Paid leave bills advance in Illinois, Minnesota
Proposals have gained traction in several states this year.
Paid leave proposals are moving forward in two blue states and likely to be considered in at least three more.
A bill in Minnesota would require employers to offer up to 48 hours of paid time off a year to deal with illness or abuse, and a bill that would allow most workers to take up to 12 weeks a year of paid family and medical leave.
In Illinois, a bill that would give all workers at least 40 hours of paid time off a year made it to Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), who has said he’ll sign it.
Such proposals have gained traction in several states this year thanks to Democratic gains in the 2022 elections, said Sherry Leiwant, co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance, a nonprofit that advocates for paid time off policy.
Democrats tend to support expansive paid leave social insurance programs, arguing that they help workers manage serious illness, childbirth and other life events. Republicans tend to prefer to let businesses choose whether to offer the benefits or not.
Last year, the GOP-controlled Minnesota Senate passed an opt-in paid family leave plan that would provide tax credits to small businesses, while the Democratic-controlled House passed a plan to create a state program available to nearly all workers.
This year, however, Democrats hold the House, Senate and the governor’s office.
“It’s always been that one of the [Minnesota legislative chambers] was Democratic and the other was Republican, so it was very hard to get it through,” Leiwant said of past efforts to create a paid leave program. “This year, we really think there’s an excellent chance that a good bill will pass.”
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce opposes both this year’s paid sick time and paid leave bills. The proposed family and medical leave bill would allow workers to take more time off for more reasons than other states allow, Lauryn Schothorst, director of workplace management and workforce development policy for the Chamber, told a legislative committee earlier this month.
“Having such a specific and extended leave mandate will disrupt existing benefit packages and unintentionally exacerbate our workforce challenges,” she said.
Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., require employers to let workers earn a certain amount of paid sick time, according to A Better Balance. Eleven states and Washington, D.C., have created paid family and medical leave programs.
Statewide paid family and medical leave programs are funded by premiums paid by employers, employees, or both. They usually allow workers to take 12 weeks of fully or partially paid time off to recover from a serious illness, care for family members, welcome a new baby, or other approved reasons.
Beyond paid time off for all, Illinois lawmakers also have proposed a bill that would allow workers to take up to 26 weeks of paid family and medical leave a year. Leiwant said she expects paid family and medical leave bills to be introduced in at least three other Democratic-led states this year: Maine, Michigan and New Mexico. Paid family leave advocates in Maine are also mulling a ballot initiative campaign, she said.
Proposals in states led by Republicans, or partly by Republicans, face a tougher path.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) has proposed giving workers 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, for instance, but the Republican-controlled legislature will likely oppose his plan. The Democrat-led Virginia Senate passed a paid family and medical leave bill earlier this month, but it faces a tougher path through the GOP-led House.
Even proposals backed by Republican leaders have floundered.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) this year proposed expanding paid leave offered to state employees, arguing that doing so would help attract and retain workers.
She proposed increasing benefits from 60% of salary for 8 weeks to 100% of salary for 12 weeks, and allowing workers to take leave for reasons other than the birth or adoption of a child. She proposed letting the state Bureau of Human Resources contract with an insurance provider to pay for most of the extended coverage, and creating a $20 million grant program to encourage private businesses to join the program.
Republican lawmakers last week rejected Noem’s plan.
According to Keloland, Rep. Chris Karr (R) said “there were several issues with this particular bill” and that he would “rather focus on the actual compensation versus this particular benefit.”