Family Medical Leave

Starting in 2018, New York will establish a paid family leave insurance program that will enable workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid time away from work in order to care for a loved one or bond with a new child. The New York State Paid Family Leave Program will be entirely funded by modest employee contributions, and employees who take leave will be guaranteed job protection.

This document is intended to answer any questions small employers in New York might have about the program and its effects on small business owners and their employees.

Current Connecticut law only provides unpaid leave for certain employees who need to take time off from work to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill child, spouse or family member. However, many workers cannot afford to take extended unpaid leave, and some small employers are unable to provide paid leave benefits to their employees for an extended period of time.

A paid family leave insurance program would allow Connecticut employees to contribute to a state-administered insurance program that would help provide paid leave to working adults who need time off to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new child. This would allow small businesses that previously could not afford to offer paid leave to provide an extra benefit to their employees.

This document is intended to answer any questions small employers might have about the importance of establishing a paid family leave insurance program in Connecticut, and the effects this would have on small business owners and their workers.

California’s Paid Family Leave program (PFL) provides wage replacement benefits to workers who need to take time off from work to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill family member.

This document is intended to answer any questions small employers might have about California’s PFL program and its effects on small business owners and their workers.

Colorado’s family leave program currently only provides unpaid leave for certain workers who need to take time off from work to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill family member. However, many workers cannot afford to take extended unpaid leave, and some small employers are unable provide paid leave benefits to their employees for an extended period of time.

Rhode Island’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance program (TCI) took effect in 2014. The TCI program provides up to four weeks of wage replacement benefits to employees who need to take time off from work to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill child, spouse or family member.

This document is intended to answer any questions small employers might have about Rhode Island’s TCI program and its effects on small business owners and their workers.

Sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the proposed Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMILY) Act would create an insurance program enabling workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid time away from work in order to care for a loved one or bond with a new child.

This document is intended to answer any questions small employers might have about the proposed program and its effects on small business owners and their workers.