This month, advocacy groups Moms Rising and Paid Leave for All delivered a petition with over 55,000 signatures to every member of Congress, urging the implementation of a federal law safeguarding paid family leave. The petition is part of a larger movement pushing for paid leave at the state level as well.
Scripps News has been closely monitoring the state-level initiative in New York spearheaded by mothers advocating for change. In many states, including New York, mothers who experience a stillbirth often have their approved paid family leave revoked, which is currently permissible under the law. Despite efforts to address this loophole through legislation introduced in the past two years, progress hit a roadblock this summer as the legislative fight came to a halt just before the finish line.
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“This compromise bill would not only be monumental for stillbirth parents, but it would be for so many others to include cancer patients and people who suffer from serious illnesses like MS,” expressed Cassidy Perrone, a mother who delivered her stillborn daughter, Olivia.
Perrone had her paid family leave revoked because, according to New York state law, she did not qualify for leave due to the loss of her baby. She has been tirelessly advocating for the legal protection of paid family leave for mothers of stillborn babies in the hope of paving the way for federal paid leave for all parents. This movement has gained momentum as more individuals become aware of legal gaps in their own states.
“It is difficult for us to recount this every time we engage with a Senator or Congressman, or the Governor’s office; we relive that trauma,” Perrone shared. “But, that is the only way that change is going to occur.”
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Perrone, alongside advocates like Samantha Banerjee, executive director of PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, is working towards passing this year’s bill. On the final day of the 2024 legislative session, after approval from the state Senate, Perrone mentioned that New York’s Assembly speaker abruptly removed the bill from the agenda.
“To say that it was devastating is an understatement,” Perrone expressed. “It truly brought me back to the day that my paid family leave was revoked from me. I felt like it completely re-traumatized me because I had been promised something yet again by New York, and it was the right thing to do. And they took it away yet again.”
Now, Perrone, Banerjee, and others are striving to bring the bill back before state legislators before the year concludes.
If passed, Banerjee hopes the law in New York could serve as a blueprint for a national standard. “What is happening in New York is setting the stage for what’s going to be going on nationally,” noted Banerjee.
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The United States is one of seven countries globally without any guaranteed form of paid maternity leave at the federal level. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that only 27% of private sector U.S. workers have access to paid family leave through their employers. Among low-wage workers, predominantly women and workers of color, 95% lack access to paid family leave.
“Black moms are three to four times more likely to lose their lives due to pregnancy or childbirth. Sixty percent of these deaths occur in the postpartum period, with two-thirds within the first six weeks after giving birth. This puts mothers’ lives at risk,” emphasized Banerjee.
Currently, 13 states have enacted paid family and medical leave laws. Critics argue that these policies can be costly and burdensome for businesses, but Perrone believes it transcends policy. “We need to demonstrate as a nation that women are valued,” Perrone stated.
“Every person who gives birth, whether they come out of their pregnancy with their baby or not, deserves time to heal their bodies. Anything less is simply cruel and unusual,” added Banerjee.
For further details on PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy and its advocacy efforts, click HERE.
