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A slew of states are mulling plans to make employers provide paid family leave. New Jersey is likely to soon join California and Washington in approving legislation requiring up to six weeks of leave to care for newborns, adopted children or sick family members. Workers receive a portion of their salary or wages, with coworkers providing the funds through new mandatory payroll deductions.
At least 14 more states will mull proposals in this year's legislative session. They are: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Employers fear the program will be misused, with employees taking time off, even if they don't need it. They are also concerned about having to absorb the costs of more absences and, potentially, replacement workers, if the programs encourage workers to take more time than they would if not paid. But that hasn't happened in California, where the law has been in effect the longest. In its first year of operation, barely 1% of those eligible took paid family leave.
Meanwhile, paid sick leave legislation faces a tougher road in state legislatures. Although it was recently mandated by San Francisco and Washington, D.C., stiff opposition by the business community clouds prospects at the state level. "If sick leave is unpaid, it acts as a deterrent to taking off. If it's paid, people think of it as vacation," says a lobbyist for employers in Washington, D.C.
Advocates say employers would benefit from higher productivity, fewer illnesses spreading throughout the workplace and lower turnover rates. Currently, about half of all workers do not get paid sick leave. States considering mandatory paid sick leave legislation include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, Wyoming, California and Alaska. In Ohio, organized labor is pushing a ballot initiative for the November elections, asking voters whether wage earners should be guaranteed paid sick leave.
Gains by Democrats in the November elections brighten the chance for federal legislation, particularly for paid sick leave. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, is pushing legislation to provide up to seven days of paid leave, and White House hopefuls Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) both support the plan. "If the Democrats are in charge of Congress and the White House, this legislation becomes much higher on the threat matrix," says one business lobbyist.
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