Many states weighing paid-leave proposals

BOSTON — From same-sex marriage to universal health-care coverage, Massachusetts has rarely shied away from blazing a trail of progressive change. Now the state is considering another landmark proposal that would give workers here the nation's most generous paid-leave policy.

The bill, which would pay workers their full salary (up to $750 a week) for up to 12 weeks to care for newborns or ill family members, comes just weeks after Republican Gov. Mitt Romney signed legislation that extends health insurance to nearly every state resident.

But the proposal is no liberal anomaly: Twenty-six other states considered some form of paid leave in their 2005 legislative sessions. California's 2004 program is currently the nation's most comprehensive.

Experts say the issue is gaining traction because it attempts to ease the difficulty many Americans face trying to balance work and family. A Harvard University report published in 2004 showed that of 168 countries studied, the United States is one of just five that don't offer some form of paid leave to women in connection with childbirth.

Observers say the bill in Massachusetts could unite conservatives and liberals around the issue of family values.

"Both liberals and conservatives recognize the reality of the situation," says Gary Chaison, a professor of labor relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "But they have to make it seem like it is reflecting a new reality, without making it seem like they've become France."

About 440,000 workers in the state currently take leave each year — about half for their own health reasons — at a cost of $370 million a year to employers, according to a study to be published later this month by Randy Albelda, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Although the number of leaves would go up to 470,000 per year if the bill becomes law, her research shows, employers would save about $100 million, when factoring in less turnover and fewer paid sick days.

Under the federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, American workers can receive 12 weeks of unpaid leave. But about 60 percent of employees who want to take family leave are not eligible for it, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington. That's in large part because the law applies only to companies with 50 or more employees.

"FMLA, for people who live paycheck to paycheck, is not a viable solution," says Deven McGraw, the group's chief operating officer. The Massachusetts plan, she says, "is a workable solution for the tension between work and family."

Supporters say the plan would cover an additional 3 million workers, be funded by a small employee contribution (perhaps $1.50-$2.50 per week), and provide job protection for those who take leave. It goes hand in hand with the recent health-care reform, they say, and would make the state a draw for workers.

But critics say the proposal, which would require every worker to pay a premium, could increase the number of leaves and hurt overstretched businesses. "It's essentially a new tax on individuals," says Michael Widmer, the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.