Julie Kushner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 25, 2024

SENATOR KUSHNER JOINS FEDERAL LABOR SECRETARY JULIE SU TO PROMOTE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

Senator Julie Kushner, Labor Secretary Julie Su, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury), who is Senate Chair of the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee, today joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Acting Secretary Julie Su for a roundtable discussion on the need for a federal paid family leave policy, perhaps one that mirrors Connecticut’s PFML plan, which passed in 2019 and took effect in 2022.

Connecticut’s state plan provides up to 12 weeks of wage replacement benefits for state residents who need to take time off from work to care for a new child, a family member with serious health condition, their own serious health condition, a family emergency because of being on military active duty, or to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor. Since its start, Connecticut’s PFML program has paid more than $560 million in wage replacements to over 90,000 residents.

The 90-minute discussion at the Manufacturing and Technical Community Hub in New Haven attracted more than two dozen legislators, business owners, and employee and family advocates, and was hosted by Secretary Su and Congresswoman DeLauro, who is a staunch advocate for the creation of a federal PFML program.

“I know from personal experience that having the ability to be with a loved one when they’re sick, or spending time with a newborn baby, is more important than anything,” Sen. Kushner said.

“More than 90,000 Connecticut residents have used our state paid family and medical leave program, and I remember that right after Paid Leave began, I was talking to a Danbury constituent who had just started her leave, and she was thrilled at the chance to take time away from work and focus on her newborn baby.

“I’ve heard so many positive stories of Connecticut families using Paid Leave: a father who works for an insurance company but who had to use all of his vacation and sick time just to be with his newborn daughter, or the mother who needs flexibility in her work schedule to take her daughter with a chronic disease to and from medical appointments.

“There are literally tens of thousands of stories like this in Connecticut – and all of these families are now living better, more fulfilling lives thanks to Connecticut’s paid family and medical leave program.  And we should have this program at the federal level so we can make a positive difference in the lives of working people all across America.

“I was grateful to have the opportunity today to meet with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to discuss the importance of paid family leave, and I want to thank Congresswoman DeLauro for her leadership at the national level on this very important family economic issue.”

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