Forty-two states plus the District of Columbia have moved to expand workers’ access to paid leave since 2020, according to a new analysis shared first with Semafor.
Among them: Virginia, where the governor signed a law this week that requires most employers to provide paid sick leave.
The US, which is the only wealthy nation without a national paid leave policy, enacted a temporary one during COVID — but opposition from moderates ultimately forced Democrats to drop the permanent version from their spending package. Now, advocates hope the growing patchwork of state policies — costly and complicated for the private sector to navigate — will put pressure on Washington to act, particularly if Democrats win a majority this fall.
“The momentum for paid leave since Build Back Better hasn’t died, it’s multiplied,” Paid Leave for All’s Dawn Huckelbridge told Semafor. “We’ll be organizing in all 50 states to support their progress but also to build the mandate for paid leave to be at the top of the agenda in a new Congress.”
Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., said: “Paid family and medical leave has to be at the heart of a new majority’s agenda come January.”