Why the Fight for Paid Leave is Personal

By VOW member Brittany Kemp

I joined Family Values @ Work in Washington, DC, to push for paid family and medical leave. I met with members of Congress, shared my story, and encouraged them to sign on to the Healthy Families Act and the FAMILY Act so that my story doesn’t become the story of any other Nevadan family.

That awful day is burned into my memory. I had just returned to work at Macy’s after being furloughed for several months because of the pandemic. I received a phone call. My husband, a construction worker, had fallen 25 feet. I wasn’t sure at that moment if he would survive the fall. I also didn’t know at the time that I wouldn’t be approved for leave time to care for him and my family as he recovered.

Thankfully, he survived, but he’s permanently disabled from the fall. He has a traumatic brain injury. Because of the brain injury, he has constant headaches and mood swings. He also shattered his left arm and is unable to use his left hand. Our family also needed to adjust to his injuries. In the blink of an eye, my husband and my sons’ father almost died. He was left with permanent injuries and is no longer able to work. All of us experienced some depression as we adjusted.

After he was discharged from the hospital, my husband had numerous doctor appointments and physical therapy appointments. I wanted to be with my husband for his doctor visits. He doesn’t always understand or remember what is being said to him, plus he is unable to drive. I requested leave time under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This act was passed in 1993 to give workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or recover from serious illnesses or injuries. 

I should have qualified for leave time, but was told I had not been back on my job long enough after the furlough. Since I couldn’t get time off, we had to make agonizing decisions about which appointments he would attend and which ones he would miss. How could he recover and function to his full potential if we had to dole out his medical care in bits and pieces around my job?

Even though we narrowed down his appointments, I was constantly asking to leave work early and for other changes to my work schedule. Trying to balance my husband’s care and my job became too stressful. I left my job. I am now self-employed and work part time. 

While I hope it does not, what happened to my family could happen to any Nevada family. An accident or illness could change everything. While families are dealing with illnesses or injuries, they shouldn’t have to parcel out medical care because they can’t get time off work. They shouldn’t have to show up for work every day, knowing their injured or sick family member isn’t getting the care they need. 

Nevada workers are the lifeblood of Nevada businesses. In return for their labor, they need compassion from their employers. Since I worked in management, I saw several individuals use their vacation time, a time that’s supposed to be restful, to pursue medical care they delayed because they either couldn’t take the time off or couldn’t afford to be away from work without pay. It’s not really a vacation if a worker has to spend their time recovering from surgery or taking care of a family member. When do they get time to rest? 

I asked our congressional legislators to pass paid leave legislation. FMLA was a good first step, but it is not enough. Paid leave at the federal level would allow the United States to join the rest of the developed world–all offering paid leave to their workers. It is only the right thing to do.