SC legislators need to pass popular paid family leave law

Last spring, when we stood alongside Governor McMaster in a press conference as he announced his support for our legislation offering paid family leave for state employees, it seemed as if we had nearly secured a win for working families in South Carolina. This, along with a list of bipartisan co-sponsors in both the Senate and the House, suggested we would have an easy legislative path forward. Unfortunately, when the pandemic cut our legislative session short, our bill which had received unanimous approval in subcommittee was stopped in its tracks.

But now in a new legislative session, we have the opportunity to try again. This legislation has wide approval, and will yield incredible benefits to families in our state. With a long list of proponents in the General Assembly and a Governor in full support, there is no reason why paid family leave should not easily become law in South Carolina. The only obstacle between where we are now and providing this life-changing support for our state employees and their children is the committee process, which has been delayed. In order to move these bills forward, we need our colleagues to act.

Not long ago, we were inspired in part to introduce this legislation when Senator Jackson’s administrative assistant felt the need to work extremely late into her pregnancy, through sickness and discomfort, in order to save her paid sick time to be with her newborn child. This story is all too common among the hardworking employees of our state. For fear of missing out on the critical first weeks of their child’s life, they are forced to come to work ill, tired, and in pain so that they can bank their days off without missing out on paychecks when they need them most. We can easily change this, and ultimately make an incredible difference for new families.

Twelve weeks of paid leave for new parents is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. In addition to equipping our state employees to balance their work and home lives, this policy would make South Carolina stand out in the competitive labor market. The benefits of paid family leave are enormous. In the immediate, this policy will help recruit and retain talented young people to work for our state. Incentives like these prove to potential applicants you can have a career and grow your family here. In the long term, South Carolina will see healthier, happier children because they were allowed to be with their parents for an uninterrupted period at the beginning of their life. Twelve weeks at the start of a baby’s life for bonding, growing and healing is not a luxury — it’s a necessary foundation.

Here in South Carolina, we pride ourselves on our family values and competitive workforce. This policy will build on these values we hold dear. This legislation mirrors what was already signed into federal law by a Republican administration with strong, bipartisan Congressional support. Federal government employees are now granted 12 weeks of paid family leave, and that program has seen great success.

We encourage our colleagues to move to pass this popular legislation as soon as possible, and help bring relief to the expecting families who work so hard for our state.