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| It’s not perfect, but paid family leave for federal workers should be celebrated | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| IT IS long overdue. It doesn’t go far enough. And its merits are such that it really shouldn’t have had to require any kind of trade-off to get it accomplished. But legislation, worked out in a deal between President Trump and congressional Democrats, to provide paid family leave to federal workers is nonetheless noteworthy and should be celebrated. It represents an important step in the effort to make paid leave a guaranteed right for all U.S. workers. | IT IS long overdue. It doesn’t go far enough. And its merits are such that it really shouldn’t have had to require any kind of trade-off to get it accomplished. But legislation, worked out in a deal between President Trump and congressional Democrats, to provide paid family leave to federal workers is nonetheless noteworthy and should be celebrated. It represents an important step in the effort to make paid leave a guaranteed right for all U.S. workers. |
| As part of negotiations over the must-pass annual defense policy bill, the administration agreed to a provision that would allow the 2.1 million federal employees to take paid leave to care for a new baby after birth, adoption or initiation of foster care. Democrats in return agreed to go along with plans to establish the Space Force as a separate military service (albeit still inside the Department of the Air Force), a priority for Mr. Trump and one that makes considerable sense as adversaries view space as a battle zone. | As part of negotiations over the must-pass annual defense policy bill, the administration agreed to a provision that would allow the 2.1 million federal employees to take paid leave to care for a new baby after birth, adoption or initiation of foster care. Democrats in return agreed to go along with plans to establish the Space Force as a separate military service (albeit still inside the Department of the Air Force), a priority for Mr. Trump and one that makes considerable sense as adversaries view space as a battle zone. |
| The measure easily passed both houses, with the Senate giving final approval Tuesday and sending it to the president, who promised to sign it into law quickly. A handful of Senate Republicans raised objections about the cost but, as is too often the case when both parties agree to get something they want, worry about the national debt was not much of an obstacle. | The measure easily passed both houses, with the Senate giving final approval Tuesday and sending it to the president, who promised to sign it into law quickly. A handful of Senate Republicans raised objections about the cost but, as is too often the case when both parties agree to get something they want, worry about the national debt was not much of an obstacle. |
| The measure amounts to the biggest victory for federal employees since adoption of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which provided for unpaid leave. Under the measure, civilian federal employees will no longer have to use accrued annual or sick leave to care for a newly arrived child, but will be able to take as much as 12 weeks of paid time off, the same currently enjoyed by members of the military. | The measure amounts to the biggest victory for federal employees since adoption of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which provided for unpaid leave. Under the measure, civilian federal employees will no longer have to use accrued annual or sick leave to care for a newly arrived child, but will be able to take as much as 12 weeks of paid time off, the same currently enjoyed by members of the military. |
| While the measure falls short of what some advocates had wanted by not allowing care for other family members, it nonetheless sets a new standard for the private sector to match. Recognition of the importance of paid family leave dates back at least 100 years. Experience has shown benefits to workers, in improved health and economic well-being, and employers, who are better able to attract and retain employees. Most every developed country in the world guarantees its citizens paid family leave, but in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 17 percent of workers have access to paid family leave. It is time for the nation’s largest employer to rectify that problem. | While the measure falls short of what some advocates had wanted by not allowing care for other family members, it nonetheless sets a new standard for the private sector to match. Recognition of the importance of paid family leave dates back at least 100 years. Experience has shown benefits to workers, in improved health and economic well-being, and employers, who are better able to attract and retain employees. Most every developed country in the world guarantees its citizens paid family leave, but in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 17 percent of workers have access to paid family leave. It is time for the nation’s largest employer to rectify that problem. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| Catherine Rampell: Paid family leave isn’t just a women’s issue. It’s an economic one. | Catherine Rampell: Paid family leave isn’t just a women’s issue. It’s an economic one. |
| Joni Ernst and Mike Lee: How to provide paid family leave without further indebting the nation | Joni Ernst and Mike Lee: How to provide paid family leave without further indebting the nation |
| George F. Will: Paid maternity leave? Your baby will get the bill. | George F. Will: Paid maternity leave? Your baby will get the bill. |
| Elizabeth Bruenig: Trump’s paid family leave plan would punish those who choose to have kids | Elizabeth Bruenig: Trump’s paid family leave plan would punish those who choose to have kids |
| Kunta Bedney: Fighting for universal paid leave — and workers’ rights | Kunta Bedney: Fighting for universal paid leave — and workers’ rights |
| Robert E. Rubin: America needs a universal paid leave program | Robert E. Rubin: America needs a universal paid leave program |
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