Across the Aisle Discusses the State of Paid Leave in the United States

The United States is a global outlier on paid family and medical leave. Although 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed paid family and medical leave laws, the US is the only OECD country and one of only six nations worldwide without nationally guaranteed paid leave.

To take up this timely issue, the Institute of Global Politics Women’s Initiative hosted a virtual Across the Aisle on July 25th that featured discussions with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), co-chairs of the Bicameral, Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group, and between Columbia professors Jane Waldfogel and Sandra Black.

The panelists discussed the history of paid leave in the United States, recent bipartisan progress on national paid and medical leave policies, and the work still ahead for the 118thCongress. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are working together to address this issue, seeking to advance bipartisan paid leave policies. During the IGP discussion, Senator Gillibrand, longtime sponsor of the FAMILY Act, announced that she and Senator Cassidy hope to have a bill ready as soon as this fall.

The guiding question for the bipartisan working group, as Senator Gillibrand emphasized, is, “What can we do for the worker who's really going to be left out every time?... Parental leave seems to be something that not a lot of places cover, and for that low-wage worker, it can make the difference in being able to bond with your baby, nurse, and manage being a new parent.”

Gillibrand praised the bipartisan coalition in reaching a compromise. She noted that even J.D. Vance (R-OH), the vice presidential candidate, upon hearing discussions about the legislation, wanted to ensure provisions for grandparents and other caregivers. “It's not enough to just create a vision because you need people to want to do it with you,” Gillibrand said. “You need colleagues to say, 'I like that idea, I like how you pay for it, I like how you structured it.' If it's not bipartisan, it's not going to become law,”.

Senator Cassidy also emphasized the bipartisan nature of the working group’s efforts, noting the support their work has garnered from unexpected allies, even fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill.

The issue of paid leave particularly impacts women. “When Covid hit, five million women left the workplace because someone needed to sit with the kids while they were doing online learning,” Senator Gillibrand noted. “More often than not, it's the mom who takes the moment in her life to meet that need.”

Waldfogel, a leading scholar on paid family leave proposals, said state laws are a “laboratory for reform” for future federal plans. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have passed paid family and medical leave laws. “We have more state policies than any other country,” she said. Her research on paid leave at the state level has found that employer support increased during the pandemic, and those employers who used the leave policy were most supportive. 

The webinar concluded with a discussion on funding the proposal, with Senator Cassidy cautioning about the deficit, yet Senator Gillibrand sounded a note of confidence that the bill can be structured to avoid new spending or taxes.