RI Senate approves bill to extend 'family leave' requirement to 24 weeks. What comes next?
PROVIDENCE – Legislation to increase to 24 weeks the required time off that private employers must provide their employees taking "parental and family medical leave" cleared its first big hurdle on Thursday with a Senate vote of approval.
The largely party-line vote was 28 to 6, with Democrat Roger Picard joining the Senate Republicans in voting against the bill.
The lead sponsor – Sen. Sandra Cano – told colleagues the legislation, now headed to the House for consideration, is essentially a jobs protection act.
Current law guarantees 13 weeks of "family leave" with no requirement that the employer pay the employee for the time off. The Senate-approved bill extends that time-off guarantee to 24 consecutive workweeks in any two calendar years, with at least 30 days' notice to the employer, except in emergencies.
A separate bill slated for a Senate vote next week would extend "temporary caregiver insurance" (TCI) benefits to workers who take time off to care for siblings and grandchildren. The list already includes a newborn or seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent or parent-in-law.
Co-sponsored by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, Majority Leader Ryan Pearson and Senate Majority Whip Valarie Lawson, among others, that bill would also double the maximum number of weeks covered by TCI to 12 weeks, starting on Jan. 1, 2025.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Senate passes bill to boost 'family leave' requirement to 24 weeks
