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COVID 19

My View Tracy McDaniel: Paid Family and Medical Leave Can’t Wait

March 28, 2021 by SWLC

By Tracy McDaniel
Feb 28, 2021

COVID-19 made clear that U.S. workers struggle to balance work, health, and family obligations. This is particularly true for women, especially women of color, who have left the workforce at alarming rates in the last year, including 275,000 American women in January alone. This exodus of women from the workplace is due in large part to the conflict between work and caregiving. We can and must find ways to help New Mexicans balance work obligations and caring for their health and their families.

The U.S. has struggled to cope with the economic realities of the pandemic in ways that other countries have not. One significant reason for this difference is the lack of support for workers who are suddenly unable to participate in the workforce due to health-related or caregiving concerns.

Among wealthy nations, the U.S. stands alone in its failure to ensure paid sick leave and paid family leave to workers.

As one of their first acts in response to COVID-19 in March, members of the U.S. Congress enacted temporary paid sick and paid family leave. While leaders in other countries were working to address the myriad issues related to the economic and public health crises, Congress was caught debating paid leave measures that have been guaranteed to workers elsewhere around the world for years. The provisions they passed were temporary, limited and have since expired.

Guaranteed paid leave has been replaced with a temporary tax credit for employers who choose to provide leave. Because of the limited reach and voluntary nature of these provisions, many New Mexicans have been unable to access this support.

While limited in their reach among New Mexicans, this series of rushed temporary measures at the federal level have demonstrated that paid leave policies are necessary to an economy’s ability to respond, adapt and bounce back from major financial and public health disruption. Based on an Urban Institute analysis, states with existing paid family and medical leave programs were better able to respond to pandemic-related claims than those relying solely on unemployment insurance systems.

If New Mexico had a such a program in place before the pandemic, our economy and our communities would have suffered less from coronavirus-related hardships. We now have the opportunity to create systems that support future economic resilience for New Mexico.

The state Legislature currently is considering House Bill 38, which would create the Paid Family and Medical Leave Trust Fund administered through the Department of Workforce Solutions. After six months of contributions, individuals would be able to receive leave compensation from the trust fund to take up to 12 weeks away from work to welcome a new child, manage a serious health condition or care for a family member with a serious health condition.

Because of the economic downturn, HB 38 proposes a delayed implementation timeline with more than two years to begin rolling out the program. The delay recognizes both the economic realities facing New Mexico and the urgency of the moment.

In the face of an unprecedented crisis last spring, precious time was wasted at all levels of government, scrambling to deal with a problem that other countries have already solved. We must support workers and ensure economic stability. A paid family and medical leave policy is imperative to our economic security at the individual, community, state and national level. For New Mexico to be ready for the next emergency and to protect everyday workers experiencing caregiving needs and health conditions, we must act now to enact paid family and medical leave.


Tracy McDaniel is a policy advocate with Southwest Women’s Law Center. She has been working to improve
outcomes for young children and families in New Mexico since 2009.

Read on Santa Fe Reporter

Filed Under: COVID 19, Paid Family & Medical Leave Act

HB 44 – UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION RESTRICTION CHANGES

January 22, 2021 by SWLC

The pandemic leaves many New Mexicans with impossible choices between protecting their health and meeting basic needs.

This bill amends the Unemployment Compensation Law to respond to the current public health emergency with provisions to temporarily expand Unemployment Insurance eligibility. These provisions protect workers who are unable to work due to conditions related to the pandemic.

WHAT’S THE NEED?

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every part of New Mexican’s lives. Health, education, family responsibilities, employment, and so much more have been disrupted by this public health crisis. We owe it to NM residents to do all we can to mitigate those impacts.

HOW DOES COVID-19 IMPACT EMPLOYMENT?

COVID-19 threatens employment in several ways:

  • Workplaces are forced to close or reduce the number of people working at individual worksites due to public health orders issued to protect the health of customers and essential workers, particularly when working at home is not an option.
  • Employees may be required to quarantine after exposure or diagnosis of COVID-19.
  • Some workers will be unable to return to work safely during the public health emergency because of underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19.
  • Some workers need to care for a family member who has been diagnosed and/or who is seriously ill with COVID-19.
  • COVID-related childcare and school closures prevent working parents from working or seeking work.

