Fischer calls on Labor Dept. to ‘close awareness gap’ about family leave tax credit

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) recently urged the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to raise awareness about the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) tax credit, which provides employers with a tax credit up to 25 percent of wages paid to employees who are on PFML.

“Unfortunately, due to the delay in issuing guidance for the credit, along with the confusion of temporary paid leave credits associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers remain unaware of the availability of the credit,” wrote Sen. Fischer and a colleague in an April 18 letter sent to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su.

In fact, a recent survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business found that just 22 percent of small business owners had heard of the credit, according to the letter, which was also signed by U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME).

“As a result, we believe that there is a significant opportunity to help close this awareness gap and increase employee’s access to PFML by working to promote the availability of the credit,” the senators wrote.

In order to claim the Section 45S PFML tax credit, an employer must offer all qualifying employees at least two weeks of PFML, have a written PFML in place, and pay at least 50 percent of an employee’s normal wages while on PFML, according to the letter.

Sen. Fischer secured language in the recent fiscal year 2024 funding legislation encouraging DOL to carry out a campaign to raise awareness of the PFML tax credit under Section 45S of the Internal Revenue Code.

“Time is of the essence to carry out these efforts,” wrote Sen. Fischer and her colleague. “We stand ready to work with you and the department to help carry out these awareness efforts in order to help more employees gain access to PFML.”