Labor Department to Study Paid-Leave Programs
The Women's Bureau has awarded $1.1 million in grants for research on how these programs can be developed in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau has awarded $1.1 million in grants to research and analyze how paid-leave programs can be developed in the United States. The grants are part of the Paid Leave Analysis Grant Program. Only 12 percent of private-sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employers, according to the agency.
"Too many Americans are forced to choose between the job they need and the family they love. While Congress refuses to take action to make paid leave the law of the land, we have seen tremendous leadership at the state and local levels to expand access to these programs," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "The grants we are announcing today will help innovative state and local officials design paid-leave policies that work for their citizens. These important grants build on our work to make sure that people have the tools to be responsible employees and good caregivers."
The grants that have been funded will be going to Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry; The Hawaii Department of Human Services; The Indiana Commission for Women; the city of Madison, Wisconsin; the city and county of Denver; and the Franklin County, Ohio, Board of Commissioners.