Paid family leave hits a snag in states, By Jake Grovum, April 17, 2014, Stateline: “California became the first state to embrace government-backed paid family and medical leave more than a decade ago. Since then, few other states have followed California’s path, and supporters are now considering a different approach. After lobbying state by state for years, some supporters of paid family leave say it’s time for a federal solution. A proposal in Congress from Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York would export the models used in California, New Jersey and Rhode Island nationwide. Those are the only three states with their own paid leave laws…”
Tag: Paid family leave
Paid Parental Leave
Report decries lack of paid parental leave in US, By David Crary (AP), February 23, 2011, Washington Post: “Americans often take pride in ways their nation differs from others. But one distinction – lack of a nationwide policy of paid maternity leave – is cited in a new report as an embarrassment that could be redressed at low cost and without harm to employers. ‘Despite its enthusiasm about ‘family values,’ the U.S. is decades behind other countries in ensuring the well-being of working families,’ said Janet Walsh, deputy director of the women’s rights division of Human Rights Watch. ‘Being an outlier is nothing to be proud of in a case like this.’ Human Rights Watch, based in New York, focuses most of its investigations on abuses abroad. But on Wednesday, with release of a report by Walsh on work/family policies in the U.S., it takes the relatively unusual step of critiquing a phenomenon affecting tens of millions of Americans…”
Paid Family Leave – California
Study: Paid family leave raises satisfaction without killing jobs in California, By Niesha Lofing, January 11, 2011, Sacramento Bee: “California’s landmark Paid Family Leave program didn’t amount to be the costly ‘job-killer’ businesses initially feared and has resulted in significant economic, social and health benefits for both male and female workers, economic and labor researchers found in a study released today. The study by University of California Los Angeles, City University of New York and the Center for Economic and Policy Research is the first study of the state’s Paid Family Leave since the law’s passage in 2002. The program, the benefits of which became available to most working Californians in July 2004, provides eligible employees up to six weeks of wage replacement leave at 55 percent of their usual weekly earnings (with a cap that is adjusted for inflation) when they take time off from work to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill relative. Researchers Eileen Appelbaum and Ruth Milkman noted that, despite business opposition to the law, most employers they surveyed reported that the program had either a ‘positive effect’ or ‘no noticeable effect’ on productivity, profitability and performance, turnover and morale…”