In the new budget proposed by President Barack Obama, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) is requesting $2 billion in funding for a “Paid Leave Partnership Initiative” that will give more employees more access to paid leave in the United States. While states on both coasts, including California and Rhode Island, already have paid leave laws on the books, the new initiative is said to be part of an ongoing strategy to increase employee rights and compensation.
For some time now, the United States has lagged far behind the rest of the world – even less developed countries – when it comes to worker benefits like paid leave and proponents are hopeful that this initiative, if successfully implemented, can begin to reverse that reality.