Today, Small Business Majority submitted a comment for the Department of Labor's Request for Information outlining how paid leave policies support small businesses and their bottom lines. Commonsense paid leave policies support our evolving entrepreneurial community while ensuring small businesses can compete on a level playing field.
As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise throughout the country, so does its impact on our economy. From stock market dips to decreased foot traffic in thriving neighborhoods, it's vital that our federal and state officials enact short and long-term policies that will offset these effects, particularly for our small business community, whose success is critical to our nation's economic health. Focusing on key policy issues will help support America's job creators.
Today, Virginia small business owner, Sandra Leibowitz, submitted a letter of support for HB 825 and SB 770, paid family and medical leave program. Implementing this state-run leave program helps small businesses to compete with larger companies by retaining employees while allowing those who need time off to take it without worrying about the cost.
California Governor Newsom and state policymakers are discussing options to further expand California's Paid Family Leave program and ensure more Californians are able to utilize it by increasing wage replacement, extending the amount of leave time available and expanding job protection status for parental leave. As with any discussion of workplace benefits and employment laws, the impact to small business is central to this debate. New scientific opinion polling sheds light on their views on the different proposals and reveals they are in fact supportive of numerous options on the table.
Policymakers at all levels, from town councils to the halls of Capitol Hill, emphasize the challenges of small businesses as a key talking point during political debates. But new opinion polling in four states—Illinois, Missouri, Virginia and Wisconsin—reveals small businesses feel their government officials don’t actually understand their challenges, and they support a wide array of policies to address their needs, some of which might come as a surprise to their elected officials.
The Colorado state legislature is considering a bill that would make Colorado the seventh state in the country to establish a program guaranteeing access to paid leave to care for a newborn child or a sick family member. Small business owners and their employees are particularly affected by the current lack of access to paid family leave as many small businesses can’t afford to offer robust benefits, putting them at a disadvantage with their larger counterparts. Small business has been central to ongoing debates over the legislation, and new polling sheds light on their views on the proposal and their struggles to offer access to paid family and medical leave benefits.
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.
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