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6/22/2017
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Goldin testifies before Congress on paid family leave
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STATE HOUSE – Sen. Gayle L. Goldin testified on Rhode Island’s paid family leave program in Washington, D.C., yesterday at hearing before members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The hearing was focusing on the urgency of paid family and medical leave, and is being held by the Democratic Women’s Working Group, which is comprised of all the female Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senator Goldin (D-Dist. 3, Providence) was the sponsor of the 2013 law that expanded the state’s temporary disability insurance program to employees who must take time out of work to care for a family member or bond with a new child in their home. The passage of the law made Rhode Island the third state in the nation with guaranteed paid family leave for most employees.
She was asked to testify on Rhode Island’s experience with paid family leave to provide an example of a successful paid leave model now working in a state.
“We know that family and medical leave insurance must be adequate, affordable, and accessible. We need to cover all kinds of workers, for all types of leave, for long enough time to care for ourselves and others, at a rate that’s affordable, and with a sustainable funding source. The people of Rhode Island know that social insurance works. It is time make sure every employee in the United States has the same opportunity to care for themselves and their loved ones,” said Senator Goldin, whose day job includes advising on leave matters for Family Values @ Work. “At a time when the president and Republican members of Congress are pushing unworkable plans for leave, Rhode Island serves as a concrete example of how paid leave can and should work.”
Also participating were Democratic Women’s Working Group members; Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families; Josh Levs, author of “All In: How Our Work-First Culture Fails Dads, Families, and Businesses–And How We Can Fix It Together;” MacKenzie Nicholson, a parent, caregiver and member of MomsRising from Dover, N.H.; and Marcia St. Hilaire-Finn, a small-business owner from Washington, D.C.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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