After a Long & Hard Fight, D.C. Passes One of the Most Generous Paid Family Leave Bills

[think]

After a Long and Hard Fight, D.C. Passes One of the Most Generous Paid Family Leave Bills in the Country

By Elissa Strauss - DEC. 20 2016 6:36 PM

In a nail-biter of a contest, one of the most expansive paid family leave bills in country passed in Washington, D.C., today. The new legislation gives eight weeks of paid leave to new parents, and six weeks for those taking care of sick family members, at up to 90 percent of their normal pay (capped at $1000 per week). The program, which advocates have been pushing for nearly two years, will be administered by a social insurance program controlled by the city and funded by a 0.62 percent increase to employer payroll taxes. A last minute threat to the bill emerged earlier this week in the form of an amendment that would have taken the responsibility of administering and paying for the leave away from the city and put it in the hands of individual businesses. In a heated battle, council members voted against this amendment.

The D.C. bill is especially generous in terms of who has access to leave, how much time they can take, and how much money they will receive during that time. In California, where employees are guaranteed up to only 55 percent of their wages, some working class parents can’t afford to take advantage of the program. However, the D.C. bill does fall short of other plans in terms of personal medical leave. lt only offers two weeks of paid leave for personal injuries or illnesses—less than other city and state programs—which advocates say was an attempt to keep costs down.

“It is the most expensive type of leave because it is the one people need most,” Rebecca Ennen, deputy director for development and communication at Jews United for Justice and media coordinator for the DC Paid Family Leave coalition, said over the phone. “Two-thirds of leaves are personal medical leaves. Every story that gets published about these issues is accompanied by a picture of a baby, but really they are most being used by sick people—those who have to go get chemo at lunch.”

According to Ennen, even though the employer mandate version contained the same terms as the social insurance program she and others supported, it would have been less likely to deliver them. While large businesses would have little problem handling paid leave, small business would have struggled to fund the new requirements on their own. With the employer mandate, business with 70 or fewer workers would have been eligible for a $200-per-employee annual tax credit to help ease the cost of providing leave. But for a small business with, for example, a dozen employees, that would have brought them only $2400 year in extra deductions—hardly enough to cover a single eight-week leave...


Read more:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/12/20/d_c_s_new_paid_family_leave_bill_is_a_great_model_for_the_country.html

[uponit7771]

1. Something positive

[MichMan]

2. Does this apply to all federal employees as well ? n/t