By Nat Baldino

Policymakers have an opportunity in the next economic recovery package to pass inclusive and comprehensive paid leave – like the recently re-introduced Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act – and ensure workers get the most critical components of an equitable and accessible paid leave program. As policymakers recognize the importance of paid leave, they must understand that worker protections like job protection, funded education and outreach, inclusive family definitions, and progressive wage replacement, are not merely “add-ons” that boost the policy.  They are the core of the program itself. Without these protections, paid leave policies are not accessible to the workers who need them most.