This was a vote on passing H.R. 626, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009. The Act, among other things, provided for 4 paid weeks of parental leave for federal employees. Federal employees were permitted under existing law to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave. However, existing law did not provide that any portion of those 12 weeks would be paid.
Supporters of the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act claimed it would improve the ability of the federal government to recruit and retain workers by providing a benefit many workers in the private sector receive. Opponents claimed that it would cost additional billions of dollars that the government could not afford at a time it was running large deficits.
Rep. Lynch (D-MA), a major supporter of the Act, first noted that current law already provided federal workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave. He then said H.R. 626 “does nothing more than permit those Federal employees . . . to receive paid leave for 4 weeks out of the 12 weeks to which they already have access and . . . provides employees the option to use accrued sick or annual leave, if available, for the remaining 8 weeks. . . .”
He then noted that “America is lagging behind in offering paid leave for parents. Currently, the Federal Government, as an employer, guarantees zero paid leave for parents in any segment of the workforce. However, H.R. 626, once enacted, will, in fact, change that . . . most Federal employees cannot afford to take unpaid leave. This often forces these employees to choose between spending more time with their newborn child or maintaining an income to support their families . . . .” Lynch added that, since the federal government is the largest employer in the country, “its policies in this area do set a tone for the country.”
Rep. Issa (R-CA), who was leading the opposition to the bill, claimed it “sends the wrong message at the wrong time to working American taxpayers and families that are struggling in difficult times.” He argued that millions of Americans have lost their jobs: “(B)ut in fact, there's no suffering (among federal employees) in Washington.” He also claimed that the bill has “no protections against . . . those who do not need this special benefit getting it . . . “ Issa added that “in a bad time, when tens of thousands of auto workers are being laid off . . . we're looking at a new benefit that could easily cost $4 billion over the next 10 years.”
Referring to the fact that the bill will enable more federal workers to be away from their jobs, Issa claimed: “(I)f you create additional days the Federal workforce will be off, you can only have one of two choices. Either their labor wasn't needed and, as a result, doesn't need to be replaced, or their labor was needed and will be replaced. Replacement costs money. That ultimately will lead to a higher cost.”
Lynch responded by suggesting that the Republicans were just using the poor current economic conditions as an excuse to oppose a bill they never supported.
The legislation passed on a vote of 258-154. Two hundred and thirty-four Democrats and twenty-four Republicans voted “aye”. One hundred and forty-nine Republicans and five Democrats voted “nay”. As a result, the House passed and sent on to the Senate the bill providing federal employees with 4 weeks of paid parental leave.
The Middle-Class Position:
The birth or adoption of a child is a life-changing event, yet many current and aspiring middle-class families cannot afford to take time off to welcome and bond with their new child. While the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993, guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave to many employees for a personal or family illness or a new child, there is currently no federal requirement that employers offer paid leave. This legislation would answer that need in part by providing paid sick leave to all employees of the federal government, the nation’s largest employer. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act will ensure that no federal employee will have to choose between caring for a newborn and receiving a needed paycheck. The bill is widely seen as a first step toward guaranteeing paid leave to private sector United States employees, a critical measure to stabilize middle-class families.
From the Experts:
“The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009 (FEPPLA) will improve the family/work balance of the over 2.7 million federal employees by providing for some paid parental leave. Not only will this legislation allow new mothers to take paid leave, without using a cobbled together combination of paid vacation time and sick days, it will also encourage new fathers to spend time with their new children – an approach that, much like the Family and Medical Leave Act, helps combat gender discrimination and insidious stereotypes about gender roles. In addition, FEPPLA will help the federal government gain and retain valuable employees.” – Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, American Association of University Women, February 12, 2009
“The writing is on the wall: Working families need paid time off when they have a child. The federal government can provide paid parental leave with a relatively small investment, and in doing so it shores up family budgets and ensures continued spending by federal employees. In the short term, a lack of paid parental leave means that family income takes a harsh blow when a new child arrives and new parents must cut back on goods and services in the private-sector economy…In the longer term, family incomes and the broader economy suffer because women who do not have access to paid maternity leave earn less over time. Men and children suffer, too, because men are generally the higher-wage earners and therefore take unpaid leave less frequently. Lack of paid parental leave deprives men of the benefit of bonding with and caring for their new infant.” – Ann O’Leary, Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Health, Economic, and Family Security, June 4, 2009
Beyond this Bill:
The United States lags behind many other countries in its provision of time off for illness and to care for newborns and ill relatives. The United States is one of only five countries in the world that does not offer any paid leave for new mothers, while most other countries mandate that employers provide paid time off for illness. While some states, like New Jersey, have enacted paid family leave legislation that allows paid time off to care for newborns and sick relatives and other localities, like San Francisco, have enacted paid sick leave legislation, federal law should guarantee that all workers have access to these valuable benefits. Such benefits help attract and retain workers, improve children’s health, increase the likelihood of long-term employment, and make the entire workforce more productive by preventing illnesses from worsening and spreading.
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Injustice Index Facts
Number of countries, out of 173 studied, that offer guaranteed leave with income to women in connection with childbirth: 168
Number of these countries that offer 14 or more weeks of such leave: 98
Number of weeks of paid leave that employers in the United States must provide to women in connection with childbirth: 0
Percentage of the 100 best employers for working mothers that provide six weeks or less of paid maternity leave, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research: 52
Percentage of private sector workers in the United States with any type of paid personal leave: 37
Number of countries that provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illness, which the United States does not require: 145
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