Nothing says “I Love You, Mom” Like Paid Family Leave
Mother’s Day came early this year for the women of New Jersey. Last week, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed a paid family leave bill making his state the third in the country to allow workers paid time off to care for a new child or family member. The law, which goes into effect on July 1, 2009, will allow workers to take up to six weeks off with pay. It will be financed through a payroll deduction costing workers about $33 per year. New Jersey residents who take the leave will be able to get two-thirds of their salary, up to $524 per week.
Paid family leave laws, which have already been implemented in California and Washington, help both men and women. Yet, because family care giving typically falls on the shoulders of women, this New Jersey law may ease one worry among the mothers of the Garden State: how can I keep my paycheck and care for my family in the face of an emergency? In fact, if take up rates in New Jersey are at all similar to those in California, then they can expect that women will account for 80 percent of the state’s paid family leave claims, and nearly 90 percent of the claims will be for bonding with a new child.
In the United States, only 51 percent of people are offered paid leave through their work to care for their families. In fact, 48 percent of workers in the private sector do not even get paid sick days for themselves. The numbers among low-wage workers are even more dramatic: nearly 80 percent do not get paid sick days.
President Clinton has a long list of accomplishments from his tenure in the White House. At the top of that sits the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act which guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a sick family member, care for a newborn or newly adopted baby, or recover from their own illness. This program has given more than 50 million Americans the ability to support their families. Yet, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 78 percent of employees have needed to take leave, but said they could not afford it. No American should have to choose between taking time off to care for a new baby and having enough money to buy diapers. Nevertheless, mothers and fathers across the country have to face that painful decision every day.
In addition to the laws in California, Washington and New Jersey, two cities - San Francisco and Washington D.C. - have made a commitment finding a real equilibrium in the work-family balance. Both cities recently passed laws that would give workers in their communities’ access to paid sick leave.
Sen. Edward Kennedy and Rep. Rosa DeLauro have introduced similar federal legislation that would guarantee workers a maximum of seven paid sick days per year to recover from their own illness or take care of a sick family member.
This year, as we decide what to get Mom on her special holiday, maybe we should think beyond that new piece of jewelry she has been admiring. To honor moms all over the country, let’s demand that our next president commits to a true family values agenda that gives moms and dads the opportunity to keep their job and care for their family.