WASHINGTON – Dawn Huckelbridge, Director of the Paid Leave for All campaign, issued the following statement today concerning the US Department of Labor’s failure to properly incorporate paid leave requirements from the Phase Two coronavirus bill.
“We are just beginning to feel the impact of the twin public health and economic crises, and they are magnifying the government’s long-time failure to enact paid leave for all. It’s infuriating and inexcusable that even after Congress passed the Families First and CARES Acts on a bipartisan basis, the Labor Department is finding new ways to block the majority of workers, including health care providers, emergency workers and other first responders from accessing the new law’s paid leave provision when it’s needed most.
“With thousands of Americans either sick themselves or caring for a loved one who is sick, now is not the time to block people from accessing paid sick days and family leave during the pandemic. It is especially cruel to deny paid leave to essential workers who are at the highest risk while working to keep the rest of us safe. DOL needs to get their guidance correct now, and Congress needs to pass the PAID Leave Act to prevent this type of financial insecurity.”
The Paid Leave for All campaign is a growing collaborative of organizations fighting for paid family and medical leave for all working people.
CONTACT: Marissa Padilla
505-239-9394 | mpadilla@globalstrategygroup.com