Paid Family
Leave
Beyond short-term paid sick time, we all need the ability to address serious medical issues and caring for new children. We need to be able to provide for our families and to care for them, whether they are the family we were born with or the family we have chosen. That’s why we need affordable leave so we don’t have to choose between earning a living and being there for our newborns, a spouse or parent that’s ill, or our own serious illness.
If you don’t work for an employer who provides paid leave, you are stuck losing a paycheck, and in some cases – if you work for an employer with fewer than 50 employees - risking your job.
We fight for paid family & medical leave for all. No one should have to choose between their livelihood and their loved ones.
Tameka's Lived Experience
"I estimate that I’ve lost nearly $200,000 during my career because we don’t have paid family leave in this country. My husband became ill in 2006 and was let go from his job. That changed everything for us. Everything,” said Tameka, a Make It Work ambassador.
The increasing demand for Tameka to be by her husband’s side for his doctor’s appointment or hospital visits (or for one of their four children) cost her multiple jobs and caused financial instability.
That’s when I got into this fight and became a paid family leave advocate. No family should have to endure what we’ve endured and I’m committed to making sure that they don’t.
Our Paid Family Leave Fight
Paid family leave has been a consistent anchor in our organizing work. We are continuing to build relationships with our community members that would greatly benefit from paid family and medical leave.
The lived experiences and challenges of our families, friends and neighbors deserve to be heard when our legislators are shaping public policy. We will persist in our fight to secure paid family and medical leave at the state level because we can #DoBetter by all Nevadan families.
What We've Accomplished
Only 19 percent of employees in this country have access to paid family and medical leave. That means that everywhere, families like Tameka’s, are having to make the most difficult decisions between their health and families or their livelihood. We can #DoBetter than this.
Tameka has shared her story and experiences with the United States House Ways & Means Committee in support of the FAMILY Act; a law that would ensure that all families are able to take the time they need from work while still earning a portion of their salary.
In addition to this, Make It Work Nevada has consistently been amplifying the stories and experiences of our Ambassadors and those whose lives would be measurably improved by having access to paid family and medical leave. We intend to fight for paid family leave, at the state level, during the next legislative session.
