Bill advances to double paid family leave in R.I.
Legislation would allow 12 weeks off
PROVIDENCE — The House Labor Committee has begun work on a bill that would double the amount of paid family leave in Rhode Island to 12 weeks, and Senate leaders are making that legislation a priority this year.
“It does have some momentum this year,” said the new Senate majority whip, Valarie J. Lawson. “This is a benefit that people greatly need in pivotal points in their life. This is something we should do.”
Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, has introduced the legislation aiming to expand the state’s temporary caregiver insurance program to provide 12 weeks — rather than six weeks — of paid time off to care for children or critically ill family members. The program is funded by payroll deductions.
On the opening day of the legislative session, Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat, singled out that bill, and said, “We will work to enact Whip Lawson’s proposal to expand TCI insurance to 12 weeks. This is extremely important for Rhode Island families.”
Last year, the Senate passed a bill to expand the temporary caregiver insurance to 12 weeks, but it went nowhere in the House.
This year, Representative Joshua J. Giraldo, a Central Falls Democrat, has introduced the House version of the bill.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, will review the testimony, and he is “is keeping an open mind on the issue,” House spokesman Larry Berman said Tuesday.
The legislation has the backing of a coalition that includes the Economic Progress Institute, the RIght from the Start Campaign, the AARP, the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, SEIU 1199 NE, the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Kids Count, the Latino Policy Institute, and the Rhode Island Black Business Association.
Divya Nair, a policy analyst at the Economic Progress Institute, said Rhode Island was a leader back in 2013 when it created the temporary caregiver insurance program, which then provided four weeks of paid family leave. But now, she said, Rhode Island trails its neighbors — Massachusetts and Connecticut — which provide for 12 weeks of paid family leave.
“We have really fallen behind in how we are providing working families with the opportunity to take time off from work to care for their loved ones,” Nair said. “This is an opportunity to be back in the forefront.”
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted mandatory paid family leave systems, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, and eight other states have voluntary systems that provide paid family leave through private insurance.
People on temporary caregiver insurance in Rhode Island receive 60 percent of their normal salary. Of the states that offer similar programs, most workers receive at least 80 percent of their salary, advocates said. For example, in Massachusetts, workers receive 80 percent of their salary for 12 weeks, and workers in Connecticut receive 95 percent of their salary for 12 weeks.
Lawson, who is president of the National Education Association Rhode Island — the teachers’ union — also sponsored legislation in 2021 that increased the temporary caregiver program from four weeks to six weeks. Now is the time to take the next step, she said.
“This bill is an investment in our workforce and in our children, one that will pay off for generations,” Lawson said. “A society where people have the time to bond their babies is a healthier society, in every sense of the word.”
Nair said paid leave improves maternal and infant health, including physical health and wellbeing, and increases of paid parental leave decrease rates of infant mortality.
“Paid family leave is a critical resource for families to be able to properly welcome new children to the world and care for aging or sick loved ones,” she said.
The legislation would expand the definition of a critically ill family member to include grandchildren, siblings, and “care recipients,” meaning people for whom the worker is a primary caretaker.
“Too many workers aren’t currently covered by TCI because the definition of a family member is overly restrictive,” Giraldo said. “This bill will ensure that workers who need to care for their siblings, grandchildren, and dependents won’t need to worry about falling through the cracks.”