Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML)

Most families in Louisiana can’t afford to take time off work to welcome new children, recover from childbirth, or manage severe health conditions. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects jobs for eligible workers while they are on leave, but time off under FMLA is unpaid and not accessible to many workers in Louisiana.

  • Currently, only 34% of working adults in Louisiana, are eligible for FMLA-leave, and few can afford to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave.1 

  • 72% of working people in Louisiana do not have paid family and medical leave through their jobs - about 1.5 million workers.2   

The United States is one of the few developed nations that does not provide universal PFML. Because of this, many employees are forced to leave the workforce completely when they need to take time off to give birth, care for their own serious illness, or care for a family member, or they return to work too early, which can exacerbate their serious health condition. Statewide policies like PFML are needed to ensure that businesses can retain the critical workers they need who may have caregiving responsibilities.  

PFML Overview

  • Actuarial analysis estimates show that Louisiana can fully fund 12 weeks of paid leave through a small payroll contribution split between the employer and the employee.  

  • Small businesses that employ under twenty-five employees will not be required to pay the employer contribution and will be able to offer the benefit with no additional business cost 

  • Businesses that already offer PFML for their employees can opt out of the system, though other states have shown that a state-run program is more cost-effective than self-insurance for businesses 

What is PFML?

PFML offers job-protected, paid leave to workers when they need extended time off work because of the worker’s own serious health condition or for caregiving reasons, such as caring for a seriously ill loved one, or bonding with a new child, including adoptive and foster children.

How will PFML be funded?

  • “I had to return to work because I ran out of sick days. I can’t survive on 65% of my regular paycheck.”

    - Louisiana Educator

  • “This is a system telling school employees, ‘You may care for other people's children every day, but when it's time to care for your own, you are on your own.’”

    - Larry Carter, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President

  • “We can do better at protecting our teachers and providing for the needs that they have so they can work in a field that is wonderful and rewarding.”

    - Louisiana Educator

PFML Resources

PFML Facts

  • Seventy-two percent of working people in Louisiana do not have paid family and medical leave through their jobs - about 1.5 million workers.

  • Nearly one in three seriously ill workers either lose their jobs or have to change jobs because of their illness. PFML can help workers balance their health needs with work and keep their jobs.

  • Sixty-one percent of adults who say they plan to move in the next two years would be more likely to move to a state with a paid family medical leave program; 40% say they would be less likely to move to a state without a PFML program.

  • FML helps boost productivity and improves employee morale. Most employers reported positive or neutral effects on productivity (88.5%) and employee morale (98.6%).

1 Paid Leave Means a Stronger Louisiana, 2024, National Partnership for Women and Families, https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/paid-leave-means-a-stronger-louisiana.pdf

2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September). National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023 (Excel tables). Retrieved 16 January 2024, from https://www.bls.gov/ebs/publications/employee-benefits-in-theunited-states-march-2023.htm (Percent of civilian workers who have access to paid family leave by Census division); U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, November). Current Population Survey: State Employment and Unemployment (Table 1. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and selected area, seasonally adjusted). Retrieved 16 January 2024, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.t01.htm.