The Small Business Owner’s Case for Universal Paid Leave

Richmond, VA, Aug. 5 — Make no mistake about it: a universal paid family and medical leave program is a small business boosting policy. It’s an investment in our workforce and the entrepreneurs driving our economy and leading our recovery.

It has been a difficult 18 months for small businesses in Central Virginia and across the Commonwealth. Many entrepreneurial dreams have been deferred, diverted, or dashed altogether. Now more than ever our Main Street businesses—our small, mom and pop shops—need our support. They need tools and resources to help them navigate the shared challenges we’ve faced over this last year and a half—some of them new and some long-standing, laid bare by the pandemic.

Universal paid leave must be part of how we begin to build a stronger, more resilient and more equitable economy.

A universal paid leave program would give much-needed security to self-employed people like myself. As one of the 350,000 sole-proprietors in Virginia, I’m one medical emergency, one sick spouse, parent or sibling away from choosing between my health or family and my income. That’s an impossible choice that no one should have to make,

I returned to Virginia and started my business in large part because of a family caregiving situation. My sister’s chronic illness has meant she’s relied on family to help her get the care she needs. I want to know that when she needs me, I can be there for her and not put my livelihood in jeopardy.

It goes without saying that the Richmond LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce prides itself on the diversity of our membership. Our member businesses include brick and mortar shops, start-ups and self-employed people throughout the Richmond metropolitan area — some larger, some smaller; some well-established, others just starting out.

A universal paid leave policy would help our member businesses no matter their industry or their size or how long they’ve been operating.

Access to paid leave would help our members grow their business and create more jobs by helping us attract and retain great employees. Without a doubt, paid leave would help our members compete with bigger businesses who can afford these benefits on their own. And paid leave would increase our revenue by making sure every working Virginian had a stable income and more money to spend at our businesses.

We’ve seen all too clearly in this pandemic that a business can be booming one day and closing their doors the next. We’ve seen all too clearly that at some point, each of us will need to take time away from work to recover from an illness or care for a sick loved one. And we’ve seen the toll on our economy when we don’t have a plan for absences from our work and our businesses already in place. Let’s not waste another moment without a plan. For our small businesses, our employees and the communities that we serve, let’s pass a strong, universal and affordable paid family and medical leave plan now.

Visit PaidLeaveforAll.org and follow Paid Leave for All on Instagram and Twitter for more information on the bus tour and on ways to get involved in winning paid family and medical leave for all.

The views and opinions expressed by the authors of this series are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New America.

Natasha Crosby is a professional Realtor, President at the Richmond LGBTQ Chamber, and long-time advocate of paid leave.