Five Illinois Democrats joined colleagues last week to introduce a proposal to expand family and medical leave. [Health News Illinois]
 
The bill would expand protections to those working for smaller employers by reducing the current federal coverage threshold from 50 employees to one employee as well as eliminating the requirement that an employee work 1,250 hours at a single workplace over the previous year. It would also cut the amount of time an individual must have worked at their workplace to receive protections from 12 months to 90 days.
 
Lawmakers that have signed on include Sen. Dick Durbin for U.S. Senate, D-Ill., and Reps. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove; Danny Davis, D-Chicago; Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston; and Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville.
 
Underwood introduced the proposal last week, ahead of Sunday's 30th anniversary of the original legislation mandating that certain employers provide family and medical leave.
 
“(Co-sponsor Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn.) and I are introducing the (bill), the largest expansion of the (Family and Medical Leave Act) since its enactment, so that working people can provide for their families and care for their loved ones without having to worry about their job security or putting their career plans on hold,” Underwood said in a statement. 

###