leave from the North Star State
Molly Weston Williamson explains the national importance of Minnesota becoming the first state in the Midwest to guarantee paid leave.
Molly Weston Williamson is a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress and a nationally recognized expert on paid leave policy. Previously, she was the director of paid leave and future of work at A Better Balance, where she led A Better Balance’s advocacy around paid leave laws across the country and directed A Better Balance’s efforts to address the needs of all workers in a changing workforce. She was appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) as an inaugural member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority; she has served on the board since 2019 and chairs the Outreach and Engagement Committee. She has been quoted in such publications as The New York Times, Slate, and Consumer Reports. Her academic work has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, the NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, and the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal. She clerked for the Honorable Thomas L. Ambro of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with high honors from Swarthmore College and received her J.D. from Yale Law School.
Molly Weston Williamson explains the national importance of Minnesota becoming the first state in the Midwest to guarantee paid leave.
With the governor’s signature, Minnesota’s new legislation will guarantee paid family and medical leave to nearly all workers, starting in 2026.
Guaranteeing paid leave for all would powerfully bolster economic security in retirement, particularly for women.
In order to better support all workers—especially LGBTQI+ workers—policymakers must design paid leave policies that are inclusive of chosen family and reflect the diverse caregiving needs of people across the country.
Thirty years after the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act, most restaurant workers still aren’t covered.
This fact sheet provides an overview of unpaid family and medical leave laws in the United States, including the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
This fact sheet provides an overview of paid sick time laws in the United States.
This fact sheet provides an overview of paid family and medical leave laws in the United States.
Molly Weston Williamson examines how paid sick time for working parents could lower children's chances of contracting RSV, the flu, COVID-19, or Strep A.
Sen. Marco Rubio’s purported paid parental leave plan would hurt, rather than help, women by cutting the retirement benefits they need.