LANSING — Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) today issued the following statement recognizing the 27th anniversary of the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act and reinforcing the need to do more to support working families:
“The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was a groundbreaking start to recognizing the value of mothers in the workforce, but it has been nearly three decades since its inception. As the times change, we must change with them.
“I’m thankful we’ve made efforts to improve paid medical leave, but we must do more. I look forward to working with the governor, who recently laid out her vision for healthy babies and healthy moms, as well as colleagues who share my passion of doing better for residents. Every employed individual should have access to paid family and medical leave, plain and simple. It’s time to get to work.”
The FMLA was authored by former U.S. Rep. William D. Ford, a Democrat from Taylor, Michigan. It was intended to,according to the law itself, “balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families.” Unfortunately, the leave time being unpaid has been problematic for working families nationwide who are often forced to use other forms of paid leave, if provided by their employer.
Sen. Geiss is the Senate chair of the Prenatal, Maternal and Infant Health Task Force of the Michigan Progressive Women’s Caucus. She represents the 6th Senate District that includes the cities of Belleville, Flat Rock, Rockwood, Romulus, Taylor and Westland, as well as the townships of Brownstown (part), Huron, Sumpter and Van Buren.
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