Tomorrow, at a time of unprecedented bipartisan attention to how best to address the nation’s lack of paid family and medical leave, the National Partnership for Women & Families will convene an audio news conference to discuss a comprehensive new report on the most effective approaches to providing paid family and medical leave in the United States. The report, Paid Family Medical Leave: Healthier U.S. Families Within Our Reach, will be released by the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health the same day. The report’s findings are based on a review of medical evidence and a systematic analysis of more than 5,500 studies of approaches to paid leave in the United States and in other countries. The report addresses the need for and value of paid leave to care for personal and family members’ serious health conditions – a significant new contribution to a conversation that often focuses solely on parental leave.

As federal lawmakers evaluate paid leave policy options, the specific recommendations outlined in the report also answer important questions about the optimal length of leave a national policy should provide, the type of care needs it should cover, the amount of wage replacement people should receive and the type of system that it should create in order to ensure the program is sustainable, effective and meets the needs of families, businesses and the economy. No federal paid leave proposal currently introduced or being considered meets all of the criteria, but the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act would be a significant step forward for the nation. Paid leave experts and leaders in advocacy, business and Congress will join the report’s author to discuss the findings and what they mean in the context of the nation’s current paid leave policy debate.

WHAT: Audio news conference on the findings of Paid Family Medical Leave: Healthier U.S. Families Within Our Reach, which will be published by the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on February 28, 2018

WHO: Dr. Jody Heymann, author of the report, founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center and dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, will be joined by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D – Conn.), lead sponsor of the FAMILY Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rosemary Arriada-Keiper, vice president of global rewards at Adobe, and Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, the organization behind the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and leader of national paid leave efforts today

WHEN: 12:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

CALL-IN INFORMATION: 1-800-311-9403 | Passcode: PAIDLEAV

NOTE: Media are encouraged to RSVP in advance to Sadie Kliner at skliner@nationalpartnership.org or 202-986-2600.

UPDATE: Audio file is available here.