Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Yolo, announced that her pregnancy leave for educators act passed the assembly education committee.
According to the California Department of Education, 73% of the teacher workforce in California are women. If enacted, the legislation will grant public school employees up to 14 weeks of leave with full pay for pregnancies and pregnancy-related health issues.
"The current leave system forces educators to deplete their sick leave and pay for their own substitute in order to start a family," Aguiar-Curry emphasized. "This is a shocking and inequitable practice that puts women at a massive financial disadvantage. AB 2901 will create more equity in the education workforce and give educators the necessary time off to care for themselves and their child as we ask them to give so much to care for ours."
"It's time to stop asking them to sacrifice their financial security, the health of their families and the health of their school communities in order to do their critical jobs."
A press release from Aguiar-Curry argued that lack of paid disability leave contributes to problems with retaining educators in the workforce as many of them are forced to leave the profession when they become pregnant and often do not return.
Aguiar-Curry argued that these compounded challenges penalize women educators with a "gender penalty" in their retirement goals.
"Educators who have exhausted their sick leave due to pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or recovery from those conditions are at a huge disadvantage," the release added. "On average, women educators earn almost $100,000 less in retirement than their male colleagues."
Erika Jones, California Teachers Union secretary-treasurer, argued that this legislation will fix a broken system for public school educators.
"We are pleased to hear that the assembly education committee heard educators and voted yes on this legislation," Jones remarked. "The 310,000 educators in the California Teachers Union urge other legislators to do the same. The time is now. We must correct this discriminatory practice."
Assembly Bill 2901 will give educators the time they need for pregnancy and matches the International Labor Organization's recommendation of 14 weeks for maternity leave.
Additionally, the bill aligns with the goals of the Paid Family Leave Task Force created by Gov. Gavin Newson in 2019 because it increases leave access, provides better job protections and expands the length of coverage.
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