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Parental Leave: Time to Strengthen Minnesota was a national leader in 1987 when our state enacted the first parental leave law in the country. M.S. 181.941 Sub. 1 provides that “an employer must grant an unpaid leave of absence to an employee who is a natural or adoptive parent in conjunction with the birth or adoption of a child. The length...may not exceed six weeks, unless agreed to by the employer.” In 1993, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, similar to the Minnesota Law, was passed. But many workers cannot use these laws because they cannot afford unpaid leave. Only 3.5% of Minnesota workers have access to a paid parental leave plan. And 88% of Minnesota mothers return to work within 12 weeks of giving birth. As a parent myself, I can attest to the importance of time spent with a newborn. And University of Minnesota studies have shown there are significant health benefits for both parent and child. In 2000, I carried a bill for paid parental leave funded through the unemployment system, but it’s difficult to use that fund because of the need to protect its solvency. In 2001, we passed a bill using general fund dollars through the DFL-controlled Senate. Our plan was balanced and voluntary: employers who opted in would pay one-third of wages, the state would pay one-third, and the employee would forego one-third. This would apply to the first $39,000 of wages for up to six months, so the maximum state participation would be $6,500 Working with the Children’s Defense Fund, we held hearings in my committee (Jobs, Housing & Community Development); employers testified that family-friendly policies lead to more productive employees. CDF had a poll of 800 randomly selected adults in the Twin Cities area; 60% favored some type of government-funded parental leave. National polls showed similar results across party lines. We garnered bi-partisan support for our proposal, which passed several committees and the Senate floor. Unfortunately, it became a partisan issue. The Republican-controlled House did not give the bill a hearing, and when we got to conference committee they would not accept even a small-budget, voluntary pilot program, and voted it down. We would like to work toward the goal of building bi-partisan support for the bill once again. In September 2002, California became the first state to offer paid leave. They will pay 55% of wages for up to six weeks starting in 2004, funded by a payroll tax on employees. The time can be used for parental leave or to care for ill family members or domestic partners. In signing the bill, the Governor said "I don't want Californians to have to choose between being good parents and good employees." Shortly thereafter, the StarTribune editorialized in favor of the California law and urged us to renew our efforts here (“Minnesota should regain the lead,” October 2) Recently, I met with a group from Minnesota Women Lawyers to discuss the issue, and we were all quite enthusiastic about continuing to pursue paid leave in the future. I am well aware that the political realities of our current state budget situation make this difficult. At a time when we could be facing large cuts in health and education, it’s hard to enact something new. Other philosophical barriers exist. Conservative talk radio hosts pilloried the idea of “paying” mothers and fathers to stay home from work with their babies. Even though 120 countries, not just Western Europe but Mexico, much of Asia and Africa, Australia, Iran and Afghanistan have some form of paid leave, in the U.S. working parents need to educate business and political leaders about the legitimate role of government in helping employees achieve a positive work-family balance. We should continue to build public support and lay the groundwork, so as soon as the economy turns around and the deficits are gone, we can make our case that Minnesota should once again take its place in the forefront of furthering family friendly policies in the workplace. I’ll continue to do that in the Senate and hope you will join in the effort!
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