Biden Offers 12 Weeks Paid Family Leave In His American Families Plan

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new federal paid leave plan for all workers. The legislation would guarantee 12 weeks of paid family leave for all Americans and is part of Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan proposal to Congress. This is the first time an American president has formally called for paid family and medical leave legislation to cover all Americans.

In his speech before a joint session in the House chamber, Biden said that no one should be in a situation wherein they have to choose between a job and paycheck or taking care of themselves and a loved one – a parent, spouse or child.

What is the American Families Plan?

The White House in a statement called Biden’s American Family Plan “an investment in our kids, our families, and our economic future, helping families cover the basic expenses that so many struggle with now.” The proposal would cost around $225 billion to fund partial wage replacement for people who take leave to care for a seriously ill loved one, heal from their own serious illness, bond with a new child, deal with sexual assault or domestic violence, or take time to deal with the death of a loved one.”

The plan would provide workers up to $4,000 a month during their leave. The lowest-wage workers would get 80% of their prior earnings. Also, the president’s proposal would give workers three days of bereavement leave per year, starting in year one.

According to the White House, the cost of the plan would be covered by increasing taxes on the wealthy. Biden is also urging Congress to approve a bill per which employers would need to give workers seven paid sick days a year.

The American Families Plan will also add at least four years of free education. Under it, all three- and four-year-olds would be given universal, quality-preschool, Americans would be provided two years of free community college, and much more.

Molly Day, the interim Executive Director of Paid Leave for the U.S., an advocacy group, called Biden’s plan a “history-making step forward in the fight for paid family and medical leave and a watershed moment for working families across the U.S.”

She was cited by the Hill as saying that the Democratic president is the first in the office to introduce a permanent paid leave program that provides parental, caregiving, and personal medical leave to every worker.

Prior to this, Biden’s “friend” and former President Barack Obama had sought legislation to extend leave for federal workers.