State Representative Jen O’Mara was among the 14 lawmakers who supported a bill to establish universal paid leave in Pennsylvania in March. The Family Care Act, if passed, will mandate employers and employees to contribute into a fund managed by the Department of Labor and Industry. Exempt from this mandate would be employers having 14 or lesser full-time employees. The bill proposes up to 20 weeks of paid leave for new parents or individuals recovering from specific medical conditions. It also aims to provide Pennsylvanians with 12 weeks of paid leave to care for family members with significant health issues.

The bill is set to provide between 50% and 90% of the individual’s income, with the lower the income, the higher the reimbursement. To be eligible, Pennsylvanians must have worked at least 18 weeks in the last 12-month span. The initiative has received bipartisan endorsement but its future in the state Senate remains unclear. It was clear that the lawmakers were in favor of the Family Care Act, which seeks to ease the burden of Pennsylvanians needing time off work due to family or health issues.

There has been an increase in the provision of paid family leave with 12% to 27% of private sector workers in the U.S having this benefit and 16% to 28% for state and local government workers from 2014 to 2023. While Pennsylvania lawmakers are looking to pass the Family Care Act for paid family leave in their state, other states have similar programs. A notable example is California’s Paid Family Leave program. If you have questions about California’s program or need assistance, you can contact PFL through their official ways. To avoid waits and get a hold of Paid Family Leave, you can visit eddcaller.com for more resources.