Rep. McBride: “Fair Leave isn’t Just a Matter of Fair Policy — It’s a Matter of Life and Death”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-DE) released a deeply personal video message announcing the introduction of the FAIR Leave Act, bipartisan legislation she is leading to strengthen the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In the video, Rep. McBride shares her experience caring for her late husband, Andy, during his battle with cancer.

“The fight for fair leave isn’t just a matter of fair policy—it’s a matter of life and death,” McBride says in the video. “I know because I lived it. I held my husband’s hand as he took his last breath after his battle with cancer. At the time, we were working for the same employer.”

Under current FMLA regulations, spouses who work for the same employer must split a single 12-week leave period, unlike other families who each are entitled to full leave. The FAIR Leave Act (Fully Adhering to Individual Rights in Leave) would end this inequity by guaranteeing each worker the full 12 weeks of job-protected leave provided under federal law.

“That means that two new parents who work for the same employer get half the leave of other new parents,” McBride explains in the video. “It means that a patient and their spouse could lose their job or health coverage simply for needing more than 12 weeks between the two of them.”

The FAIR Leave Act, introduced with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Haley Stevens (D-MI), is a commonsense, bipartisan fix that restores fairness to the FMLA and provides much-needed flexibility for working families during some of life’s most difficult moments. 

McBride, who in her first term as a Delaware State Senator passed the landmark Healthy Delaware Families Act to establish paid family and medical leave statewide, says this fight is both personal and urgent.

“Up until his last breath, Andy and I both knew how lucky we were. So many couples aren’t nearly as lucky,” McBride reflected in the video. “I ran for Congress because I do not believe that in the wealthiest, most developed nation on earth that the time and ability to get and provide care should be a matter of luck. It should be the law of the land.”

The full video is available here for use.

Learn more about the FAIR Leave Act here and access the full bill text here.

The full transcript of the video is below:

“The fight for fair leave isn’t just a matter of fair policy–it’s a matter of life and death.

“I know because I lived it.

“I held my husband’s hand as he took his last breath after his battle with cancer. 

“At the time, we were working for the same employer. 

“Andy and I had met when I was still in college and we would go on to work at the same place. He was working to expand health care under the ACA and I was working on passing workplace protections. And we were falling in love – feeling, as two 20-year-olds, that we had a world of possibilities before the two of us.

“And then, when we got the news of Andy’s diagnosis, the world came crashing down on us.  

“Andy had a fighting spirit up until the end. And through it all, we both knew how lucky we were.

“We knew we were lucky that Andy had health insurance that allowed him to get care that would hopefully save his life.

“We knew we were lucky to have flexibility with our employer that allowed him to focus on the full time job of getting treatment and for me to be there by his side, to support and care for him through surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy - and, when he found out his cancer was terminal, to care for him as I walked alongside him to his passing.

 “Up until his last breath, Andy and I both knew how lucky we were. So many couples aren’t nearly as lucky.

“I ran for Congress because I do not believe that in the wealthiest, most developed nation on earth that the time and ability to get and provide care should be a matter of luck.

“It should be the law of the land.

 “Workers should be at the grace and favor of their employer to get the care they need. 

“It’s why I worked across the aisle with my colleagues in the Delaware State Senate to expand access to health care and guarantee the leave that workers need. 

“And it’s why I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan FAIR Leave Act in Congress–legislation to strengthen the landmark federal Family and Medical Leave Act by ensuring that families who work for the same employer are entitled to the same job-protected leave as other workers. 

“Under current federal law, married individuals who work for the same employer have to share a total of 12 weeks of leave between them unlike families who work for different employers.  That means that new parents who work for the same employer get half the parental leave as other new parents. It means that both a patient and their spouse who work for the same company could risk losing their job and their health coverage because they need more than 12 weeks of leave between the two of them. 

“Our bill changes that – guaranteeing that every worker covered by FMLA is able toget up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. This bipartisan bill is about families and fairness, compassion, and care. 

“Because no one should have to choose between their job and the people they love.

“Now, let’s get it done. Stay in touch, and I’ll do the same.”

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