Jess’s Story

When I was three years old, I had a stroke.  My Mom was an hourly employee and had to take a ton of time off work to take care of me.  Very quickly, she used up the little paid time off she had, and she had to take the leave unpaid. She was worried about not making money, and without protection from the Family and Medical Leave Act, which had not yet been passed, she was worried her employer would even let her go.

My mom has told me how she was forced to worry about our family’s finances at a time when I was still in the hospital recovering.  Hard-working Americans like my mom shouldn’t be forced to deal with this kind of financial strain when they are caring for sick loved ones.