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LET MOMS BE MOMS!

THIS WEEK- HONOR WORKING MOTHERS BY SUPPORTING LEGISLATION
ALLOWING THEM TO CARE FOR THEIR LOVED ONES WHEN THEY NEED THEM

The Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 [HR 5873] has been recently introduced in the House of Representatives. If this bill passes, it would provide paid family leave for workers that must take time off to take care of an illness, care for a sick family member, a newborn child, or deal with the demands imposed on them by the deployment of a member of the military.

Family Leave Insurance bills are already in place in New Jersey and Washington, and similar initiatives are also being pushed throughout many states in the nation.

Join LCLAA and MomsRising.org in our efforts
to raise national awareness on this issue

Take a minute of your time to take Action
If you care about this issue it is important that you make your voice heard
By clicking on the Take Action Icon below this message, you will be able to CONTACT your Congressperson and ask them to support working families by becoming a co-sponsor of the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (HR 5873)
You may edit the letter to be sent to your Congressperson and add your own comments stating why paid family leave is important to you and your family.

Tell me more

Talking Points

A Harvard/McGill University study of over 170 countries found that only four don't have some form of paid leave for new moms. The four are the United States, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Liberia;
Paid family leave has been shown to drop infant mortality by as much as 25%; and,
Paid family leave has been shown to help narrow the wage penalties mothers face.

The Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 will:

Provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member, treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military;
Provide these benefits through a new trust fund that is financed equally by employers and employees, who will each contribute 0.2% of the employee's pay;
Progressively tier the benefits so that a low wage worker (earning less than $30,000) will receive full or near full salary replacement, middle income workers ($30,000- $60,000) receive 55% wage replacement, and higher earners (over $60,000) receive 40-45%, with the benefit capped at approximately $800 per week;
Administer the program through the Department of Labor which will contract with states to administer the program (similar to how the Unemployment Insurance program is run);
Allow states and businesses with materially equivalent or better benefits to opt-out of the program.

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

In honor of Mother's Day, I urge you to co-sponsor the recently introduced Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (HR5873).

If passed, the Family Leave Insurance Act would provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member, treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military.

A Harvard/McGill University study of over 170 countries found that only four don't have some form of paid leave for new moms. The four are the United States, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Liberia.  As one of the most developed nations in the world, this is shameful!

Paid family leave has been shown to drop infant mortality by as much as 25%; and has been shown to help narrow the wage penalties mothers face.  These are tremendous benefits for our society that can come from Family Leave Insurance.

Family friendly policies are beneficial to employers as they enjoy increased recruitment, productivity and retention rates as employees appreciate a working situation that allows them to balance both work and family responsibilities.

In the face of the current economic downturn impacting working families nationwide, workers cannot afford to take unpaid leave to care for themselves or their loved ones.

I urge you to help make the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 possible for working families.

Please consider co-sponsoring the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008.  The working people of America, mothers and fathers alike, the members of LCLAA and MomsRising.org, are counting on you to help us pass this crucial policy in this Congress.

Thank you,

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]