FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2016

 

INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM STATEMENT

Mandated Paid Leave For Federal Contractors Is Another Attempt By Obama Administration To Create A One-Size-Fits-All Workplace

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), the leading women's organization focused on improving economic prospects without growing government, released the following statement following a new rule issued by the Department of Labor requiring all federal government contractors to provide paid leave to workers, a plan advanced by President Obama.

Carrie Lukas, managing director at IWF said:  

"We recognize that all Americans – men and women – need to take time off from work to address personal matters – caring for children, aging parents or other life circumstances. And while we applaud the federal government for recognizing the need of their employees for paid leave benefits, we hope they also recognize that not all businesses or employers have the same deep pockets that the government does thanks to hard-working American taxpayers.

"The Labor Department's move to mandate sick leave for federal contractors is another attempt by the Obama Administration to create a one-size-fits-all workplace. Of course it would be great if companies could provide all workers with paid leave benefits costlessly. But there are tradeoffs between more benefits and take-home pay. Some workers may prefer having more money in their paychecks rather than guaranteed paid time off.

"The Administration will sell this as a gift to workers, ignoring that it's workers who will also be paying for it — with lower take home pay and less control over how they are compensated. There are better alternative solutions that – like Personal Care Accounts – that benefit both employees and employers that Washington should consider."

 

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www.iwf.org

Independent Women's Forum works to improve the lives of Americans by increasing the number of women who value free-markets and personal liberty. 

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