Paid Family & Medical Leave Bill Update

We know many of you are wondering what the status of this years paid family & medical leave bill is. Although the bill did not ultimately pass during Connecticut’s legislative session that ended in early June, we’re really proud of how far we’ve come. The Labor & Public Employees Committee held a public hearing on the bill and we, along with some of our Campaign partners, collected over 70 pieces of supportive testimony!

The bill was then voted out of the Labor Committee and sent to the Appropriations Committee for their consideration. Clearing this committee was a big hurdle but once again because of the support from you and the support and interest from legislators, the bill moved out of committee.

In the end though there just wasn’t enough time to get the bill through. While on one hand we were disappointed that it didn’t get called for a vote in either the House or the Senate, we’re also happy with how much momentum was built during legislative session over the last 6 months.

One of our favorite things has been reading and collecting your stories about how not having paid family & medical leave impacted you. In the last few weeks of legislative session we heard from a dozen or so moms who each struggled in their own ways after welcoming a new addition to their family. Those stories, and all that have been collected so far, have made a really big impact in helping to show the Legislature that Connecticut employees really need this.

We know how important this issue is to so many people’s economic security. When you have a new baby, find yourself facing a serious illness, or need to care for a loved one, you don’t want to have to worry about how you’re going to pay your bills if you need some time away from work.

We get that. We’re with you. And we will continue moving this issue forward in Connecticut with our eyes on the next legislative session that starts in February of 2016.

Until then make sure to continue to follow our work here on our website and on our Facebook & Twitter pages. If you’d like to be even more involved with the Campaign, check out this link that lists a bunch of different ways you can help!