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4/14/2017
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PBS NewsHour Weekend to highlight RI’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance program
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STATE HOUSE – “PBS NewsHour Weekend” will air a segment Sunday exploring Rhode Island’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) program as a model for whether paid family leave should be available to workers through the United States.
Sen. Gayle L. Goldin (D-Dist. 3, Providence), who successfully sponsored Rhode Island’s TCI law as a freshman senator in 2013, was interviewed for the approximately 9-minute segment, which also includes interviews on the subject with representatives from Hasbro and small business owners, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and the Economic Progress Institute.
The law expanded the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program in 2014 to cover up to four weeks of wage replacement for workers who take time off to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law or grandparent or to bond with a new child, whether through birth, adoption or foster care. Rhode Island is one of only three states, along with New Jersey and California, with paid leave programs that employees can use to take time out of work to care for a family member.
“Temporary Caregiver Insurance is a great success story. It is a very welcome change for Rhode Islanders, especially for the thousands of workers who otherwise would not be able to afford to take time out of work when they need it to care for their loved ones. Since TCI’s passage, New York passed into a law paid family leave that will begin in 2018 and California increased the amount of wage replacement and family relationships covered by their law. Because of Rhode Island’s leadership, several states are considering similar laws which will bring considerable benefit to their states, too,” said Senator Goldin. “Laws like this means families don’t have to choose between their loved one’s care and paying the bills, which in turn, keeps our local economy going.”
“PBS NewsHour Weekend” airs at 5 p.m. Sunday on WGBX 44 and Connecticut Public Television CPTV4U. It is also available online through PBS on demand and http://www.pbs.org/newshour/.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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