Here is something else Republicans will obviously fight the president on, because it benefits working America directly, and we all know Republicans don’t like much of anything that benefit the American workers.
Obama will take steps to provide federal employees with up to six weeks of paid sick leave to care for a new child. And he’ll propose that Congress pass legislation to give federal workers an additional six weeks of paid parental leave.
Details on how Obama would raise the $2 billion to help states will be released in the president’s budget proposal next month, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Wednesday.
Obama wants Congress to pass legislation that has been sponsored since 2005 by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., to allow workers to earn up to seven days, or 56 hours, of paid sick leave to care for themselves or a sick family member, obtain preventive care or deal with domestic violence. Under the Healthy Families Act, workers would earn an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work. Employers that already provide paid sick time would not have to change their policies as long as the time earned can be used for the same purposes.
Obama will also call on states and cities to adopt similar legislation; some already have, as the White House noted in a fact sheet.
