Developments in Paid Family Leave Policy
In today’s political climate, it seems like Republican and Democratic politicians do not agree on much. However, it appears that both parties are starting to see the necessity of putting forth policies that allow employees to take paid family leave. This is likely a reaction to the fact that the majority of American voters support paid family and medical leave. A Pew Research Center poll from 2016 found that “82% say mothers should receive paid leave following birth or adoption of their child.”[i] While most voters and many politicians favor some form of paid family leave, the passage of legislation has proceeded slowly because the two major political parties disagree on how to implement and fund paid family leave policy.
After over two decades of no new federal legislation on paid family leave, a small step has been taken to ensure that some workers have access to paid family leave.[ii] The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, which is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, goes into effect in October 2020.[iii] The new law allows many federal workers to take paid time off for up to twelve weeks when welcoming a new child into his or her home, whether through birth, adoption, or foster care.[iv] Though the passage of this legislation is progress, it does have some issues. One major issue is that some federal workers were unintentionally left uncovered by the Act, such as public defenders from the District of Columbia.[v] This issue has been addressed by the Federal Employee Parental Leave Technical Correction Act, which would ensure the coverage of the overlooked federal employees if passed.[vi]
The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act is certainly a start in the movement toward a federal guarantee to paid family leave. However, since it only applies to a group of federal workers, politicians and advocates for paid family leave have a lot of work left to do. Both Republicans and Democrats have contributed ideas on how to implement and fund paid family leave.
Republicans tend to favor legislation that would give people the option to use money they would otherwise receive as part of a future benefit in order to fund their paid leave. For example, Donald Trump has verbalized support for the Advancing Support for Working Families Act.[vii] In order to fund paid leave under this Act, parents would pull from their future child tax credits and receive a payout of $5,000.[viii] After receiving this payout, the parent’s tax credit would be decreased by $500 per year for the following ten years.[ix] Another Republican-backed paid family leave policy is the New Parents Act.[x] Endorsed by Marco Rubio, the New Parents Act would allow new parents to “pull forward from their future Social Security benefits” to fund their own paid leave.[xi]
Democrats have also introduced policies to provide workers with paid family leave. One example is the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, also known as the Family Act.[xii] The Family Act would provide 12 weeks of paid leave for employees that are new parents.[xiii] This Act is distinguishable from many of its counterparts because in addition to providing paid leave for new parents, it would also provide paid leave to employees that have a serious illness and to employees that have a family member with a serious illness.[xiv] If implemented, the Act would be funded by a payroll tax increase of 0.2 percent, applicable to both employers and employees.[xv] Most Republicans have not supported the Act because it would raise taxes.[xvi]
As illustrated by the policy proposals by both Democrats and Republicans, the main disagreement between the parties is not about whether there should be paid family leave for workers, but about how paid family leave should be funded. Though cost is a major issue, it is possible that providing paid family leave for workers would ultimately save money for both the government and private employers. This is because employees are more likely to stay at jobs that allow them to take paid family leave, which prevents employers from going through the costly process of replacing workers.[xvii] According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, “turnover costs are estimated to be between 16 and 200 percent of a worker’s annual salary.”[xviii] Therefore, employers may actually reap the benefits of policies providing workers with paid family leave.
Though Democrats and Republicans disagree on how to provide paid family leave for workers, it is positive that both parties have contributed ideas to the debate. Proponents of paid family leave should also be encouraged by the passage of The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act. Though the Act only reaches some federal workers, its implementation after so many years without federal action related to paid family leave may be a sign of many positive developments in legislation to come.
[i] Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Kim Parker, Nikki Graf & Gretchen Livingston, Americans Widely Support Paid Family and Medical Leave, but Differ Over Specific Policies, Pew Research Center (Mar. 23, 2017), https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/.
[ii] Paid Parental Leave for Federal Employees, Am. Bar Ass’n (Jan. 1, 2020), https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/publications/washingtonletter/january_2020/paid-family-leave/#:~:text=Last%20month%2C%20long%20overdue%20legislation%20was%20enacted%20that,of%20newborns%2C%20newly%20adopted%20children%2C%20or%20foster%20children.
[iii] Id.
[iv] Nichole Ogrysko, Questions about the new paid parental leave law? You’re not alone, Federal News Network (Jan. 10, 2020), https://federalnewsnetwork.com/benefits/2020/01/questions-about-the-new-paid-parental-leave-law-youre-not-alone/#:~:text=The%20Federal%20Employee%20Paid%20Leave,1..
[v] Am. Bar Ass’n, supra.
[vi] Ogrysko, supra.
[vii] Steven Findlay, Paid Family and Medical Leave Gains Momentum, Health Affairs (Mar. 4, 2020), https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200228.794309/full/.
[viii] Id.
[ix] Id.
[x] Am. Bar Ass’n, supra.
[xi] Id.
[xii] Claire Cain Miller, Republicans Now Support a Form of Paid Leave. So What’s the Holdup?, The N.Y. Times (Nov. 21, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/upshot/paid-leave-2020-debate.html.
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Id.
[xv] Id.
[xvi] Id.
[xvii] Federal Employee Paid Leave Act Fact Sheet, Nat’l P’ship for Women & Families, https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/paid-leave/federal-employees-paid.pdf (last visited Aug. 5, 2020).
[xviii] Id.
Amanda is in her third year of law school at Brandeis School of Law and currently works as a law clerk for Dodd & Dodd Attorneys. She earned her bachelor's degree from Indiana University Southeast where she majored in sociology. Amanda grew up in southern Indiana and plans to start her career in the Louisville area after graduation. When she is not working, Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband and dog.