16-06-2025
Paid family leave is a win-win for Florida
Recently, I met a young man I'll call 'Lucas,' who had received a full scholarship to play football at the University of Miami — but he was disqualified because his GPA was too low. Why? Because he couldn't read.
What was once a bright future for Lucas and his family is now uncertain. And while his story is tragic, it's not unique.
Earlier this year, the Education Recovery Scorecard ranked Florida 45th in the nation for reading scores — putting our students three-quarters of a grade level behind.
I've dedicated my career to helping kids like Lucas improve their lives by developing reading skills.
But I can only do that by ensuring my team of teachers, mentors, and para-educators — many of them single mothers — can balance their work and personal lives without risking a paycheck.
Since I founded the H.U.G. Reading Program 10 years ago to help kids in Florida and beyond learn to read, we've hired thousands of employees who welcomed new babies, said goodbye to aging parents, or faced personal and family emergencies.
From day one, we offered paid family and medical leave — not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's good business.
If you want productive employees, you need happy, healthy, loyal people who are committed to and engaged with their work. That means giving them time to care for themselves and their families, so they can return refreshed and ready to teach.
At H.U.G., paid leave policies led to fewer absences, lower turnover, and reduced health care costs. One study found that replacing an employee can cost up to 150% of their annual wages. Another financial analysis of more than 10,000 businesses found that those offering paid leave saw 4.6% higher revenue and 6.8% greater profit per full-time employee.
In fact, for every dollar invested in supporting employees, manufacturing and tech companies saw respective returns of $2.57 and $2.64.
In the U.S., the Family and Medical Leave Acts (FMLA) provides protections for employees during times of personal and family health crises. The 1993 federal law allows eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for family or medical reasons, ensuring that their job and health insurance benefits are not affected.
Florida businesses are generally required to follow FMLA rules, if they have at least 50 employees.
Yet not all businesses in Florida offer paid leave — because they don't have to. That's a problem. Raising children in our state costs families up to $17,500 per child, per year, pushing many parents into the workforce.
Without paid leave, many mothers must choose between work and family. But if Florida women participated in the workforce at the same rate as women in states that offer paid family leave, there would be 348,000 more workers and $12.8 billion in additional wages earned in our state each year.
Family-friendly policies also give parents the time to engage with their children's education — fostering academic success that builds a stronger, more competitive workforce and economy for Florida's future.
Paid family and sick leave is a smart investment — not just in business, but in our next generation.
By ensuring Floridians don't have to choose between their jobs and their families, our state can thrive — academically, economically, and nationally.
Across Florida are millions of kids just like Lucas, who — with the right support — can achieve their dreams.
I urge state policymakers to expand paid family leave for all Floridians — before it's too late.
Janine Broussard is the founder of the H.U.G. Reading Program and lives in Palm Beach.
