On July 30, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing, “Paid Family Leave: The Benefits for Businesses and Working Families.”
“When I was pregnant with my daughter just over seven years ago, I thought I was in good shape in terms of maternity leave,” stated Jeannie Sato, director, Durham Connects. She continued, “It turns out the federally funded nonprofit I worked for did not have to offer FMLA [Family and Medical Leave Act (P.L. 103-3)], because of a little-known exception that really took me by surprise. My employer had well over 100 employees, more than the FMLA requirement of 50 employees…I learned though, that for FMLA to apply, a business must have more than 50 employees in a 75 mile radius. Our three offices were separated by 80 miles each. At an earlier meeting, management decided to juggle hiring and placement in order to avoid the FMLA.”
“Guaranteeing workers’ access to paid leave can improve families’ economic security and promote financial independence in the face of major life events…Mothers who take paid leave are more likely…to be working nine to 12 months after a child’s birth [than mothers who do not take paid leave]. They are also more likely to receive higher wages over time. In the year after the birth of a child, mothers who take paid leave are 54 percent more likely to report wage increases than mothers who do not, and are 39 percent less likely to receive public assistance or food stamps,” stated Victoria Shabo, vice president, National Partnership for Women and Families.
“The Redwoods Group has a range of paid leave policies, including paid time for parents to engage in school activities, sick days, bereavement leave, volunteer leave, and, of course, paid family leave,” stated Kevin Trapani, chief executive officer, The Redwoods Group. He continued, “A few facts about how our policies work in real life…on average, our employees use fewer than three sick days per year. In our experience, employees who are trusted and who are in a nurturing workplace simply don’t abuse that privilege. The annual cost of our unlimited sick leave policy is less than the cost of an additional employee, while the benefits are incalculable. Finally, over the past 10 years, our turnover has been less than five percent per year – about one-third of the norm for our business segment.”
Maryella Gockel, flexibility leader, Ernst & Young LLP, also testified.
