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Some US States Taking Lead in Offering Paid Parental Leave
by Julie Taboh
As more and more mothers work outside the home, a growing number of
fathers are sharing -- and in some cases taking over -- child care
duties. Many share stories in the public forum about the joy they feel
spending time with their children, partly because in some cases their
own fathers didn't have the time to spend with them when they were
growing up.
Rob Lott is one of these hands-on dads. When his daughter, Shulie, was
born last July, he and his wife, Jessica, looked forward to spending
time with her.
Jessica's employer offered her just four weeks of paid parental leave
and Rob's employer offered none. "So for us personally it would have
created an entirely different situation for the first few months of her
life if we could have had as much time as we really felt like we needed
to care for her," Jessica said.
Rob felt fortunate that he had managed to accrue sick time and vacation
time, though he noted that neither is the same as family or paternity
leave. "Certainly, having a child is not vacation, nor is it a
sickness," he remarked wryly.
''"Fortunately, I was able to cobble the time together, and I was able
to take two weeks -- which was not enough," he added quickly. "We made
it enough, but I really wish I could have been home longer with Jess as
she was recovering, and with Shulie when she was just weeks old."
Many U.S. families experience that same regret, because the United
States is the only developed country that does not mandate paid
parental leave for its citizens. That means working parents like the
Lotts must make arrangements for time off directly with their
employers, or use their vacation and sick leave hours.
D.C. paid-leave legislation
But a few states have taken the lead in implementing paid leave
policies, including California, New Jersey and Rhode Island. New York
just got on board, and in Washington, D.C., a paid family leave bill,
the Universal Paid Leave Act, has been introduced and is now going
through the legislative process. It would allow up to 12 weeks of paid
family and medical leave, funded by contributions from every employer.
Joanna Blotner, Campaign Manager for the D.C. Paid Family Leave
campaign, explained that the bill, as currently drafted, covers all
businesses, including small businesses and self-employed people working
in Washington. One of the unique features of the insurance model
system, she noted, is that it poses the smallest financial burden on
small businesses because costs are spread out across the entire
workforce.
Nothing in the bill, however, requires a business with fewer than 20
employees to hold someone's job while on leave. That employee will
still be paid for their time on leave, but it will be up to each
individual employer whether or not hold the job.
Jessica Lott has been actively involved in the campaign to get it
passed. She was among a group of advocates led by Blotner who recently
met with DC Councilmember Charles Allen, who is a co-sponsor of the
legislation.
Allen listened patiently as his constituents shared their stories
around a conference table in his office. As a father of a young child
himself, he was sympathetic.
"We know that families will be stronger when you have this [bill]," he
told them. "The connection you get to have with your kid, that just
makes a stronger family. It sets the parent up for greater success, it
sets the child up for greater success. So there's no amount of arguing
about this that someone can convince me otherwise," he assured them.
"I think paid family leave is a really important issue for our city and
it certainly is for our country," he told VOA. "I think that when an
employer provides paid family leave, I think that they become a
stronger employer and a more attractive place to work."
Crunching the numbers
"The way that it would work is that businesses would contribute an
additional 1% of the salary of their employees," Jessica explained.
"And then that 1% would create a pool that the government would
administer to pay for the people who need to take leave."
But that would not be enough, argues Marc Freedman, Executive Director
of Labor Law Policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"That 1 percent surtax is not expected to be adequate to cover the full
administration of the program plus the providing of benefits to these
employees as they would be requested," he said. "At this point, it is
tailored exclusively as a burden on employers. Employees would have no
contribution into that pool and at the very least we think that's an
unbalanced approach."
On the federal level, the business advocacy organization has typically
opposed laws and bills that would mandate a new type of leave on
employers. "Our feeling is that employers provide leave as they are
able to provide leave," Freedman noted. "Many do so happily," he added,
"and if they can't afford it, then that's generally why they don't
provide it."
''Compromise
U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez is from California, one of several
states that requires paid paternity leave.
"I've been a small business owner before and it is a leap for one to
have a key member leave for a while and to have to pay them," the
congresswoman told VOA. "Small businesses -- especially startups -- are
really having a hard time sometimes meeting payrolls."
"But anything that we could do to help ensure that small businesses
have a continuity of the business they're in, and yet have an
opportunity to have their employees take some time to take care of a
loved one, would be something I'd be interested in," she added.
When asked about an acceptable compromise, Marc Freedman said that
while he didn't have "the ideal sweet spot plan to offer" at the
moment, "I could tell you that in various ways, it would have to be
structured as an incentive instead of a mandate.
"There should be some way that employers can put in place a system of
leave that meets some description, but they can do it with flexibility
on their end."
Leading on leave
However it's designed, advocates like Rob and Jessica Lott will
continue to push for paid parental leave for all U.S. citizens.
"The goal is to have this city lead on leave," Rob concluded, "and to
really represent a model of what's possible."
"And certainly the more cities and states that implement laws like
this, it certainly can create momentum and really provide the evidence
to our federal lawmakers that it can work and that it can really pay
off for everyone."
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[1]http://www.voanews.com/content/some-states-taking-lead-offering-paid
-parental-leave/3381164.html
References
1. http://www.voanews.com/content/some-states-taking-lead-offering-paid-parental-leave/3381164.html