New York Is One Step Closer to Paid Family Leave Insurance!

Dear Friend,

The New York State Assembly voted 89-44 in favor of the Paid Family Leave Insurance Act!

This legislation, written by A Better Balance, would provide workers in New York State with up to 12 weeks of paid family leave (funded through small employee payroll deductions) to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or address certain needs related to a family member’s military service or deployment. The paid family leave insurance program would be administered through New York’s long-standing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program, a state system that is already familiar to businesses in New York.

There is an urgent need for paid family leave in New York and around the country. Many of you have shared your stories with us regarding the struggle to balance work with a new child’s arrival or a family member’s illness. “It is horrible that the U.S. is significantly behind the rest of the WORLD with maternity leave,” Maria wrote to us. “I am a single mom and had complications before and after pregnancy. I used my entire life savings & had to go into my 401(k) to survive. Let’s make it right.” Richard wrote about the challenges of eldercare: “My mom died from cancer in 2010 and I could not keep up with my bills. I took the last month of her life off so I could be with her and I nearly went bankrupt. While I was dealing with grieving her death, I was struggling financially; the stress was horrible.” In addition to motivating our work, these stories have been incredibly helpful to our advocacy efforts; stories are crucial to educating public officials about the need for paid family leave.

Now we must work together to advance paid family leave insurance legislation in the New York State Senate, so that no workers are forced to make the painful sacrifices described above by Maria and Richard.

If you have a few minutes, here is how you can get involved:

Share your story! As we continue the fight for paid family leave, both in New York and in states around the country, your voice remains critically important. If you have a story that you would be willing to share about the importance of paid family leave, please contact us at info@abetterbalance.org.
Help with our business outreach! We are incredibly grateful for the leadership of Tom Nides (Managing Director & Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley) and Cynthia DiBartolo (CEO of Tigress Financial Partners LLC and Chairperson of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce), two business leaders who support a paid family leave insurance program in New York. We are currently organizing in the business community to increase support for paid family leave. If you have suggestions for business owners—large or small—in New York who may be supportive, please send their names and contact information to rsica@abetterbalance.org.
Stay engaged on social media! For our latest updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter .