Skip to main content

One to Keep An Eye On: The Strong Families Act


As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) that are being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on.


If last year was the year of minimum wage hikes and the Fight for $15 movement, perhaps this year belongs to the paid leave movement.  With one of President Donald Trump's daughters, Ivanka Trump, making paid leave a major talking point on Capitol Hill, this topic has been in the headlines over the past few months.

Recently, Republican Senator Deb Fischer and Independent Senator Angus King introduced the Strong Families Act which would provide for voluntary paid family leave.  The bill, also supported by Republican Representatives Mike Kelly and Terri Sewell would give a 25% tax credit to companies that offer between 2 and 12 weeks of paid leave.  The bill proposes covering both men and women in the workforce that need to care for a new child or sick family member.  The tax credit offered would apply only to wages at or below $72,000.00 and would be pro-rata based on the level of wage replacement.

I question whether a voluntary paid leave bill will give advocates of paid leave much of a reason to smile.  Natuarally, with a paid leave bill that is "only" voluntary, it does not give the bill the same teeth as a mandatory paid leave would provide.  However, progress is progress, right??

As some readers might recall, this proposed paid leave plan is less than the several additional weeks that had been proposed by the Trump Administration.  It is unclear if Ivanka Trump or even President Trump would throw their weight behind this bill.  However, as some have noted, an administration hungry for a legislative victory might just find this bill suitable enough to work to get passed through Congress.

Stay tuned.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more