Sydney Batch, a North Carolina lawmaker, attorney, social worker, mother of two, small business owner and breast cancer survivor, has firsthand knowledge about the financial stresses that come with needing time off from work for maternity care and other health issues.
The state senator from Wake County and her husband own a small law firm in Raleigh with eight employees. After she gave birth to each of her sons, she was able to take three months off — but it was unpaid.
A few years ago, after Batch was diagnosed with breast cancer, her mother and sisters took unpaid time off from work to help her get to and from her medical appointments.
Her husband, though, could take very little time off during those momentous times because he did not have paternity leave, sick days or time off with pay.
“That was hard for me and my family,” Batch, a Democrat, said during a recent briefing with reporters. “But it would have been even harder if I was a single mom trying to make ends meet on minimum wage and without any paid sick days.”
“Nobody should be in that position,” Batch added. “We all need paid leave for both the joyful and most difficult moments of our lives. When new babies come and when we need care. And when we need time off to care for our loved ones, or to recover from our own illnesses.”
That was the backdrop against which Batch and Graig Meyer, her Senate colleague and an Orange County Democrat, advocated for bills that would give North Carolina workers ...
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