Survivors of domestic violence are often forced to choose between their safety and their livelihoods, an impossible choice to have to make. Because many survivors don’t have access to paid family and medical leave, they risk losing their jobs/income at the very moment they most need stability. 

Paid, protected leave from work is an essential tool for the safety, agency, and economic security of survivors of all types of violence, including family and domestic violence, sexual violence, and harassment. Yet most workers in the United States do not have access to paid leave, and the gaps are even greater for lower-wage workers. Survivors in these jobs are among those most harmed by the lack of protection and support. 

The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act would change this. This legislation creates a strong national paid family and medical leave program to ensure that workers have the time they need to care for themselves and their loved ones while seeking safety. Importantly, it recognizes the unique needs of victims by allowing for the paid leave to be used as safe leave for legal, medical and family needs that are caused by experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  This act will ensure that all workers can take the time they need to seek safety, recover, heal, and care for their families without risking their livelihoods.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) introduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act (S. 2823 and H.R. 5390) on September 16, 2025. The FAMILY Act would guarantee up to 12 weeks of partial income for workers who have to take leave for serious medical and family events. 

The FAMILY Act would provide workers with paid leave for a range of major life events, including: 

1. Recovering from their own serious health condition. 
2. Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
3. Bonding with a new child—whether newborn, adopted, or placed through foster care.
4. Handling responsibilities related to a family member’s military deployment.
5. Taking “safe leave” as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
    

“Without universal paid leave, millions of Americans are forced to make devastating choices between their livelihood and the health of themselves or their families,” said Senator Gillibrand. “By guaranteeing up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers who have to take time off for a major life event, the FAMILY Act will end these impossible decisions. I am proud to have led the fight for paid leave alongside Representative DeLauro for over a decade, and I’ll continue fighting for this program for as long as it takes so we can give every worker the flexibility and dignity they deserve.”

“Today, working families are stretched to the breaking point in this cost-of-living crisis, yet the U.S. remains the only industrialized nation without paid leave. Paid family and medical leave has been my life’s work since I beat ovarian cancer in 1986 and helped write the Family and Medical Leave Act with Senator Chris Dodd. But unpaid leave was never meant to be the destination – it was just our first step. The FAMILY Act is our next step forward: a national and comprehensive program that never makes Americans choose between their health or their family, and their paycheck,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “I am proud to introduce this needed legislation with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and with strong support from our Democratic colleagues.”

“In the United States of America — the richest nation on earth — every person should have the ability to care for their loved ones without needing to jeopardize their financial stability. The FAMILY Act would finally put our country on the path toward providing every worker with access to meaningful and guaranteed paid leave benefits,” said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. 

Please use our pre-drafted letters to urge your senators and representative to support the FAMILY Act (S. 2823 and H.R. 5390). If they have already sponsored or co-sponsored the bill, you can send a message of thanks.