Teaming up with Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre, chair of Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Assemblyman Matt Slater (R,C-Yorktown) has signed onto a letter advocating for paid family leave for military spouses, children, parents and/or domestic partners, regardless of where the service member is deployed (A.6744) to be included in the Assembly One-House Budget proposal.

Under current law, New York state restricts paid family leave to service members deployed to foreign countries. A handful of residents of New York have been forced to use all their paid time off before qualifying for family leave. This has left service members and their families without essential financial support during critical times.

“I was stunned to learn the state’s paid family leave does not properly support military spouses when our brave soldiers are deployed. This wrong must be corrected, and I appreciate Assemblymember Jean-Pierre’s partnership on this critically important issue that will serve as a national model,” said Slater.

“Paid family leave for domestic and international deployments is critical to the financial stability of our military families.  Service members who are deployed within the United States should not have to exhaust their paid time off before having access to paid family leave. Regardless of the location of their deployment, service members are sacrificing time away from their families and deserve to have the security of paid family leave. As Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I am committed to ensuring that our active-duty service members and veterans receive all the benefits they deserve for their significant contributions made in service to our country,” said Assemblymember Jean-Pierre.

     *Click here to view the letter*