This commentary is by Darla Senecal of Bristol. She works from home for the Building Bright Futures nonprofit, and just completed two two-year terms as a selectboard member in Bristol. She is also a board member for a local child care center and the Early Care and Learning Partnership, and is a mother of three and grandmother of three.
Vermont caregivers need paid leave.
In 2020, my fiance contracted long Covid. Since then, I’ve been his primary caregiver and our household’s sole wage earner.
Long Covid affects everyone differently. My fiance’s symptoms include: chronic pain, exhaustion, memory loss, aphasia and vision problems. Because of his illness, I also do most of the cooking, cleaning and household chores. I drive him to doctor’s appointments — and sometimes, just coordinating his medical care feels like a full-time job.
Luckily, I work for a very flexible employer. I work remotely from home and am available to my fiance during the day. Still, it is a lot to juggle my caregiver responsibilities and my full-time job. There is very little margin for error, and having flexibility does not mean I have enough hours in the day.
I used to be fortunate enough to roll over extra vacation days and leave time at the end of each year. Now, in a typical year, my caregiving duties alone might use up the generous bank of paid time off provided by my employer.
This year, I required two major surgeries. My doctor advised me to take six full weeks off to recover after each procedure. I could only take three weeks for the first surgery and four weeks for the second — part of that was unpaid — because I didn’t have enough paid leave to cover the basic needs of our household.
When something must be sacrificed, that something is usually my own physical or mental health needs.
To be clear, I love my job. The work I do for children and families speaks to my heart and makes me happy. I have no intention of leaving or even slowing down my work. I want to stay with my employer and continue to work in the field I love.
But without any downtime between caregiving and work, I’m often worn thin and feel unable to give my full effort and attention to any part of my life.
Being able to take paid leave, especially as I recovered from my own surgeries, would have made such a difference. I could have focused on recovering my health — both mental and physical. This would have allowed me to take better care of my fiance and return to work with something closer to my full energy.
Every day, I face impossible choices: between family care and doing my best at work, between personal health and financial security — and I always feel I’m letting someone down. There is no “right” answer.
I’m far from the only one facing these impossible choices. Over 70,000 Vermonters are providing unpaid care for family members. Nearly everyone will need time away from work to care for themselves or a loved one at some point in their lives. Our communities are stronger when they can count on paid leave.
That’s why I hope the legislature will pass a strong paid family and medical leave program, like H.66, this year. In 2023, the House advanced H.66 to the Senate. It would provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave so workers can welcome a new child, recover from a serious health condition, or care for a loved one without risking a paycheck.
A strong paid leave program would allow caregivers like me to take better care of ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities. It is time to pass paid leave.
