Earlier this month, 150 New York women signed a letter to Governor Cuomo and John Flanagan, the senate GOP majority leader, encouraging them to support the passage of a paid family leave act for the state of New York.
Last Wednesday, Cuomo gave a State of the State address in which he presented a bill that would be enacted in January 2018, if passed. In his version of the bill, he promotes a 12-week paid family leave plan that covers 35% of the person’s salary in the first year.
Cuomo met some opposition from both sides: conservatives believe that paid family leave would be harmful for small businesses and on the other hand, supporters of paid family leave think Cuomo’s plan is too conservative. Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, thinks that Cuomo’s plan would only be beneficial if people receive 75% of benefits instead of only 35%.
Regardless, this was a large issue to broach and it’s important that Cuomo has addressed the conversation in the state of New York. Hopefully we can see families being amply supported in the years to come.
Cover image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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