Underwood, Smith Introduce New Legislation to Expand FMLA Coverage, Strengthen Worker Protections
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Job Protection Act, new legislation to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 to more workers. Every year, nearly 2.6 million workers who need family or medical leave do not take it because they fear losing their jobs if they do and are currently ineligible for FMLA protections.
The Job Protection Act would be the largest expansion of family and medical leave protections in nearly 30 years. The legislation would extend FMLA protections to tens of millions of vulnerable workers by ensuring the law encompasses all workers – no matter the size of their employer or part-time status – by shortening the timeline for employees to be eligible for coverage. Importantly, the Job Protection Act ensures workers can take full advantage of paid leave programs as they are implemented because it would ensure workers who take paid leave are protected and may return to their jobs.
"The Job Protection Act is common-sense legislation to ensure every worker in America can take family and medical leave without risking losing their job,"said Underwood. "As we build a better America by fighting to expand paid leave, it's essential to ensure workers—whether they work for a small employer or they work part-time—also have the right to return to their jobs following leave."
"Under our current laws, employees are required to work for the same employer for an entire year before they are eligible for job protection if they have to take leave for a family or medical circumstance,"said Smith. "The Job Protection Act would make sure that millions more workers can take family or medical leave and not have to choose between their jobs and taking care of their families."
"The Job Protection Act is a critical step forward for working families to expand access to the vital protections afforded by the Family and Medical Leave Act," said Jocelyn Frye,President of the National Partnership for Women & Families. "The ability to care for your family or yourself should not be reserved for a privileged few. By introducing this legislation, Representative Underwood and Senator Smith are standing up for care and the caregiving needs of all families and showing that care is a necessity in this country."
"Thank you to Senator Tina Smith and Representative Lauren Underwood and all of the cosponsors for leading on this important legislation to strengthen FMLA's protections and to lay the groundwork for an equitable paid family and medical leave law in this country. It is unconscionable that in America today more than 3 in 4 workers lack paid family leave from their jobs and millions lack the guarantee of even unpaid leave. The pandemic made clear that working families need more support, particularly women and caregivers, and closing these gaps is a step toward the care infrastructure and paid leave protections we need for a strong and resilient economy." – said Dawn Huckelbridge, Director of Paid Leave for All
"Working people shouldn't be afraid to lose our livelihoods simply because we need time off to care for ourselves and our families. The Job Protection Act brings us closer to the promise of making family and medical leave for all workers a reality," said AFL-CIO President, Liz Shuler. "The past two years have brought into focus the need for comprehensive policies and protections that provide more flexibility to working people. Making these changes will ensure equity in our workforce, particularly for low-wage workers, people of color and women, many of whom still have not returned to the workforce. It's past time that we recognized family and medical leave as a basic human necessity."
"Currently, the FMLA excludes the majority of small businesses and 44% of the workforce. Small businesses need an approach that closes the FMLA's gaps to provide the security and predictability that employees in businesses of all sizes, the self-employed, and small business owners themselves need. However, this eligibility expansion is only part of what small businesses truly need, which is a robust paid leave program. Using current FMLA thresholds in a national paid leave program would fall far short of that goal. That's why the Job Protection Act is a good first step towards robust paid leave and has the support of Main Street Alliance members."–said Didier Trinh, Director of Policy and Political Impact, Main Street Alliance
"The American Sustainable Business Network and our members are highly supportive of Representative Underwood's and Senator Smith's Job Protection Act. The protections offered by this legislation will ensure that all workers, especially those historically underserved, have the support needed to remain in the workforce, which in turn strengthens the business community, and supports a vibrant and healthy labor market," said Carolyn Pincus, VP of Strategy and Development of the American Sustainable Business Network.
Currently, only 56 percent of the U.S. workforce is protected by the FMLA, leaving out workers at smaller employers, people who work one or multiple part-time jobs, and those reentering the workforce who either lost their jobs or had to quit due to caregiving responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Job Protection Act's extension of FMLA protections to people returning to the workforce, as well as those who have reduced their hours due to caregiving or medical concerns, will be critical to ensuring Americans are able to return to and stay in the workforce without sacrificing their health or the health of their families.
A fact sheet on the Job Protection Act can be found here, and video from the press conference can be found here.
A list of the over 100 national, state, and local organizations who endorse the Job Protection Act, including paid leave advocates, women's and labor rights organizations, small business groups, and labor unions, can be found here.
Additional quotes in support of the Job Protection Act can be found here.
The Job Protection Act closes gaps in FMLA coverage and strengthens the law's protections by:
· Expanding protections to those working for smaller employers by reducing the current FMLA coverage threshold from 50 employees to one employee.
- It also eliminates the requirement that a workplace have 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius, which currently excludes an estimated 33 million workers.
· Protecting part-time workers and those working multiple jobs by eliminating the requirement that an employee work 1,250 hours at a single workplace over the previous year.
- The hours requirement disproportionately impacts women—nearly two-thirds of part-time workers are women.
· Ensuring that people changing jobs or returning to the workforce will be protected by reducing the amount of time they must have worked at their workplace from 12 months to 90 days.
- This requirement excludes more than one in five workers, and especially large shares of women (23.3 percent), Hispanic workers (25.5 percent) and Black workers (25.8 percent).
The Job Protection Act is cosponsored in the Senate by: Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Dick Durbin (D-IL); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Alex Padilla (D-CA); and Patty Murray (D-WA).
The Job Protection Act is cosponsored in the House of Representatives by:Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03); Dina Titus (NV-01); Mike Levin (CA-49); Lucy McBath (GA-06); Katie Porter (CA-45); Jackie Speier (CA-14); Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC); Dwight Evans (PA-03); André Carson (IN-07); Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20); Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05); Jahana Hayes (CT-05); Barbara Lee (CA-13); Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12); Jan Schakowsky (IL-09); Danny K. Davis (IL-07); Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08); Ted W. Lieu (CA-33); Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04); Ayanna Pressley (MA-07); Thomas R Suozzi (NY-03); Mark Takano (CA-41); Jamie Raskin (MD-08); James P. McGovern (MA-02); Adam Smith (WA-09); Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18); Marie Newman (IL-03); Judy Chu (CA-27); Deborah Ross (NC-02); Kathy Manning (NC-06); G.K. Butterfield (NC-01); David Price (NC-04); Ro Khanna (CA-17); Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11); Anthony Brown (MD-04); Rashida Tlaib (MI-13); Andy Levin (MI-09); Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01); Sean Casten (IL-06); Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14); Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44); Haley Stevens (MI-11); Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12); John B. Larson (CT-01); Nikema Williams (GA-05); Pramila Jayapal (WA-07); Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24); and Lois Frankel (FL-21).
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