(Newswire.net — March 23, 2021) —
Paid family leave laws have been on the upswing over the past few years. In the media, more attention has been paid to the plight of workers who need to care for their children or aging parents but jeopardize their jobs. While the federal government mandates unpaid family leave under FMLA, paid family leave has not passed at the federal level.
States that have passed some form of paid family leave law include New York, California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and Washington. When one compared these laws, it is possible to see where paid family leave can fit into a business’s overall benefits package.
Faruqi & Faruqi LLP explains how New York’s updated paid family leave act compares with other states’ provisions. The likelihood of the federal government passing paid family leave legislation will also be examined.
New York
As of January 1, 2018, employees who worked for a private employer in the state and have regularly worked 20 hours per week for 26 consecutive weeks, or who have regularly worked less than 20 hours per week for a period of 175 days, are eligible for job-protected Paid Family Leave. The law covers new parents, family caregivers, and military families under deployment.
For the year 2020, employees can take up to 10 weeks’ Paid Family Leave in each 12-month period. Workers will be paid 60 percent of their average weekly wage. By 2021, employees will be entitled to 12 weeks of leave and receive 67 percent of their weekly average wage.
California
California’s paid family leave law differs from New York’s law in that paid family leave does not necessarily mean that it will protect a worker’s job. California statutes provide for eight weeks of paid family leave in each 12-month period, paid between 60 and 70 percent of the employee’s regular wage. The length of time that workers have been in their current jobs does not affect their eligibility.
New Jersey
New Jersey was one of the first states to make paid family leave a requirement in 2009. New Jersey put significant changes into action regarding its paid family leave plan in 2020. Benefits have been boosted, and the time employees are eligible to take has been doubled to 12 weeks.
In New Jersey, eligible workers can collect 85 percent of their weekly pay, capped at $881, for 12 weeks. Previously, the law covered only six weeks of benefits and two-thirds of their weekly pay, capped at $650 weekly.
The new benefit formula and payment cap also apply to New Jersey’s temporary disability program.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s program began in January 2014. The Temporary Caregiver Insurance program provides up to four weeks of wage replacement when an employee welcomes a new child to the family or when they need to care for a seriously ill spouse, child, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent.
Employees are eligible when they have been paid at least $12,600 during their base period quarter. Alternatively, employees can qualify without hitting this amount by earning at least $2,100 in a base period quarter. Employees must also be paying into the Temporary Disability and Temporary Caregiver Insurance program.
Employees receive 4.62 percent of their wages paid in the highest quarter of their eligible base period. The maximum benefit is $852 per week. Employees’ jobs are protected while collecting this benefit from the state.
Washington
Washington state put paid family leave into action in January 2020. The program passed into law in 2017. Employees can receive 12 weeks of paid leave for welcoming a child, dealing with a serious illness for a worker or immediate family member, and some events concerning military families.
To receive benefits from this program, employees must have worked at least 820 hours for any Washington employer during the previous 12-month period. Employees will receive a percentage of their wages calculated by the state, and the cap is $1,000 per week.
Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia instituted its paid family leave program on July 1, 2020. The act provides eight weeks of paid leave to care for a new child, six weeks to care for a family member with a health condition, or two weeks to care for an employee’s health condition. The program generously provides 90 percent of weekly wage replacement, up to $1,000 per week. Benefits are paid bi-weekly.
Effects of Paid Family Leave Policies
While many states have not yet adopted it, Paid family leave has a positive impact on mothers’ ability to keep their jobs after a child’s birth. There has been a 20 percent reduction in the number of female employees who have left their careers in the first year after welcoming a new child.
Having paid family leave means that more employees can afford to take it, which is not the case when participating in the federal FMLA program. While jobs may be protected under this program, many employees cannot afford to take time off work. With partial wage replacement, an employee can at least recoup some of their wages.
Faruqi Law recommends that all employers check with their state’s employment services agency and determine whether paid family leave is available in their state or whether it will be available in the future. Paid family leave benefits everyone, and employees should make sure that they get all of the benefits they are entitled to.