California Gives Workers Paid Family Leave Program

Similar legislation mandating five weeks paid leave for Washington workers has overwhelming public support

by Jamie Newman

Last legislative session, California became the first state in the country to create a paid family leave program. The California state AFL-CIO called the bill "the most pro-family bill to pass through the Legislature this year."

California workers will be able to take up to six weeks paid leave per year to care for a new child (birth, adoption or foster care) or seriously ill family member (parent, child, spouse or domestic partner). Federal law, which covers wage earners for large employers, provides only for unpaid leave.

The paid leave program is 100 percent funded by employee contributions. California workers who currently pay into the State Disability Insurance system will pay, on average, an additional $27 per year. Starting in 2004 eligible workers will receive up to 55 percent of wages, up to a maximum of $728 per week for up to six weeks.

In the last few Olympia sessions, Washington legislators introduced similar legislation mandating five weeks paid leave for Washington workers. Despite overwhelming public support for the proposal, the legislation has yet to get out of committee.

Both Democrats and Republicans ignore family needs

According to the Washington Monthly ("Parent Gap" October 2002), "America's elected officials are all but ignoring the pressures that face American families on a daily basis. Democratic political consultant Tom Freedman says this is a sleeper issue that "both parties ignore at their peril." Most politicians today are busy courting seniors with party platforms that address prescription drug cost. Meanwhile, they ignore married women who make up about one-third of the electorate. And unlike unmarried women, who are solidly Democratic, married women are within reach of either party, a classic "swing" voting group.

Bill Clinton's promise to enact the Family Medical Leave Act helped catapult him to victory in 1992. The first George Bush had twice vetoed the legislation. Still many families eligible for leave cannot take advantage of FMLA because they cannot go without pay. Legislation providing for paid leave would provide much needed relief.

Family leave benefits are good for businesses

According to a bipartisan commission, 84 percent of employers concluded that the benefits of providing leave under the FMLA offset or outweighed the costs. Furthermore, Americans support legislation that provides for paid leave. According to a 1998 survey conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families 82 percent of women and 75 percent of men favor the idea of "developing a new insurance program that would give families some income when a worker takes family or medical leave."

According to a statewide poll in 2000, 73 percent of voters in Washington State support the penny-per-hour tax to fund family leave benefits. Every demographic subgroup, including men, women, parents, non-parents, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, supported the proposal. According to the Center for Policy Alternatives, "Momentum is growing, and enactment of family leave benefits is now just a matter of time."

WWW Washington Free Press