Family Medical Leave

When you talk to business owners about what make their business successful, they often say their employees are their number one assets. That’s certainly true for the Columbus small business I co-own with my father, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing. We want to keep our employees happy, and for us, part of how we do that is by offering paid family and medical leave via a short-term disability policy. But paid leave isn’t just about treating our employees well – it’s also boosted our bottom line by increasing employee retention and morale.

I’m a small business owner, and I’m also a new dad. These identities give me insight into a topic that's been front and center lately: paid family and medical leave. It’s considered common sense that new parents are in favor of paid leave, as we want to spend time with our children and understand that others parents do as well. But what most people don’t realize is that a majority of small business owners support paid leave as well. I have nine employees on my team, and it’s important for me to maintain a strong workforce.

Many small businesses can’t afford an HR department, which means that benefits – like health insurance, paid leave and retirement – can be difficult and costly to administer. But employee turnover is expensive as well, costing an employer approximately 75 to 150 percent of an employee’s salary. Benefits can be key to reducing employee turnover, increasing employee productivity and ultimately boosting businesses’ bottom lines.

There are many complex policy issues that have a major impact on the small business community. Each week, we’re going to help break one of those issues down so small business owners can stay in the know and remain aware of their stake in these national issues. This week’s Issue Q&A is on family medical leave.

As part of our Talking Back Tuesday series, Small Business Majority is launching a new survey each week to get a better understanding of where small business owners stand on important issues.

This week’s issue is family medical leave. Our polling has found 4 out of 5 small business owners support the Family Medical Leave Act allowing employees to take job-protected leave. Now we want to hear from you directly. Take our survey and let us know your thoughts on family medical leave.