The Progressive Midwesterner

According to the National Partnership for Women and Families , only four U.S. states (California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island), as well the District of Columbia, currently have paid family leave programs, with two other states, Massachusetts and the State of Washington, set to implement paid family leave programs in the near future. Now, legislation has been proposed in two states, Illinois and North Dakota, to create paid family leave programs in those states. There are some differences between the Illinois proposal and the North Dakota proposal, but both proposals would require private-sector employers with at least 50 employees to provide paid leave for employees who take leave because of the birth of the employee's child and to allow the employee to care for a family member who is seriously ill. In Illinois, Illinois State Representative Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) has proposed a paid family leave act here in Illinois (Illinois HB0009). Here is the synopsis of the p...

I'm going to limit myself to not more than two North Dakota-related blog posts on The Progressive Midwesterner this year, but this is a blog post that I would encourage elected officials from across the country to read, as they may be able to learn how to use social media more effectively as an elected official. North Dakota State Representative Karla Rose Hanson (DNPL-Fargo), the Assistant Minority Leader of the North Dakota House of Representatives, has proposed, as of this writing, five bills in the current session of the North Dakota State Legislature. Two of Hanson's bills are proposals to have the North Dakota State Legislature meet annually instead of every two years. One of Hanson's bills would, if it were to become law, implement a pretrial services pilot program in three of North Dakota's judicial districts. Another of Hanson's bills would allow North Dakota taxpayers to voluntarily contribute to a veterans' services fund. Another of Hanson's bil...