Washington – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and a group of their colleagues to introduce a bill to help state and local governments provide public employees with paid leave when they need it most. 

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into law in March, requires many public and private employers to provide paid leave for workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. That law provides tax credits to private-sector employers to cover the costs of paid leave. But the package did not extend those tax credits to public-sector employers. This is putting a financial strain on state and local governments at a time when many are grappling with additional costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The legislation will fix this problem by making state, local, and tribal governments eligible for paid leave payroll tax credits.

In addition to Feinstein, Durbin and Smith, the Supporting State and Local Leaders Act is also cosponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

The Supporting State and Local Leaders Act is supported by the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and the National School Boards Association.

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