At a breakfast panel hosted by the Drum Major Institute today, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine called on New York’s elected leaders to pass a Paid Family Leave program similar to the one passed in New Jersey this Spring. The New Jersey program will enable employees caring for a newborn or newly-adopted child or a sick family member to take up to six weeks a year of paid leave at two-thirds of their weekly pay.
Gov. Jon Corzine and Patricia Smith, NYS Labor Commissioner
New Jersey became only the third state nationwide to guarantee paid family leave. Advocates for Paid Family Leave in New York hope to our state the fourth. From the New York Times:
In New York, the push for paid leave for workers who take time off to care for a newborn or a sick family member has faltered, with the Democratic-controlled State Assembly approving such legislation, but the Republican-controlled Senate blocking it.
Women’s groups, labor unions and the Working Families Party have pushed for paid family leave — the Assembly version would give up to 12 weeks’ paid leave — but business groups have fought the idea, arguing that it would impede business’s flexibility.
Dan Cantor, WFP Executive Director
At an event on Monday morning sponsored by the Drum Major Institute, Mr. Corzine said many people feel compelled to take off work if a child is going through chemotherapy or if a family member, like him, is badly injured in a car accident. Workers can take 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, but Mr. Corzine said this could cause huge financial pain for low- and moderate-income workers.
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Daniel Cantor, executive director of the Working Families Party, said: “If the Democratic Party had a little more wit and determination on this, this could become an issue people talk about all the time. People could ask candidates, ‘What do you mean you’re against paid family leave?’ ”
