WASHINGTON — Early this year, in his State of the State address, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo got personal: He confessed that he “kicked” himself every day for not spending more time with his father when he was on his deathbed. And then Cuomo made his pitch: “We should have a paid leave program.”
A few months later, the Democratic governor signed a budget deal that included the most expansive paid family leave law in the country. The program, which will be funded through employee payroll tax deductions, provides workers with 12 weeks of paid time to care for an infant, a newly adopted child or a family member who is seriously ill. That’s at least double the time offered in other states with paid family leave laws. The New York program, which will be phased in over four years beginning in 2018, can also be used by military families facing deployment.
The U.S. is the only industrialized country without a national paid family leave program. Advocates say that although paid family leave laws apply to both men and women, they are particularly beneficial to women, who are most likely to bear the responsibility for providing care. With paid family leave, women are more likely to remain in the workforce and thus less likely to resort to public assistance and food stamps.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which passed in 1993, only guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of leave each year, but without pay.
A federal paid family leave proposal is stalled in Congress. And though many states are exploring it, only three states besides New York have enacted paid leave laws: California (2002), New Jersey (2008) and Rhode Island (2013).
These states have one thing in common: Except for Hawaii, they are the only ones that have Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) programs, through which leave benefits may be paid.
Having a TDI system in place makes it much easier — and less expensive — to set up and administer family leave plans, said Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. Without a TDI program, even states that end up approving paid leave legislation may have a hard time implementing it.
For example, legislators in Washington passed a law in 2007 that granted parents with a new child a weekly stipend of $250 for up to five weeks. Then the recession hit, and state revenue plummeted. In the years since, the state has twice delayed implementing the law, citing funding and administration issues.
Still, there was a flurry of activity on the issue in multiple states during the legislative session. Minnesota, Connecticut and the District of Columbia all have family leave measures that are advancing, and legislation was introduced in a half-dozen states.
Originally, the D.C. law, introduced last year, would have been the most generous law in the country, offering D.C. residents employed in the District up to 16 weeks of paid leave. But as City Council members have worked on a draft of the legislation, the proposed leave has been cut to 12 weeks. It would be funded by an employee payroll tax.
The Minnesota Senate passed a paid family leave bill in May, but it won’t likely become law this year as there is no companion bill in the House. The measure would provide workers with up to 12 weeks of partial replacement wages.
In other states, the debate is in a more preliminary stage: Though legislators in Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Vermont introduced paid family leave bills, none advanced out of committee.
In Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma and Vermont, the plans would be paid for by employee contributions. Under the Indiana proposal, both employers and employees would pay in. In Missouri, a Senate bill relies on contributions from employees, but a House bill would have employers pay.
