The COVID-19 public health crisis highlights our nation’s urgent need for real, comprehensive, and inclusive paid family and medical leave that ensures no worker is forced to choose between their paycheck and their own health or the health of a family member. This much is clear; our state is only as healthy as our underserved … Continue reading Our Response to COVID-19
Blog Posts
This Fall in Paid Leave Progress
As you know, thanks to activists and allies across Connecticut, this year lawmakers passed P.A. 19-25: An Act Concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave - one of the strongest paid leave programs in the country! The new law creates the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority, a quasi-public agency, to administer the program. The … Continue reading This Fall in Paid Leave Progress
What You Need to Know
Check out the Campaign's FAQ here! Para español, haga clic aquí. In the 2019 legislative session, Connecticut lawmakers PASSED paid family and medical leave legislation. Public Act No. 19-25: An Act Concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave creates a statewide system of job protected paid leave to workers who need to take time off to … Continue reading What You Need to Know
What’s Next for Paid Leave?
We’re almost two months into the 2019 legislative session, and because you’ve raised YOUR voice, closer than ever to making paid family and medical leave a reality here in our state! Countless workers, caregivers and supporters of paid leave testified in person, submitted written testimony, or showed solidarity and made the compelling case for REAL … Continue reading What’s Next for Paid Leave?
Happy New Year! Let’s #MakeCTNext.
With the new year begins a new legislative session and new opportunities to make your voice heard in support of paid family and medical leave here in Connecticut!. Connecticut is now entirely surrounded by states (MA, NY, RI, and NJ) with paid family and medical leave programs. Connecticut workers and their families can’t wait any … Continue reading Happy New Year! Let’s #MakeCTNext.
A Tale of Two Families
Let me tell you a story of two families. At the center of both of these families are two women who recently gave birth to beautiful baby girls. Each care for two equally adorable little boys at home. In the first family, both parents work; the father full-time and the mother part-time. In that story, … Continue reading A Tale of Two Families
Take a Stand for Paid Leave this Election!
Have you heard? Connecticut is officially surrounded by states (RI, NJ, NY and MA) that have passed comprehensive paid family and medical leave legislation. To attract young workers to our state - and support families, caregivers, and businesses - CT must be next! Every year since 2015, the General Assembly has inched closer to passage … Continue reading Take a Stand for Paid Leave this Election!
Millennials Need Paid Leave. Now.
By: Samantha Savvidou Millennials like me are witnessing the highest levels of income inequality since the Great Depression and feel the impact on working families- our own families.During the Great Recession, we saw our parents, aunts, and uncles struggle financially after being laid off. Like most other middle class families, when I was a child, … Continue reading Millennials Need Paid Leave. Now.
Interviews with Our Champions: Daniela Giordano
Why do you support paid family and medical leave? Because being able to take care of one’s own health or other family member’s health or a new baby while not having to worry about financial security, and doing so through one’s own contribution, makes a lot of sense. It is not a matter of if … Continue reading Interviews with Our Champions: Daniela Giordano
Interviews with Our Champions: Merrill Gay
Why do you support paid family leave? As an advocate of early childhood issues I know the importance of the earliest years in a child’s life. Establishing a strong bond between parents and their baby is critically important. I find it inconceivable that we recognize that puppies shouldn’t be taken from their mothers before 8 … Continue reading Interviews with Our Champions: Merrill Gay
Interviews with Our Champions: Rep. Kim Rose
Why do you support paid family leave? Because everyone should be able to take care for a sick family member or take care of themselves in the event of an illness without the added stress of a financial hardship. How did you become aware of paid family leave? The Working Families Party and the Campaign … Continue reading Interviews with Our Champions: Rep. Kim Rose
Interviews with Our Champions: Joshua Elliott
Why is paid family leave important to you personally? Because my staff takes care of the business - they have earned the right to care for themselves and their loved ones. As a small business owner, why do you support paid family leave? Because it is humane and economically feasible if done as a state … Continue reading Interviews with Our Champions: Joshua Elliott
Why New Parents Need Paid Leave: from One Connecticut Mom
On the eve of my daughter's 2nd birthday in April, an old friend invited me to see Jessica Shortall speak in Hartford. The easiest way for me to not cry while I reflect and write on why paid family leave is important to me is for me to share some comments and questions I've gotten … Continue reading Why New Parents Need Paid Leave: from One Connecticut Mom
An Exciting Spring for Paid Leave!
This spring witnessed an important string of victories for paid family leave across the country! As we continue to move forward here in Connecticut, exciting progress has also been made in San Francisco, New York State, and the town of Newburgh Heights, Ohio. In May, the small town of Newburgh Heights in Northeast Ohio passed … Continue reading An Exciting Spring for Paid Leave!
