The Senate DFL is paring back its ambitious proposal for paid family and medical leave.
Sen. Katie Sieben, the legislation's sponsor, is presenting amendments to the Senate panel overseeing jobs which would strike a requirement that employers offer paid medical leave to workers who develop a serious health condition.
The original proposal would have granted sick employees 12 weeks of partially paid time off -- still far less than other states that offer temporary disability insurance for ill workers, such as California, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
But the measure preserves its most generous provision: requiring businesses to offer 12 weeks of paid leave for employees to care for a new child or sick family member. Only California, New Jersey and Rhode Island require businesses to offer paid family leave, though for a much shorter period than DFLers are seeking in Minnesota.
"We're not happy about [the amendments], but you've got to play the game, I guess," said Ed Stuart, a member of the religious coalition Isaiah, which is promoting paid leave. He showed up to the hearing with a sign supporting the legislation. "We'll do what we have to do to get it through the committee."
Given the need to draw support from the GOP-controlled House, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook suggested last Thursday that the paid leave plan would be amended during the committee process. He described paid leave as one of the initiatives the legislature must accomplish during this year's short session.
Business groups have opposed the legislation, arguing that it hampers employers' flexibility to work out their own benefit packages. The Senate amendments offer the smallest businesses a reprieve, allowing companies with less than 21 employees to opt out of the program.
