Levi Strauss & Co. is proud to support the reintroduction of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. The FAMILY Act would create a comprehensive national paid leave program for U.S. workers, which serves to strengthen the livelihoods of employees and their families, as well as the U.S. economy. Earlier this week, we joined an open letter organized by the National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF) to Members of Congress supporting the bill’s passage and highlighting the business case for federally guaranteed paid leave.
Building on our past advocacy, LS&Co. again joined more than 20 companies in urging Congress to pass a national program guaranteeing Americans have access to paid leave, like the policy outlined in the FAMILY Act. For nearly a decade, we have advocated for these policies because we recognize what paid leave means for our workforce and our business.
“We have seen firsthand that providing access to paid leave is critical for supporting healthy and successful employees and their families, which in turn allows them to perform better at work,” said Bernard Bedon, chief human resources officer at LS&Co.
In 2023, LS&Co. enhanced our paid leave program with the goal of implementing an equitable global core minimum standard for leave for employees. Under the program, employees who give birth to a new child have access to up to 20 weeks of paid family leave, and secondary caregivers receive eight weeks of paid family leave. Employees can also utilize paid leave to care for their immediate family members with serious health conditions. Benefits-eligible hourly employees have access to our paid leave program as well.
We believe guaranteed access to paid leave — whether through a company’s individual policies or federal policy — is more important now than ever. A study of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that nearly 400,000 women left the U.S. workforce in the first half of 2025. At the same time, the gender wage gap is widening as women make up the majority of low-wage workers in the U.S. When employees, especially women, are forced to choose between time spent at jobs and time spent caring for their children, families, companies and the economy lose out.
We will continue to use our voice to highlight the business case and economic benefits of a comprehensive federal paid leave program that supports workers and their families.
