Leaders Leading on Paid Leave
Feb 19, 2025
Leaders Leading on Paid Leave
Feb 19, 2025
Many people today continue to face the difficult choice between earning a paycheck and caring for themselves or a family member. But thanks to a core set of dedicated members of Congress, initiatives to expand access to paid leave coverage continue to move forward even in today’s ever-changing political environment.
U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Angus King (I-Maine) recently introduced the Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and is set to expire at the end of 2025. This legislation builds on the 2017 law in several ways. It makes the tax credit permanent, simplifies ways for businesses to qualify for the credit, allows employers to take the credit against insurance premiums (which is very important for smaller employers), and supports outreach efforts to raise awareness about the credit. U.S. Representatives Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04), Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03) also introduced identical companion legislation in the House.
As federal action continues on paid leave expansion, it’s important that any legislative proposals build on the successful private sector paid-leave framework led by the life insurance industry. Over many decades, life insurers have developed deep expertise in the administrative and compliance needs of employers, whether working with existing Family and Medical Leave Act requirements, in states with mandatory PFML programs or in states where a private paid family leave option is allowed.
The enhanced tax credit will help to grow the availability of paid leave products and services by enabling more employers—especially small employers—to offer their workers a paid family and medical leave benefit. Most important, the legislation helps employers provide their employees with peace of mind knowing they’ll be protected from economic loss when taking time off from work to care for themselves or a loved one.
We applaud Senators Fischer and King and Representatives Feenstra, Bice and Gluesenkamp Perez for keeping the issue of paid leave active and moving forward.
Cindy Goff
Cindy Goff is Vice President, Supplemental Benefits and Group Insurance at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), where she develops and implements state and federal public policy positions and strategies to ensure access to innovative financial protection products. She has also served as Director of Health Policy for Aflac and VP of Product Policy at America’s Health Insurance Plans.
