By: Melissa Goodman, @mg718
This morning, I testified before the Los Angeles City Council about how important it is to give working parents paid time off to care for their newborn, newly-adopted or sick children. I asked the council to adopt a resolution to establish the city’s support for the federal FAMILY Act, which would create a national paid family and medical leave insurance program and is modeled on California’s successful paid family leave insurance system.

I also urged the council to take action to increase awareness of California’s paid family leave program. Although California’s program has proven a great success for business, workers and children’s health, far too many Californians don’t even know about it let alone use it. A study found that more than 50% of eligible workers don’t know the program exists or don’t use it, particularly low-income workers who need it most. Awareness is particularly low in L.A. and L.A. County. If you’re in the L.A. area and interested in learning more about California’s paid family leave system, its successes and how it needs to be improved, join us on Thursday, February 13 from 6 to 8pm at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center.
Melissa Goodman is senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California. Follow her on Twitter.