CPA_Practice_Advisor_November_2020 - 17

THE LABOR LAW ADVISOR
is steadily building for some form
of federal paid family and medical
leave, even if the details remain
unclear.
We are not likely to see any
action until well after the 2020
election. However, the bipartisan
support for a federal mandate on
paid leave virtually assures that
it will become a reality no matter
which party is in control after the
election.

STATE ACTION
It has become increasingly common
for states to step in and adopt workplace regulations when the federal
government fails to act. Statemandated minimum wages is one
good example. Increases in state
minimum wages have exploded in
recent years. This is partly due to
the failure of the Department of
Labor to raise the federal minimum
wage above the current $7.25 per
hour. There is uniform agreement
that it is seriously outdated. The
Fight for $15 has also played a
role in causing states to act. Most
states today have a minimum wage
substantially higher than $7.25 per
hour. The same type of state action
has been true on the issue of paid
family and medical leave as well.
More than 24 states are currently
working on their own paid family
leave policies, and 7 have in fact
enacted legislation, with the list of
additional states growing rapidly.
On June 25, 2019, Connecticut
became the 7th state to sign into
law a paid family and medical
leave benefit for both public and
private employees. It is being cited
as among the most generous in the
country. Employees will be entitled
to 12 weeks of paid leave as well
as two additional weeks for " a serious health condition resulting in
incapacitation that occurs during a
pregnancy. " Employees taking such

leave will be entitled to as much
as 95% wage replacement. The
amount of benefits will be tied to
the state's minimum wage, which
is progressively increasing to $15.00
up to June 1, 2023. The other states
to have enacted paid leave laws are
California, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Rhode Island,
and Washington state. Washington
D.C. has similarly enacted a paid
leave law.
The number of paid weeks of
leave each state law allows varies, as do the dates when benefits
may be taken. For example, the
Washington D.C. law provides 2 to
8 weeks of paid leave which could
be taken as of July 1, 2020. The
California paid leave, already being
utilized, grants up to six weeks of
benefits. On July 1, 2020 the benefit
period went to eight weeks. The
Massachusetts plan, which will
begin paying benefits in 2021, will
provide 12 weeks of paid family
leave or 20 weeks of medical leave

per year. The plan in New Jersey,
also already in effect, currently
provides benefits for up to 6 weeks.
On July 1, 2020, the benefit period
increased to 12 weeks. The New
York law currently provides 10
weeks of paid family and medical
leave, which will be raised to 12
weeks in 2021. The Rhode Island
plan is already providing 4 weeks of
leave. The Washington plan, which
began paying benefits on January
1, 2020, provides up to 12 weeks
of paid leave with two additional
weeks of paid leave for pregnancyrelated complications.
The amount of the benefits
paid during the leave varies widely
from state to state. For example, in
Connecticut it is a multiple of the
state's minimum wage limited to a
maximum dollar amount. In other
state plans, benefits are structured
as a certain percentage of wage
replacement to a maximum dollar
amount. No state plan has provided
for full replacement of lost wages.

NOVEMBER 2020 ■

However, given the discussion of
free health care, free college, and
similar ideas leading up to the 2020
election, it is possible that we could
soon see support for fully paid
sick leave benefits by the federal
or state governments. It may only
be a matter of time before we see
such a proposal.
Maine's May 2019 passage of
legislation that provides employees 40 hours of paid leave for
any reason, not limited to family
or medical reasons, represented
another significant expansion to
the paid leave concept. A virtually
identical law was passed in June
2019 in Nevada. Moving forward,
there seems to be no question
that more states will move in the
direction of mandatory paid family
and medical leave, with a handful
already moving beyond. ■

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