Business Roundtable Urges Congress to ‘Act Promptly’ on Paid Family and Medical Leave

December 12, 2019

Washington – In a letter to the President and congressional leaders, Business Roundtable today urged policymakers to enact federal legislation to make available paid family and medical leave benefits to as many working Americans as possible.

Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President and CEO of IBM Corporation and Chair of the Business Roundtable Education and Workforce Committee wrote: “While most Business Roundtable companies provide very generous paid leave, there is a need for economy-wide action; fewer than 17 percent of workers have access to paid family leave through their employers, and fewer than 41 percent of private sector workers have medical or short-term disability leave.
“Business Roundtable CEOs take seriously the responsibility of helping our millions of employees in every state address the demands of parenting, family or personal illness, care giving, and other exigencies that are part of daily life outside of work. Providing these benefits is an important part of serving the needs of our employees and their families. Congress should act promptly to address these serious needs of workers and ensure benefits of this kind are available for more Americans.”

Currently, eight states and the District of Columbia have paid family and medical leave requirements in place, with nearly three dozen states proposing legislation in 2019.

Rometty noted that federal legislation should provide uniform standards that apply to all covered employees and adhere to Family and Medical Leave Act requirements. In addition, legislation should ensure that employers meet all minimum requirements and provide them flexibility in how they manage paid family and medical leave benefits for their employees.

Business Roundtable CEOs, who lead companies with more than 15 million employees, stand ready to work with Congress and the Administration to advance federal legislation on paid family and medical leave.

For the full text of the letter to president, click here.

For the full text of the letter to congressional leaders, click here.

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