Celebrating the Reintroduction of the FAMILY and Healthy Families Acts

This is a momentous week for Family Values @ Work and our Network. This week, Senators Bernie Sanders and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Representative Rosa DeLauro, reintroduced the FAMILY and Healthy Families Acts in their respective chambers.

Sen. Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. DeLauro (D-CT-03) reintroduced The Healthy Families Act, one of the signature pieces of legislation that FV@W supports in our movement to win paid time to care for all. This legislation will guarantee that workers earn up to 7 paid sick days each year. They can use the time to care for a personal or family illness, visit a doctor, or deal with the aftermath of domestic or sexual violence.

Millions of Americans working without paid sick and safe days face the impossible choice between caring for their health and that of their family, or keeping their paycheck and job. At a time when many families are worried about their financial security, the threat of losing a job or needed wages forces many workers to go to their jobs even though they are ill.

This “choice” is no choice at all, and is entirely preventable through policy change. FV@W and our Network intimately understand the need for paid sick and safe days, as we’ve helped more than 16 million workers focus on their time to care. 

Another tool in our arsenal that was reintroduced by Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. DeLauro (D-CT-03) this week was the FAMILY Act. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act) will pool small contributions to guarantee that workers can draw wages while out on leave to care for a new child or a serious personal or family illness. It will help to lighten the load of workers who need time to care by providing some income during their trying time.

Through our over 20 years of advocacy, we have actualized a reality where families put their care needs first, when they have access to both paid family and medical leave AND paid sick and safe days. These are distinct policies, meant to solve distinct problems that we have helped to make real across the country. In 12 states there is now paid family and medical leave, and in 64 jurisdictions people have access to paid sick and safe days. These policies transformed the lives of more than 55 million people.

There is no functioning economy without vibrant, interdependent communities––that is when individuals and families can support each other’s health and bodily autonomy in pursuit of our collective physical and mental well-being. We can make this happen by passing the Healthy Families Act and the FAMILY Act into law for all.

We are grateful to Sens. Sanders and Gillibrand and Rep. DeLauro for their commitment to the movement for paid time to care. We have an opportunity to change the reality of millions of working families who don’t have time to care by passing the FAMILY and Healthy Families Acts into law. Families need paid sick and safe days and paid leave now.