The town council voted on and passed North Hempstead Councilwoman Anna Kaplan’s resolution urging the New York Legislature to institute paid family leave for New York’s working families.
“For years, Republicans in the New York Senate have been the obstacle to progress in getting this done. Tens of thousands of New York families every year have had to make impossible decisions like giving up desperately needed income to bond with new children or take care of seriously ill or injured family members. This needs to stop now,” said Kaplan.
The town’s resolution urged New York to build upon its already existing program for Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) which has maintained a cap on benefits of $170/week since 1989. Under Democratic proposals in Albany, New York would raise the benefit cap to a maximum of 50 percent of the statewide weekly average wage in 2019 and guarantee workers up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member. It would be financed by a small increase in employee payroll deductions without raising taxes or costs to businesses.
“Paid family leave will help small businesses compete better with larger firms, will address inequalities in benefits available to higher- versus low-wage earners and reap rewards to families struggling to adapt to a changing economy,” said Kaplan. “With this resolution, we are sending a clear message to Albany. Pass paid family leave now!”