WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), co-authors of The Strong Families Act, released the following statements in response to President Obama’s announced proposals on paid leave this afternoon:

“Supporting our employees and giving them the flexibility to deal with life’s major events will directly translate into a stronger workforce that is better poised to meet the demands of a global economy,” Senator King said. “That’s why Senator Deb Fischer and I joined forces to introduce bipartisan legislation that would encourage employers to offer their employees paid leave. I welcome the President’s contributions to this important discussion and hope that we can make progress on this issue because too many working parents with growing kids and aging parents are struggling to make ends meet and it’s simply not right.”

“Last July, Senator Angus King and I introduced a bipartisan bill – The Strong Families Act – that would encourage employers to voluntarily provide working families with more flexibility for paid time off to meet their needs. Workplace flexibility has become a necessity for 21st century families. It’s not just children who require personal care and attention, it’s also elderly parents,” Senator Fischer said. “Our bipartisan plan provides a balanced measure that respects employers’ costs of doing business with employee needs. It also creates a meaningful incentive structure to encourage employers to provide working families, including hourly workers, the chance to take paid time off. I look forward to continuing my work with Senator King and reintroducing this important legislation.”

Last year, Senators King and Fischer introduced The Strong Families Act, legislation to incentivize employers to voluntarily provide employees with paid parental or medical leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 requires employers of 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, which can be used for events like the birth or adoption of children, serious medical issues, or providing care to close family members. The challenge for many working families, particularly hourly workers living paycheck-to-paycheck, is that current law does not involve paid time off.

The Strong Families Act, which King and Fischer plan to reintroduce this Congress, would enable working families to have continued access to pay while they are meeting necessary family obligations. The King-Fischer plan would create a tax credit to encourage employers of any size to voluntarily offer paid leave for workers; the legislation includes no new mandates.

• To be eligible for the tax credit, the employer must, at a minimum, offer four weeks of paid leave; they may offer more.
• Paid leave would be available on an hourly basis and would be separate from other vacation or sick leave; part-time employees qualify for paid leave.
• For each hour of paid leave provided, the employer would receive a 25 percent non-refundable tax credit. The more paid FMLA time the employer offers, the greater the tax credit.
• This tax credit would be available to any employer with qualified employees, regardless of size.
• Employers would be prohibited from retaliating against employees who participate in the program.

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