(WXYZ) — Momentum is growing on Capitol Hill to pass paid medical and family leave nationwide.
This week, a petition was delivered to all members of Congress. Organizers behind the movement are calling on voters and legislators to prioritize paid leave on a federal level during the upcoming election.
It's a story that had many people in metro Detroit talking and dozens weighing in on our Facebook page.
Tammy Contino of Lincoln Park is one of those people. She's been cancer-free now for five years, but when she was diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer, she had to put her health first and could not return to her seasonal job.
"I was told at one point along with some of my co workers you are all replaceable," Contino said.
Contino said they did hold her job for her, but because she was seasonal, there was no paid leave. The medical bills then started to pile up along with rent and other payments.
"My family held a fundraiser and that's how I paid my bills," she said.
According to Contino, if she was paid on her leave for radiation and chemotherapy, she would not have needed to have a fundraiser.
"It's more about the almighty dollar than it is the people making you that money," she said.
A petition with 55,000 signatures was delivered to Congress on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to act and commit to passing the nation's first paid leave program.
I spoke with employment law attorney Jon Marko to see where he thinks the petition will land and if it has a chance to be introduced as legislation.
"In America right now everybody is not automatically entitled to paid or unpaid leave. Paid leave, there's really no general entitlement at all. Unpaid leave yes, under the FMLA or Family Medical Leave Act, if certain specifications are met a worker can be entitled to unpaid leave but if only up to a specific amount of time,' Marko said.
He said he doesn't see Congress acting on it right now.
"I think it's very doubtful that it's going to pass this term, given the deadlock we have in Congress, and I think if Trump is elected, I feel like it is very doubtful," he said.
For Contino, she wants people and lawmakers to hear her voice because it's not only her that was impacted by the unpaid leave.
"I understand when it's a small business, of course. They have to have somebody else come in, they can't afford to pay, but with these bigger corporations, they can take care of their people," she said.
