Washington, DC - The DC Paid Leave Campaign, representing a diverse coalition of local businesses, community institutions, service providers, and advocacy organizations, strongly supports Councilmember Elissa Silverman’s “Universal Paid Leave Portability Amendment Act of 2022” (B24-0661), which would expand access to DC’s Paid Family Leave program for working families who have already earned paid leave, but who are in between jobs when they need to access that leave. This legislation is cosponsored by Councilmembers Christina Henderson, Robert White, Brianne Nadeau, Brooke Pinto, Mary Cheh, Janeese Lewis George, Charles Allen, and Trayon White.
“DC workers who have earned paid family or medical leave benefits should be able to access those benefits, even if they're in between jobs or were recently laid off. This is a question of basic rights and dignity for workers — and racial and gender justice,” said Dyana Forester, President, Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO. “I would like to thank the Councilmembers who have co-sponsored the Universal Paid Leave Portability Amendment Act of 2022 and call on the full Council to pass this legislation.”
“Making paid family leave benefits available to DC workers who are between jobs — and ineligible for unemployment insurance because they have experienced a life event that temporarily prevents them from working and/or seeking work — will close a gaping hole in the safety net for DC's working families,” said Laura Brown, Executive Director, First Shift Justice Project.
“Paid family and medical leave is a vital benefit for so many workers across the District, but the pandemic has shown gaps in the policy — leaving many unprotected in the middle of a public health emergency,” said Yael Shafritz, Interim Executive Director, DC Jobs with Justice. “We're glad to see that the Universal Paid Leave Portability Amendment Act of 2022 would fix this, ensuring paid family and medical leave would be available to DC workers who are in between jobs.”
When the DC Council passed the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act in 2016, which established benefits to private-sector workers for parental, medical, or family caregiving leave, these benefits were intended to be portable as workers moved between jobs. However, current regulations require a person who is applying for paid leave benefits to be employed at the time of their application. This means that people who were laid off because they were not protected under DC’s Family and Medical Leave Act, or who were illegally laid off for taking protected leave, cannot apply for leave that their employers have paid into the system on their behalf.
The Universal Paid Leave Portability Amendment Act of 2022 fixes this by making it clear that workers who are unemployed when they apply for benefits may access benefits based on their past work and earnings. We have seen the life-changing impact that access to paid family and medical leave has had for families across the District, particularly during the pandemic. The DC Paid Family Leave Campaign is grateful to Councilmember Silverman and her cosponsors for their work to ensure that no one is unfairly excluded from these benefits that they need and deserve. No one should have to lose their income in order to care for themselves or the people they love, even if they have lost their job.
Visit: https://www.dcpaidfamilyleave.org
###