“I know firsthand the difference having access to paid family and medical leave can make. When my first daughter was born I was working at a job with paid leave benefits. But by the time my second daughter was born, I was now a small business owner and my husband and I were full time in our start-up, and I was back to work only a few days after giving birth. This is why we need more than one-off businesses to offer paid leave benefits — we need a national paid leave family and medical insurance program that covers all businesses, regardless of size or industry and all individuals, whether they are employees that work part-time, full-time, individuals who are self-employed, independent contractors or business owners themselves. In the construction business, we work with many sub-contractors with small or one-person shops. They are in the same boat needing a program like this. The cost of offering short term disability insurance was astronomical for my small business, particularly in the construction industry. A national paid leave insurance program, like the FAMILY Act, would level the playing field between big and small business and just makes sense for a society that cares about family.”
Emily Ingwersen, Co-Founder
