2016 VT Governor's race: on Families & Children

Matt Dunne: Paid leave insurance policy to fund FMLA maternity leave

My administration will commit wholeheartedly to paid family leave. Today, many mothers are forced to return to work soon after their child is born because they cannot support their family on the unpaid leave guaranteed by the national Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). But it doesn't have to be this way--[in states with] a state-run paid leave insurance policy, workers are able to take six weeks off to care for not only a newborn, but also a newly adopted child or an ill family member. Vermont needs to create a program that will bring not only economic security but will also ensure that women who chose to raise their kids full-time in the weeks after they give birth are not at a disadvantage in the workforce.