Why does New Jersey always get a bad rap? The accent? Trenton? Well, it has the chance to earn my respect mamas, for doing something we Oregonians couldn't swing: establishing a paid family leave program - 6 whole weeks of it!! It'd have a similar structure to the one proposed here in 2007, and similar drawbacks: it'd funded by employee payroll taxes, apply to businesses with 50+ employees, and was scaled back form 10 to 6 weeks to satisfy businesses (who aren't paying for it -ugh!!). Though in all fairness, we came really, really close last year thanks to some seriously dedicated state legislators.
Today's NYT sums up the (seriously) sad state of affiars on paid family leave in this country, and strongly encourages New Jersey to be 3rd in the nation on this important policy change:
Sad state of affiars: Members of Congress and state legislatures talk about family values. But unlike those in other developed countries, they have not done much to help workers with new babies or sick family members.
New Jersery to the rescue: The New Jersey Legislature is in position to become just the third state to address this problem. A bill approved by a Senate committee in Trenton would extend up to six weeks of paid leave to workers to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or a sick child, spouse, domestic partner or parent. The full Senate and Assembly should approve the bill, which Gov. Jon S. Corzine says he would sign.
Know anyone in New Jersey? Tell 'em to contact their state legislators. The more states that do it, the easier it'll be here, and the more likely that Congress will ultimately take action.
Always California, Darn It. The good news about California leading the way in 2004 (on this and, like, every other trendsetting policy) is that there is history now to show that the business community's opposition points (mainly, employees will abuse it, the lazy scoundrels) haven't proven true. The editorial provides some good talking points for us in '09, mamas:
...a legislative study in California suggests these fears may be unfounded. During the first year of the program, which took effect in 2004, only about 1 percent of the eligible employees filed for benefits — a number that has not increased significantly since. Employees in workplaces of fewer than 10 people took leave in much smaller proportions than those in large workplaces. Large majorities of those who took paid leave were women, and about 80 percent of the men and women receiving paid leave did so to spend time with newborns or newly adopted children. A majority of the remaining workers took leave because a family member suffered from cancer or was recovering from surgery.
And as the NYT editorial concludes, mamas: It’s time for more states in America to follow suit. Better yet, Congress should make paid family leave national policy. Elected officials would then be in a better position to talk about the importance of the family without sounding hypocritical.
well they're awfully close now! The Progressive States Network summarizes: On March 3rd, the New Jersey State Senate approved S 786, which would authorize six weeks of paid family leave during any 12-month period to allow employees to care for an ill family member, newborn or recently adopted child. Employees would receive two-thirds of their regular weekly pay, up to $524 per week. The leave would be funded through contributions made by all employees in the state of 0.14% of earned wages (roughly a quarter per week for minimum wage workers) into the State Disability Fund; the Fund would then distribute the funds to an estimated 38,000 people per year once the system is up and running.
Posted by: LTF | March 14, 2008 at 12:32 AM