Sebastian Fuentes: If governor vetoes HB-712 it will cause absolute hardship

To The Daily Sun,

We need to establish paid family and medical leave for all of New Hampshire’s working families. There’s a bill on its way to the governor’s desk that would ensure Granite State families are protected in the event of a health or caretaking need year-round, rather than temporarily and in response to a societal crisis. Real leadership means protecting working families all the time, not just when the cameras are turned on.

This winter my wife gave birth to our fourth child, Julian. My wife and I stayed home together for the first two weeks of his life, but I had to return to work immediately after that time period. Those first two weeks were full of excitement; this bright new addition to our family is an absolute blessing, but our financial situation is changing rapidly.

My wife has taken three months of unpaid time away from work to take care of our little one. She’s glad to spend this time with him, but it’s been hard. We have had to call our banks to postpone payments and reconfigure our whole budget because our family income is now smaller for the sole fact that we extended our family. If either of us had access to paid family and medical leave, our financial burden would be reduced significantly.

Paid family and medical leave is an absolute necessity especially now in the wake of Covid-19. To veto HB-712 in the middle of a pandemic would be devastating to the New Hampshire families that could use support during this time. Governor Sununu please help fellow Granite Staters like me, and sign HB-712.

Sebastian Fuentes 

Thornton