Representative Sigel calls paid family leave a 'moral public investment,' urges adoption

Representative Sigel urged passage of paid family leave during remarks to the House Labor & Industry Committee, calling the lack of a statewide program “fundamentally embarrassing.”

"It is a moral public investment deficit that we are the only industrialized country in the world that does not provide this benefit to our citizens," Representative Sigel said, arguing that a program could be funded through employee and employer payroll contributions capped at 1%. He said Pennsylvanians lose about $2,000,000,000 a year in wages when workers take unpaid time off.

Sigel compared the proposal to Social Security, saying the commonwealth already accepts payroll-funded collective programs and that paid family leave would prevent outcomes such as workers choosing between paying rent or caring for a sick relative. "We put people in an impossible situation," he said.

He also pointed to existing models, saying 14 states have paid leave programs and that employers in those states reported benefits such as lower turnover and higher productivity. Sigel said personal experience working for Lehigh County showed employees often begged colleagues for paid time off to cover recovery from surgery or time with a newborn.

Sigel framed the choice as one about collective responsibility: "We're a country. We're a commonwealth, and that means the common good," he said. He concluded by saying he would be "a hard yes unapologetically."

No formal vote or motion on paid family leave appears in the provided transcript segment.