Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky 2021-12-16 05:00:59 –
Charleston, West Virginia — Should Parents Pay for a Vacation After the Birth of a Child?
Some companies and states offer paid leave programs, but they are not currently required at the federal level. This means that many employees across the country do not have access to this program.
Affected new moms and children
Natalie Welling is the mother of a 6-week-old Lexus.
Welling is already back at work.
“I came back two weeks ago,” she said. “When he was four weeks.”
“My employer does not offer paid parental leave,” Welling added.
Welling is not subject to short-term disability because Lenux gave birth through a surrogate mother.
The United States continues to be one of the only major countries in the world that are not required to take paid leave nationwide.
During the four weeks Welling was at home, she was only protected for work.
“Everything was unpaid and I only got employment security,” Welling said.
Parliamentary action or omission
This year, Congress seemed to pass paid leave allowances.
The House of Representatives included four weeks in the version of the Build Back Better bill passed in November.
But all the signs are that it will be abandoned before the Senate votes on the bill.
One of the reasons is Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Senator.
Manchin states that it does not belong to the Build Back Better Act. He argues that it should be dealt with in another bipartisan bill.
For Manchin to become a law, Manchin’s support is needed.
Welling lives in West Virginia and is a member of Manchin.
“Very sad,” she said.
“We want to work so that our parents have no children, but we want our parents to have no work,” Welling added.
Opposite of Manchin
To understand Manchin’s opposition, we first need to understand West Virginia politics.
“We are a very Republican state in West Virginia, giving Donald Trump the second highest turnout in 2020,” said John Findley, Managing Director of West Virginia.
According to Findley, Manchin is currently the only Democrat with offices throughout the state.
His group is urging Manchin to vote against as many democratic ideas as possible, and he believes it is working. Millions of dollars have been spent on television commercials in West Virginia to lobby Manchin.
“Our job is to put pressure on Joe Manchin,” Findley said.
“If he votes’stop’, he may be reelected,” Findley added. “If he votes for Biden, he will lose.”
