Making the Case for Chosen Family in Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies February 16, 2021, 9:06 am In the past year, the coronavirus pandemic has revealed that U.S. workplaces and work-family policies are ill-equipped to support workers with illnesses or caregiving responsibilities. This policy gap has affected LGBTQ individuals, who often have less access to care from traditional family structures, in particular ways. The United States’ lack of any permanent, national paid leave policy makes it the sole outlier among industrialized countries and puts workers’ jobs, economic security, and health at risk. With the recent expiration of temporary COVID-19 emergency paid leave, 4 out of 5 workers have been left without access to paid family leave. As this concern becomes a prominent part of the national conversation, policymakers must act to create a permanent paid family and medical leave policy and ensure that it reflects diverse caregiving relationships in order to meet the needs of LGBTQ individuals.