Paid Leave Means a Stronger Maryland

Everyone needs time to care.

Too many Marylanders face impossible choices when new children are born or adopted and when serious personal or family health needs inevitably arise.

The vast majority of working people in the United States do not have paid family leave through their jobs. In Maryland, even unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act is inaccessible for 56 percent of working people.

Paid leave means:

• Not having to choose between job and family;

• Older adults and working people of all ages can get the support they need to receive and provide critical care;

• People – especially women – aren’t forced to leave the labor force to care for their families or health, reducing turnover for employers and boosting the economy;

• A stronger economy, healthier families and businesses, greater equity regardless of a person’s job and more workplace equality for women.