Paid Leave

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to recover from their own serious health conditions or to care for a newborn, a newly adopted child, or a seriously ill family member. However, up to 40 percent of people in the workforce are not eligible for leave under FMLA—and many cannot afford to take unpaid leave.

For good reason, Members of Congress from all parties are now turning their attention to paid leave. As policymakers consider ways to support working families, any policy involving paid leave should include family caregivers. This advocacy fact sheet, “Family Caregivers Need to Be Included in the National Conversation on Paid Family Leave,” outlines: 1) the ways in which caregivers serve as the backbone of our long-term care system; 2) how a lack of paid leave can lead to financial strain and negative workplace impacts for caregivers, and; 3) why paid leave programs result in better health outcomes and lower overall health care system costs.

We encourage coalitions to disseminate this fact sheet to their networks and use it in their advocacy efforts, helping to ensure that caregivers are included in the national conversation on paid leave.