San Francisco supervisors voted on Tuesday to require six weeks of fully paid leave for new parents.
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Now what?Though a big step for American-kind, it’s a small step globally- the US and Papua New Guinea are the only two countries listed by the International Labor Organization that do not provide some kind of paid parental leave.
On Monday, New York’s governor signed a bill granting 12-week paid family leave that will phase in by 2021.
Businesses with 35 to 49 workers must comply starting in July 2017 and businesses with 20 to 34 workers have until January 2018. California, Rhode Island and New Jersey, as well as several cities, provide partial pay during the leave. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Monday that would progressively raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022. Lost pay is the major reason that many employees do not take advantage of the state’s paid-time off policy, according to the legislation.
According to advocates, paid parental leave can lead to higher income for moms over the course of a career, increased gender equality in the workplace and more engagement from dads in child-rearing throughout the child’s life. The funds for parental leave in all three states come from employee-funded public insurance systems. The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce said that while it favored expanded parental leave benefits, there was a “strong belief among many business owners that once again, to the financial detriment of small businesses, a mandate is being adopted in San Francisco that would be better dealt with at the state or federal level”.
The law, unanimously approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, grants six-week leave for fathers and mothers working for companies with 20 or more employees, almost doubling the pay they are now eligible to collect under California law. “I’m confident other cities and states will take notice”, Scott Wiener, San Francisco supervisor who sponsored the proposal, said, as quoted by the media outlet. However Silicon Valley’s already putting the rest of the country to shame, with companies like Netflix (unlimited!) and Twitter (20 weeks!) offering ample amounts of paid leave to their employees. “I think this is crucial for bonding and emotional development of children and babies”, Mar said, adding he wishes such a law existed when his 16-year-old daughter was younger. “It’s just so hard to make ends meet with little ones in the house”.
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“We are in the most expensive place to do business, and that’s all we’ve got”. “That is good for business and for families”. The regulation will be phased in, starting with businesses that employ 50 workers in January 2017.
