States With Paid Leave
When you compare the United States to other industrialized nations, you probably don’t expect to discover that the U.S. is one of only two countries in the world that does not provide paid family and medical leave to its workers. That means that most new parents (of either gender), individuals with sick loved ones, or a worker who is seriously ill do not have access to guaranteed paid time for caregiving. Even worse, depending on who you love or what your family looks like, our current system of unpaid leave might not even be available to you if your situation isn’t covered by our narrow definition of family.
That’s why Family Values @ Work and our state partners have been championing this issue across the country by raising awareness, changing public opinion, engaging thousands of people and building broad and diverse coalitions that are winning campaigns for paid family and medical leave. Recently, voters in 15 swing states across the country made it clear that paid family and medical leave is a political priority for them.
So far campaigns have been successful in six states, including:
- California
- Rhode Island
- New Jersey
- New York
- District of Columbia
- Washington
- Massachusetts
If you don’t see your state here, don’t fret! We are actively running several campaigns to bring guaranteed paid family and medical leave to even more workers across the country. You can get in touch with your state’s coalition here. Ultimately, we need a national standard that provides paid family and medical leave to all Americans, and Family Values @ Work is helping lead the charge. If you’d like to help us cover everyone, please take action!
