Council commends bipartisan working group for efforts to harmonize paid family leave
December 17, 2024
NR 2024-13 NEWS RELEASE
For additional information:
Jason Hammersla
jhammersla@abcstaff.org/202-422-4652
Council statement on release of I-PLAN legislative proposal
WASHINGTON, DC – On December 17, the U.S. House of Representatives bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group, co-chaired by Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), released draft text of a bill to establish the “Interstate Paid Leave Action Network.” This legislation is a key pillar of the working group’s efforts to harmonize state paid family leave laws.
Acknowledging this important step, Ilyse Schuman, senior vice president, health and paid leave policy, for the American Benefits Council, issued the following statement:
“A patchwork of differing state paid leave laws creates a host of administrative challenges for multi-state employers and unintended consequences for employees. Accordingly, the American Benefits Council commends the bipartisan House Working Group on Paid Leave for developing draft legislation to help coordinate and harmonize state paid family and medical leave laws through the creation of the innovative Interstate Paid Leave Action Network (I-PLAN).
“With ever increasing numbers of people working remotely, many small and mid-size companies are now multi-state employers. And major employers often have employees in numerous – if not all 50 – states. To enable an employer to treat its employees equitably nationwide, and to avoid extraordinary costs and administrative burdens, it is more important than ever that state paid laws are made as uniform as possible.
“Working Group members have made extraordinary bipartisan efforts to understand the complexities that arise from disparate state paid leave laws. Release of the draft I-PLAN legislation is a positive step forward in acknowledging and addressing the need for harmonization across states.
The American Benefits Council looks forward to working with lawmakers in the Working Group to ensure that the I-PLAN drives meaningful, reasonable, long-term and administrable harmonization and that the core pillars of federal legislation to expand access to paid leave are complementary and work in concert for the benefit of employers and employees alike.”
For more information on paid leave policy, or to arrange an interview with Schuman, please contact Jason Hammersla, vice president of communications, at (202) 422-4652 or jhammersla@abcstaff.org.
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