Protecting America’s Workers Act
Upcoming Congressional Hearing
Biden Administration Labor Leadership Updates. On Thursday, April 29, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee held a confirmation hearing for
Ms. Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and
Ms. Seema Nanda to serve as Solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor. In opening remarks, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) criticized the Biden Administration for what he considers its abrupt and unprecedented firing of NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb, questioning the independence and integrity of the General Counsel’s office after this action. He also expressed concern over Ms. Abruzzo’s involvement in the Agency Review Team for Labor and questioned Ms. Nanda’s “highly partisan” background.
Not only is this a historic and unprecedented investment, it is desperately needed. Supportive work-family policies such as paid family and medical leave, quality, affordable child care and other related policies are not “nice-to-haves” the workers we talk to everyday need them for their financial and often physical survival.
Since last April, over 3,000 workers have contacted our free work-family legal helpline, and they are disproportionately women of color in low-wage jobs, who are forced to make impossible choices between earning a paycheck and caring for themselves or their loved ones due to major gaps in our nation’s labor and civil rights laws.
Friday, April 30, 2021
B
iden Releases American Families Plan. This week, the White House released an outline of its American Families Plan, which is being touted as the second phase of the administration’s infrastructure proposal (dubbed the “American Jobs Plan”). The American Families Plan would invest $1.8 trillion in education (including training for teachers), federal nutrition programs, childcare, and extending tax credits. Like the infrastructure proposal, the American Families Plan is not a bill (yet), but will rather serve as a first step in what is sure to be a lengthy legislative process. Here are some of its highlights:
Education. The administration proposes allotting $309 billion to fund free universal pre-school for three and four year olds, and two years of free community college.
Will Biden s New American Families Plan Lead to Paid Time Off? The Ascent is reader-supported: we may earn a commission from offers on this page. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.
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The American Families Plan could provide sick leave as well as up to $4,000 per month in paid family leave.
For many people in the United States, getting sick, having a baby, or the illness of a family member can lead to a tough choice.