Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed paid family leave policies twice in 2023, which were both blocked by Republican lawmakers. Paid family leave generally refers to policies requiring employers to offer workers paid leave to care for a new child or a loved one with a serious health condition. State Sen. Chris Larson claimed in a tweet that neighboring states had passed several progressive policies, including paid family leave, but it was later clarified only Minnesota passed specific legislation on paid family leave in 2023. Illinois passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act which differed from typical paid family leave as it provides compensation for any number of reasons. On the other hand, Minnesota’s law guarantees workers the right to paid leave when they cannot work because of health or caregiving needs.

Michigan didn’t pass new paid leave laws. Evers proposed public and private sector workers to get 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave benefits at the start of 2023, but this was refuted by Republicans during the budget adoption process. Again, in September, paid family leave was part of a comprehensive bill for funding state child care providers which was vetoed after multiple changes were made to the original draft by GOP lawmakers.

Furthermore, paid family leave is popular in Wisconsin. A November 2022 Marquette Law School poll found 73% of Wisconsinites favor paid family leave for new parents. The numbers consist of 62% of Republicans and 95% of Democrats. Larson’s claim was rated Half True, as it omitted important details and could potentially mislead readers into thinking that all the mentioned states passed the same policies.