Congressional Republicans are poised to expand an obscure tax credit that helps companies provide paid family leave for their workforces, with plans to make the rarely used provision permanent.
Lawmakers authorized the credit, known as Section 45S, in 2017 as a two-year trial amid calls for paid family leave for working parents — a national standard in much of the world. It has been extended twice and covers as much as one-quarter of a full-time worker’s wages for six to 12 weeks after the birth of a child, or other qualifying family or medical event. It’s available for workers who earn less than $96,000 a year.
Republicans want to make it permanent, as well as expand it to part-time workers. They also want to reduce the worker eligibility requirement from one year on the job to six months.
