NYC Gazette

The ‘Job Protection Act’ Would Expand Family and Medical Leave to Small Business Employees, Part-Time Workers, Workers with Multiple Jobs 

Only 56 Percent of Workforce Currently Protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act

Washington D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) to introduce the Job Protection Act to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to protect millions of workers who are currently unable to take time off to care for themselves or their families. Gaps in FMLA coverage lead nearly 2.6 million workers every year who need family or medical leave to not take it because they fear they will lose their jobs if they do.

Currently only 56 percent of the workforce is protected by the FMLA. The Job Protection Act would close gaps in the FMLA by expanding protections to workers with smaller employers, part-time workers, workers with more than one job, and people who are returning to the workforce. Gaps in FMLA coverage disproportionately harm women, who are more likely to need leave (largely due to caregiving responsibilities or pregnancy) but are less likely to be eligible for job-protected leave under the FMLA.

“Paid family and medical leave should be guaranteed for every American worker and right now our system leaves far too many to fall through the cracks,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “The Job Protection Act recognizes the fundamental dignity of work and will ensure that arbitrary criteria and bureaucratic red tape don’t get in the way of American workers caring for themselves and their families. I’m proud to fight for expanded family and medical leave and for policies that uplift working families because no American should have to choose between a job and their health or raising a family.”

The Job Protection Act would protect part-time workers and those who have multiple jobs by removing the requirement that an employee must work 1,250 hours at a single workplace. It would also ensure that people who are changing jobs or coming back to the workplace are protected by reducing the amount of time they must have worked at their previous job from 12 months to 90 days. This expansion would protect the large share of workers returning to the workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a member of the Congressional Dads Caucus, Congressman Goldman has made fighting for policies that uplift working families a priority during his first term in Congress.

Last month, Congressman Goldman cosponsored the Universal School Meals Program Act to provide free breakfast, lunch, and dinner to every student, expanding on the success of the universal free lunch programs implemented during the pandemic and bringing long-term relief to millions of food-insecure families.

Original source can be found here.