Diving letter:
- U.S. workers would receive 12 weeks of family and sick leave for partial pay under President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan, which he unveiled on Wednesday.
- The plan guarantees access to vacation 10 years after the installment of the program. It promises to give workers up to $ 4,000 per month and various types of vacation, including parental, family, health, and safety vacations. The White House estimates the program will cost around $ 225 billion over the next decade.
- Biden suggested numerous other measures in his plan. Should this happen, low- and middle-income families will not spend more than 7% of their income on “quality childcare,” it said. The plan also includes a universal preschool available to 3- and 4-year-olds.
Dive Insight:
Biden’s proposal is well received as US workers and employers continue to grapple with a lack of government-mandated vacation leave.
Before the pandemic, legislators, lawyers, workers and employers demanded national legislation on paid leave. Interest Groups floated several proposals until mid-2018. There was the Workflex in the 21st Century Act, which was supposed to solve the patchwork that was created by emerging government sick leave mandates. Then there was the FAMILY Act, which finances 60 days of paid vacation for eligible employees through an income tax. Marco Rubio presented a bill that would allow new parents to withdraw part of their social security to finance their vacation. But none of the proposals received sustained attention in Congress.
The pandemic forced a temporary solution. Former President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 18, 2020, which requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to offer two types of paid vacation to workers affected by the pandemic.
But that law came with a sunset date, even though Biden extended the tax credit Employers could volunteer to provide paid FFCRA vacation. Some calls were made to close the gap, but political fault lines nonetheless reappearedEven as the number of coronavirus cases increased, schools and care facilities remained closed and many employers continued their virtual work.
Democratic lawmakers have signaled support for Biden’s proposal. “It is unacceptable – and frankly a national shame – that we are still forcing workers to make these impossible decisions in 2021,” Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said in a statement shared with HR Dive. “It has been a long time since this country established a national program of paid family and sick leave, and I am grateful that President Biden recognizes the importance of this in rebuilding an economy that works for everyone.”
However, the president’s plan faces the obstacle faced by many previous vacation proposals: GOP lawmakers who have long criticized the cost of such laws.
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