Main Street Alliance Pushes for Paid Family Medical Leave amid Minnesota Legislative Priority Announcement
Small Businesses support push for paid family medical leave to pass in Minnesota Legislature
On January 4, 2023, Minnesota lawmakers announced Paid Family Medical Leave as the #2 shared priority for this legislative session. Main Street Alliance is fully invested in passing Paid Family Medical Leave for small businesses in Minnesota. As partners in the Minnesotans for Paid Family & Medical Leave coalition, our members shared how the lack of public investment in paid family medical leave directly affects small business owners at the State Capitol on January 5, 2023.
"I was scheduled to be out of work for three weeks but because of the physical nature of my job, I had to take an extra week and a half off to recover. Not being able to access PFML at this time set me behind because I wasn't able to be at the business 100% of the time. I have two children who rely on me as a single mother. I went from working every day, all day to doing completely nothing but my bills are still due," said Alyshia Jackson, Owner of 1st Class Cleaning Services.
The press conference was attended by Speaker Melissa Hortman, Rep. Ruth Richardson, Sen. Dr. Alice Mann, Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, Sen. Oumou-Verbeten, Sen. Kunesh-Podein, and many other members of the coalition. Alyshia Jackson (pictured below at the podium), Angela Schwesnedl (Owner of Moon Palace Books), and her manager Heidi, were among the speakers.
If the past three years have taught us anything, it is how critical programs like Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) are to the health and well-being of Minnesotans and their families. Yet, only 14% of businesses with 50 or fewer employees have access to paid family medical leave. Thinking about paid family medical leave as an extra benefit is unacceptable. It is an essential resource to the survival and health of more than 533,000 Minnesota small business owners, employees, and their families.
During the 2023 legislative session, Main Street Alliance and its many community partners call on Minnesota legislators to pass legislation for a cohesive, government-administered PFML program this session. This program must be high quality, comprehensive, and accessible to all workers – regardless of their role, status as a part- or full-time employee, demographic identifiers, and pre-existing conditions – while also remaining affordable for small business owners to realistically implement without significant financial risk.
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