Time to Care for Oregon Families Fact Sheet
What we have now is Unpaid Family Leave:
Oregon led the nation by being the first to pass parental and family medical leave laws, which Congress quickly emulated. The current Oregon Family Leave Act allows an employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time-off to care for a new child or ill family member. Although employees are able to take leave and know their job is protected, many are unable to take advantage of these benefits because they cannot afford to go without a paycheck. By providing partial wage replacement, the Oregon Family Leave Insurance Program will enable Oregonians to be at home during the crucial first months of life that are vital to bonding or to take care of a family member who has a life-threatening illness. Oregon Family Leave Insurance is the answer for workers struggling to meet family obligations!
Many cannot afford to take family time:
Although many employees are permitted family leave, a majority cannot afford to take advantage of these benefits. According to independent studies commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, 78 percent of people, more than three in four, were eligible and needed family leave, could not go without a paycheck. Of these employees, 88% reported that they would have taken family leave had they been able to receive some pay while away from work. And nearly 10% of those employees who did take leave reported they were forced to go on public assistance while on leave.
The facts show that hardly any businesses offer Paid Family Leave. A survey of personnel managers conducted in the year 2000 found that just 12% of companies offered paid maternity leave and just 7% offered paid paternity leave. As of March 2006, only 8% of all workers in the private sector had paid family leave. The Oregon Family Leave Insurance Program will ensure that all employees have access to Paid Family Leave.
How does Oregon Family Leave Insurance work?
HB 3160, creating Oregon Family Leave Insurance, will give employees 6 weeks of paid leave for a new child or ill family member. This Insurance builds on existing family leave laws that provide 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave. Oregon Family Leave Insurance will cover all employees who are eligible under the current Oregon family leave laws, meaning they work for a firm with 25 or more employees. Smaller employers will be able to opt-in to this insurance so they can offer these same benefits to their employees as well.
The insurance benefit is funded through a 2 cent per hour payroll deduction from employee salaries (about $42 per year). This modest contribution enables workers to be eligible for $300 per week, $1800 per year. The deduction is collected through existing payroll reporting methods that collect for the Worker’s Benefit Fund and TRImet. The benefit, enforcement and administration is performed by the Bureau of Labor and Industries.
Families need “time to care”:
The changing nature of today’s workforce requires that the needs of families must be balanced with the demands of the workplace. The model of a two-parent family where one person stays home to raise children and take care of the household is largely a thing of the past. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 52% of married women with children under 3 years old are employed. The financial challenges are especially severe for single parent families, which today account for a quarter of all families with children.
Paid Family Leave also reflects the need to assist aging parents. Nearly two-thirds of Americans under the age of 60 expect that they will have to care for an older relative within the next decade. With an increasing number of Oregonians “sandwiched” between caring for their children and their aging parents, employees are increasingly called upon to balance their need for time-off against their need to earn a paycheck. The Oregon Family Leave Insurance Program helps the economic condition of families by increasing the long-term employment and earning prospects of working parents, thus increasing job security and ensuring consistent income.
Paid Family Leave is good for business:
Family leave insurance is a state-administered, worker-sponsored program. It would not cost employers anything. A New Jersey study found that employers would benefit from Paid Family Leave by increasing employee retention and decreasing costly employee turnover. Studies show that 98% of employees return to work for the same employer after taking their longest family and medical leave. Businesses also profit from higher productivity, greater morale, and reduced absenteeism.
For small businesses, the Oregon Family Leave Insurance Program will help level the playing field with big companies in the war for talent by providing employees with a benefit they value – partial wage replacement during family leave.
Paid Family Leave is good for communities:
Communities benefit from the greater health and economic stability that Paid Family Leave provides. The education and health of children improves when their parents are able to take paid leave. Pediatric mortality decreases. Sick or injured children recover faster. Medical care, immunization, and breastfeeding for newborns all increase. And educational achievement is higher.
When people have the time and money to care for their new babies and sick family members, there is less need for social services and public costs are reduced. The Oregon Family Leave Insurance Program will increase the long-term employment and earning prospects of working parents, thereby increasing the tax base. Job security and a consistent income will allow parents to take the time to care for a new baby or ill family member without having a financial crisis. A strong community relies on stable, secure families.
US, Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea:
The United States may measure up well to many other countries in ensuring an equitable right to work for all racial and ethnic groups, regardless of gender, age or disability. But the U.S. lags far behind the rest of the world when it comes to protecting working families. Just to cite a few examples, 168 countries offer guaranteed leave with income to women in connection with childbirth; 66 countries ensure that fathers either receive paid paternity leave or have a right to paid parental leave; 137 countries mandate paid annual leave. The U.S. is in the company of Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea in not providing Paid Family Leave.
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