WHO IS IMPACTED?

  • Women, especially women of color, have been most impacted by the COVID-19 recession. (1) With a higher concentration of jobs in the hard-hit service industry and more caregiving responsibilities for both children and elders, women have borne the brunt of COVID-related job and income loss.
  • In the most recent U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, NM adults living in households with children under 17 reported the following: (2)
    • 58% reported a loss of income since March 13, 2020;
    • 87% reported not receiving any pay for time not working;
    • 51% reported difficulty managing regular household expenses during the last week; o 20% reported difficulty getting enough food to eat in the last week (up from 15% pre-pandemic).
  • Each year, 419,000 New Mexicans provide unpaid caregiving for elders. (3)
  • New Mexicans face higher than average rates of pre-existing conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19. (4)

FEDERAL EMERGENCY PROVISIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR NM WORKERS.

HB 44 – UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION RESTRICTION CHANGES

  • Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) offered limited emergency paid sick and paid family leave protections for workers impacted by COVID-19, but those limited protections expired on December 31, 2020 (5)
  • The Coronavirus Relief & Omnibus Agreement extends Pandemic Unemployment Insurance (PUA) protections to workers who would usually be ineligible, including independent contractors, (6)
  • The Coronavirus Relief & Omnibus Agreement also reauthorizes $300 supplemental benefits for those receiving Unemployment benefits from December 26, 2020 through March 14, 2021. The 13 week extension of UI benefits, offered in CARES Act, have now expired. (6)

WHAT TO KNOW

  • This temporary expansion of eligibility criteria for Unemployment Insurance will fill the gaps left by federal policy and ensure that New Mexicans can maintain economic stability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The bill would offer temporary protections for individuals unable to participate in the workforce due to:
    • Exposure to or diagnosis of COVID-19;
    • Need to provide care to a family member diagnosed with COVID-19;
    • An underlying medical condition that makes an individual more susceptible to COVID-19;
    • A COVID-19 related workplace closure;
    • Child care being unavailable due to COVID-19.
  • Most Federal provisions expired on December 31, 2020. Those that were extended are still set to expire by March 14, 2021. However, we expect that COVID-19 will impact economic stability throughout the declared public health emergency. This bill would provide relief to New Mexico families until January 1, 2023.

PLEASE HELP US PASS TEMPORARY ELIGIBILTY EXPANSION FOR UI!

Endorsed by:
NM Voices for Children Fathers NM
OLÉ Education Fund
NM Public Health Association Respect NM Women
Endorsed by: Southwest Women’s Law Center
NM Center on Law & Poverty
NAPAWF – Albuquerque Chapter HEAL+NM
NM Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice
Professional Business Women of New Mexico
Center for Civic Policy Interfaith Worker Justice NM NOISE for NOW

References:
1. Karageorge, E.X. (2020). COVID-19 recession tougher on women. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed January 5, 2021. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/beyond-bls/covid-19-recession-is-tougher-on-women.htm
2. KIDS COUNT Data Center from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Accessed January 4, 2021. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data#NM/2/0/char/0/271
3. NM Aging and Long-term Care Department. Caregivers. Accessed June 12, 2020. https://www.nmaging.state.nm.us/caregivers.aspx
4. Gallagher L. The State of Health in New Mexico 2018. Published 2018:103.
5. COVID-19 and the American Workplace | U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed January 4, 2021. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic
6. U.S. Department of Labor. Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 (Continued Assistance Act) – Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance (UI) Provisions. Accessed January 4, 2021. https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3831

Download HB 44 Fact Sheet

For questions or comments, please contact the Southwest Women’s Law Center: 505-604-3243 or info@swwomenslaw.org

Filed Under: Advocacy, COVID 19, COVID-19, HB 44, health care, NM Health Care

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