Gideon's bill would make Maine a national leader on paid family leave
A bill designed to create a program for paid family and medical leave in Maine was vetted at a public hearing before the Labor and Housing Committee Friday. Mainers who spoke in favor described difficult personal situations, where trying to recover from injuries or care for loved ones meant losing their paychecks and often slipping into poverty.
Policy analysts testified that the bill as written is one of the best in the country in providing for this unmet need.
“This bill is about the health and economic security of families in our state,” said House Speaker Sara Gideon (D-Freeport), the lead sponsor of the legislation. “In our country, one in four new moms return to work within ten days of giving birth, and every year, thousands of Maine workers and their loved ones experience personal health issues that force them to make impossible choices: taking unpaid time off, the potential loss of their job, the neglect of their own health issues or tough choices regarding the care for a loved one.”
If passed, the program would cover 95 percent of private employees and offer up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, as well as 20 weeks of paid medical or military leave. Employees would put less than one percent of their weekly paycheck into a paid leave fund, with low-income workers receiving a larger share of their regular wages during paid leave than a high-income earner, according to the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP).
Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/gideons-bill-would-make-maine-a-national-leader-on-paid-family-leave/