There no longer seem to be any major differences between Congressional Republicans and Democrats that some form of paid family leave program is good public policy, as evidenced by the bipartisan support for the concept expressed at a recent U.S. Senate hearing. As has been the case with immigration reform, however, while everyone seems to believe that it’s a good idea, the hearing also underscored that reaching consensus on how to get there continues to be a conundrum.
The July 11, 2018 hearing, held by the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy and entitled, Examining the Importance of Paid Family Leave for American Working Families, featured a broad range of bipartisan witnesses, all of whom were supportive of some form of family leave program. It quickly became apparent, however, that policymakers differ greatly over such issues as the scope and coverage of a program, the length and size of payment, and, perhaps most importantly, how the program is to be funded.
Given the Senate’s renewed interest in the topic and the prospect for additional Congressional scrutiny in the near future, including a just-announced House Committee hearing scheduled for July 24, we prepared a guide to where the paid leave debate is today, including a summary of the major proposals that have been floated thus far.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.