Paid family leave is gaining in states

A new vision of the American workplace is emerging in state legislatures from Hawaii to Vermont.

With a momentum that began to build two years ago, 23 states are considering dramatically expanding paid leave to ensure that most workers continue to get paychecks when they take time off for situations such as caring for a new child or an ill family member. One bill, in California, has gotten farther than any before.

To proponents, the trend is part of an acknowledgment of the country's changing workforce: With women a crucial part of the labor pool, fewer people are at home to attend to newborns and the elderly. To detractors, measures like the one now being considered in California threaten to place onerous new demands on the nation's employers – precisely when businesses are struggling to recover from recession.

To all, however, the push for paid family leave represents a bid to recast the nation's business culture and refine the appropriate balance between work and family.

"It would have a tremendous impact, and judging by the number of bills introduced, there's clearly a movement to at least discuss expanding paid leave," says Elizabeth Owens of the Society for Human Resource Management in Arlington, Va.

Indeed, while California's radical step may be a long shot – it has passed the state Senate but still faces debate in the Assembly – many say the issue is clearly gaining traction in state politics.

Since 1993, federal law has required that workers be granted unpaid leave in cases such as illness or the arrival of a new child.

The new efforts by states would expand such provisions to require that leave be paid.

So far, the state-level discussions have snagged over how to pay for this generous new benefit.

Since the federal government in 2000 made unemployment insurance money available to pay for states' family leave plans, many have tried, falteringly, to devise schemes to use those funds. California's approach is different – and more direct.

The bill, which has passed the Senate and is now being considered by the Assembly, would levy a new payroll tax. Employers – regardless of the size of their company – would pay half, and employees would pay half, allowing all employees to receive 55 percent of their normal paycheck while on leave.

For Laura Foster, that would have been plenty.

When her father became ill several months ago, she scratched together vacation time so she could leave her childcare job and fly to his home near Las Vegas. When he later died, the responsibility of putting his affairs in order and planning the funeral also fell to her, leaving her with almost no paid leave remaining.

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