Congresswoman Matsui Applauds Plans to Strengthen America's Working Families by Ensuring Paid Sick Leave & Expanding Access to Paid Family Leave

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 15, 2015

CONTACT: JONELLE TRIMMER
(202) 225-7163

Congresswoman Matsui Applauds Plans to Strengthen America's Working Families by Ensuring Paid Sick Leave andamp; Expanding Access to Paid Family Leave

CA - Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-06), a leader in the House Democratic Caucus on women's issues, applauded plans announced by the White House today that will strengthen middle class families by working to pass a bill that ensures earned paid sick leave and by proposing new funding in the budget to help more states create paid family leave programs, similar to the programs already in place in California.

"Today, too many working parents find themselves facing a choice between being good parents at home or good employees in the workplace. This is especially true for women, 40 percent of whom are the primary breadwinners in their families," said Congresswoman Matsui. "We must bring our workplace policies into the 21st century. Family-friendly policies - including paid sick days and paid family leave - benefit both the employees and the employer, reducing turnover and increasing productivity. I have heard clearly from my constituents how important these policies are, and I applaud the President for taking action."

In 1965, both parents were working outside the home in 40 percent of America's households with children. Today, both parents are working outside the home in 60 percent of these households. Similarly, in the early 1970s, 31 percent of women with children under the age of five were participating in the labor force. Today, that figure has more than doubled to 63 percent of women with children under the age of five.

The plans outlined by the White House today include a number of proposals strongly supported by Congresswoman Matsui:

• Pushing Congress to Pass the Healthy Families Act. The Healthy Families Act, sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patty Murray, would allow working Americans to earn up to seven days per year of paid sick leave. No working parent should have to choose between sending a sick child to school in the morning or losing that day's paycheck. Yet there are 43 million workers across the country who currently have no paid sick leave.
• Calling on States and Cities to Pass Laws Similar to Healthy Families Act. While Congress is considering the Healthy Families Act, the President will be urging states and cities to pass their own laws allowing workers to earn sick leave. Connecticut and California have enacted statewide paid sick days laws and, this year, voters in Massachusetts supported earned sick days by an overwhelming majority.
• Providing New Funding to Help More States Create Paid Leave Programs. Three statesandmdash;California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island - have launched successful programs offering paid family and medical leave, including for such events as the birth of a child, benefiting the workers in those states. The Administration is proposing significant new mandatory funding to help additional states develop these key, effective programs.

"California has been a leader in implementing family-friendly policies, and it is past-time that the nation follows our state's lead," Matsui concluded. "Over the next two years, I will be leading my colleagues in the fight to enact policies that work for families - like paid sick leave and paid family leave - in order to give working parents the tools they need to be successful in the home and the workplace."

# # #