Maryland needs paid family leave

Remember the days when they thought of an unexpected illness in the family was a scary yet seemingly remote possibility? If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has done, it’s to demonstrate that such emergencies — from an incapacitated parent to a seriously ill spouse or child — are far more than theoretical. Further, it’s demonstrated that a lot of families, particularly those of limited means, reside dangerously near a financial precipice. Leaving a job behind temporarily with unpaid leave, a benefit all Americans enjoy under a 1993 federal law, is one thing. Keeping a single parent and the rest of her family above water during an extended emergency is quite another.