National Care Policy

As a movement-network, FV@W’s work is rooted in building a world where everyone has access to paid family and medical leave, paid sick and safe days, and all the policies that support economic justice. While our origins come from building momentum for time to care policies and standards at the state and local levels, we also work towards winning these policies at the federal level because all workers, no matter where they live and work, deserve access to paid time to care. FV@W participates in key national coalitions including Paid Leave for All and Care Can’t Wait to build off of our network’s success to bring the best, most inclusive policies to all.

While our core work focuses specifically on paid family and medical leave, paid sick and safe days, and affordable child care – FV@W stays engaged across issue areas to invest in economic justice, protect democracy, and promote worker justice.

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act | Paid Leave for ALL

Our work at the state and local levels have the most inclusive models and the positive impact a national standard for paid leave would have on American life. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act has not yet been introduced in the current Congress, but this legislation will focus on providing paid leave for all workers in America.

It meets our ATTAIN-able standard of:
A: Accessible to all types of workers, in all types of jobs
T: Time enough to meet care needs for ourselves and loved ones
T: Tiered wage-replacement that guarantees low-income workers can afford to take leave
A: Accountable to the public through public administration and oversight
I: Insures that workers can return to their jobs
N: Never steals from social security or other earned benefits, or turns the clock back on state innovations

The Healthy Families Act | Paid Sick and Safe Days for America’s Workers

Our network has influenced the Healthy Families Act (HFA), which will be reintroduced later this year. This law will guarantee that workers earn up to 7 paid sick and safe days each year. If passed, workers will be able to use paid time off for personal care and safety, family illness, visit a doctor, or deal with the aftermath of domestic or sexual violence.

The HFA mirrors the progress built by the FV@W Network through 64 paid sick and safe days policies.