There wont be real paid sick or paid family leave in the upcoming COVID-19 relief bill, which is expected to pass the House later this week. Thats despite the policys proven effectiveness in reducing the spread of the coronavirus and the White Houses efforts to get a formal policy included in the package.

Instead, the bill will include tax credits for businesses that offer leave to employees, an expanded version of what Congress passed in December . But offering leave in exchange for a tax credit is optional, putting workers at the mercy of their employers. The credits are also temporary, and only meant to address the needs of the pandemic.

Advocates are adamant that this isnt anywhere near the kind of substantive paid leave theyve been pushing for over the past year. Indeed, the policy falls short of what Congress was able to pass last spring with bipartisan support.

The biggest failure is that its optional, said Debra Ness, the president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. We dont think tax credits are the way to fund permanent paid leave.

Advocates like Ness and Democratic lawmakers are pushing to get something better passed in the next recovery package, which is expected after this current relief bill makes it across the finish line. Theyre after a formal, permanent policy that would require companies to provide paid time off to workers who take sick leave or family leave.