An Idea For Paid Family Leave That Just Might Work

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, March 15, 2022

“The collapse of Build Back Better has opened up more space for Republicans to innovate on paid leave, and a new idea is taking shape that could garner bipartisan support.

Here’s the nut of it: Provide parents a flat, lump sum benefit upon the birth or adoption of a child. Pair this benefit with a limited expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act, specific to birth and for a more limited amount of time but for which nearly every worker would be eligible (relative to the 40 percent of workers excluded from FMLA protections today).”