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Joanne
Paid family leave would make a huge difference to my family. In my family’s case, it is especially important because our daughter has arthrogryposis and is confined to a wheelchair. My husband occasionally needs to take off time from work if we have a dentist’s appointment, doctor’s appointment or even a hair appointment since he … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Joanne
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Janette
My husband is a Gulf War Veteran, on March 3, 2015 my husband started with symptoms of Gulf War Multi-Symptom Undiagnosed. I had to leave my job on March 3rd to provide him with transportation to the West Haven VA for treatment and testing (3-5 times a week). I also became my husband’s full-time caregiver. … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Janette
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Jane
In the summer of 2012, my husband and I found out we were pregnant with triplets. During the course of my pregnancy I had to take a significant amount of time off from work due to various medical appointments. My husband and I are both employed full-time and the appointments took much of the designated … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Jane
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Tammy
My brother had a long, terrible battle with cancer and eventually succumbed to it. His wife, with whom he had three sons, could not handle losing her husband and basically split, leaving three young children with my mother and me. I am now one of the legal guardians of my nephews. I had used all … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Tammy
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Laraine
When I think about young women, who today are giving birth, and for many, are required to return to work after a short period of time after giving birth, sometimes 3 weeks or 4 weeks, my heart goes out to them, because quite honestly, I do not know or understand how they are able to … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Laraine
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Stefanie
My father, a veteran, is in the end stages of dementia. Because my mother also is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, she can no longer care for him. Consequently, he has been moved to a nursing home in Hamden. I work as a server and I cannot bring my father home to live with … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Stefanie
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Sarah
I consider us one of the lucky ones, my husband and I both are both employed, educated, professionals; earning enough to get by. When on FMLA with my first daughter, I had the luxury of paid leave through my employer’s policy which allowed employees to donate sick time to each other. As a new working … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Sarah
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Shannon
My husband and I both work full-time, and we are lucky that we each have access to a few weeks of paid leave each year through our vacation and sick time. However, while we are in our early thirties and would like very much to start a family, the lack of paid maternity leave is … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Shannon
Stories from Connecticut Voters: Dina
Until last year, I worked for a New Haven-based healthcare agency as a CAN/LPN. I have worked in the healthcare field now for 28 years and I still make just ten dollars an hour. In February, I underwent gallbladder surgery. I took a few days off to recuperate, unpaid. My doctor told me that I … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Voters: Dina
Stories from Connecticut Workers: Lisa
The last Sunday of January, I was with my daughter watching her kids learn to rollerblade in the park when some rowdy dogs knocked me to the ground. I fractured my tibia and badly injured my knee. It happened so quickly, but it's had a huge impact on my life. I work in commercial horticulture. … Continue reading Stories from Connecticut Workers: Lisa
Connecticut Businesses Support Paid Family Leave: Arciuolo’s Shoes and Footstar Orthotics, Milford
I am the owner of Arciuolo’s Shoes and Footstar Orthotics in Milford, Connecticut. We’re a small, family-owned business founded by my great grandfather in 1921. We specialize in comfortable, everyday footwear for men, women and kids. We have 6 employees, all of whom have worked here for over 6 years. We have little, if any … Continue reading Connecticut Businesses Support Paid Family Leave: Arciuolo’s Shoes and Footstar Orthotics, Milford
Worry. Work. Repeat: Life Without Paid Leave
Have you ever encountered one of those ridiculous stock images of a working mother juggling a smiling baby on her lap as she joyfully types on her computer, seemingly completing endless assignments with ease? Jessica Shortall noticed that these photos are all over the place and she decided to take a stand. In her phenomenal … Continue reading Worry. Work. Repeat: Life Without Paid Leave
Public Hearing Alert: Your Testimony is Needed!
The Labor Committee will hold a public hearing on paid family & medical leave on March 8th. Your voice is needed!
Interviews with Our Champions: Arvia Walker
The second in a series about our paid family leave champions.
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.
Microsoft, Facebook and Silicon Valley “Lead on Leave”
Nationwide, nearly 87% of workers do not have access to paid family leave. Seeking to improve this statistic, White House officials and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez recently embarked on a national “Lead on Leave” road tour where they meet with workers, businesses and local officials to discuss the benefits of paid leave.
The Long Lasting Economic Impact of Not Having Paid Family Leave {One Connecticut Mom’s Story}
It was a serious tough time and then due to my baby getting jaundice and having some serious weight gain issues, I was unable to get any summer work to supplement the missed income. Pretty much ever since, we have lived paycheck to paycheck and sometimes juggling which bill gets paid on time and which doesn't.
How Not Having Paid Maternity Leave Hurt a Middletown Resident’s Economic Stability
I am a school teacher in Hartford teaching Pre-K. My official job title is CDA. I only get 6/8 weeks of maternity leave. You only get paid for the time you accrue. I did not have much accrued, being that I've only been there 2.5 years and was sick a lot in the beginning of … Continue reading How Not Having Paid Maternity Leave Hurt a Middletown Resident’s Economic Stability
An Exciting Month for Paid Family Leave
For the past month, the Campaign for Paid Family Leave has been hard at work advocating in support of HB 6932 – An Act Concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave. Click to find out the latest about our efforts.
