Bill would make Ohio workers eligible for paid family leave

Ohioans would be eligible for paid family and medical leave under a bill introduced Tuesday in the Ohio House.

Individuals could receive up to $1,000 a week for 12 weeks while caring for a family member, bonding with a new child or dealing with a health condition.

The program would be paid for by employee premiums withheld from wages, like taxes. Employers would have the option of paying the premiums on behalf of their employees.

Bill sponsor Rep. Christie Bryant Kuhns, a Cincinnati Democrat, said to pay for the program, each employee in participating companies would pay around $30 a year.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t mandate paid maternity leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to take up to 12 weeks, unpaid, after the birth of a child or to address a medical issue in their family.

California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington and the District of Columbia require paid parental leave, and New York passed a paid leave law last week. State of Ohio employees have access to family leave, and Cincinnati and Dayton city governments recently decided to offer paid leave to their employees.

The Ohio leave insurance program would operate under the state Department of Job and Family Services beginning in 2020.

Like FMLA, the Ohio program would only be available to employers with 50 or more employees. Employees would have to pay into the program for at least one year before receiving benefits.

Individuals would file a claim with the department for up to $1,000 depending on their average weekly wage. The same documentation required for FMLA would also be required to receive benefits.

The following conditions would be eligible:

• A health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her job duties
• Caring for a new child after birth, adoption or foster care placement
• Caring for a child, parent or spouse who has a serious health condition
• Other scenarios covered by the FMLA

Although three-fourths of Americans think employers should offer paid family leave, the bill is unlikely to gain steam at at the Ohio Statehouse. Republicans, who control both chambers, have been hesitant to support paid family leave because they say it would burden employers.

Boyd said her Republican colleagues, many of whom are against abortion and adding people to the welfare rolls, should support the plan.

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