When Companies Do Good: One Connecticut Mom’s Story
Jessica talks about how having 6 weeks of fully paid maternity leave gave her piece of mind while bonding with her new baby.
Siblings Aren’t Family?
For the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave, the inclusion of siblings under FMLA’s definition of family is a focal point of its push for a bill next legislative session that would enact a statewide system of paid family leave.
Truly “Being There” For Family
The Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave recently held a press conference to release its own recommendations to ensure that a possible system of paid family leave is fair and helps employees stay afloat financially when they need to take time off from work to care for themselves or a loved one.
Going Back to Work Before She Was Ready After Giving Birth – One Connecticut Woman’s Story
"What drove me back to work was my inability to manage finances without a second income."
FMLA is not Enough – One Employee’s Struggle to Make Ends Meet after Cancer Treatment
Daphne Richards, a newly-divorced mother of two living in Colorado, thought that she had found the perfect fit as a shift manager at a Chick-fil-A in Larkridge, Colorado, according to 7 News Denver.
Not Enough Paid Time Off After Giving Birth – One Connecticut Mom’s Story
While my maternity leave experience was better than those who receive no paid time off after birth, it would have help immensely if I had received a higher percentage of my wages and had more weeks of paid time off.
Why Forcing Employees to Use Up Their Sick Time Before Taking Maternity Leave Hurts Employees – One Connecticut Mom’s Story
When I return to work in early December, I will have a 3 month-old, a 4 year-old, zero sick time, and we'll be entering the cold/flu season. This is ethically wrong and needs to be changed.
Caring for a Critically Ill Child When You Don’t Have Paid Family Leave – One Connecticut Mom’s Story
Children with NF or other chronic illnesses are already fighting a long, terrifying battle. They need their mothers by their sides focusing on nothing but their care—not how they will pay the growing pile of bills.
Paid Family Leave: Why is the U.S. So Far Behind?
If our social lives are consistently being simplified by a nationwide acceptance of new technologies year by year, why can’t this be the case for policies that benefit our careers and professional lives?
Why We Support Changing the Definition of Spouse Under FMLA to be Inclusive of Same Sex Couples
In the midst of what seems like a summer of political turmoil and regression, early last month the Obama administration proposed a progressive, LGBT-inclusive change to FMLA’s definition of “spouse.”
[VIDEO] Voices from the Front Lines
Too many workers are being forced to make choices that don't make sense.
21 Years after FMLA, More Needs to Be Done
Unpaid leave is a challenge for most employees.
Equal Pay for Women Requires Paid Time to Care
Women and men need access to affordable time for caregiving.
FMLA to Paid Family Leave: the Case of Caring for the Elderly
The stress and demands of caring for an elderly parent should not be overlooked.
[VIDEO] Why One Mom Wants Paid Family Leave
This is Amanda's personal story.
Could the Family Medical Leave Act be Helped by Insurance?
A way to expand FMLA for Connecticut would be to provide insurance for leave that falls under FMLA. States such as California and New Jersey, have already started this initiative.
[VIDEO] CT Moms Featured in NBC30 Story About Maternity Leave
Check out this interview featuring several CT moms about their experiences with maternity leave.
Timeline for Paid Leave
In 2019, Connecticut became the 7th state (plus Washington D.C.) to PASS paid family and medical leave! Payroll deductions will begin in early 2021, and workers will receive paid family and medical leave benefits beginning early 2022. Until then, the Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority will work to get the program up and running. … Continue reading Timeline for Paid Leave
Paid leave applications are officially LIVE!
Beginning today, workers who need to take paid family and medical leave can officially apply for benefits by filing a claim through the CT Paid Leave Authority for events happening on or after January 1, 2022. In 2019, Connecticut lawmakers passed P.A. 19-25: An Act Concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave, making Connecticut the 8th … Continue reading Paid leave applications are officially LIVE!
Happy 28th Anniversary, FMLA!
Twenty-eight years ago on February 5th, 1993, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law! At the time, FMLA was landmark legislation that guaranteed job-protected time off from work to eligible workers. Twenty-eight years later, millions of workers have utilized the law to welcome a child, care for an ill loved … Continue reading Happy 28th Anniversary, FMLA!
Exciting News! CT Paid Leave Authority’s Website Launches
Exciting news! Earlier this month, the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority, the agency responsible for administering Connecticut’s new paid family and medical leave program, launched its new website– CTpaidleave.org– available in both English and Spanish. The site supports all Connecticut residents to understand their roles, rights, and responsibilities under Connecticut’s NEW Paid Family and Medical Leave … Continue reading Exciting News! CT Paid Leave Authority’s Website Launches