Biden plan helps employers expand family leave. Will California offer it to state workers?
A paid family leave expansion that helped many California state workers manage coronavirus disruptions last year remains in limbo this year under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
When Congress approved the first coronavirus relief package a year ago, it required most employers, including the state of California, to offer expanded benefits to their employees.
The package provided two weeks of paid sick leave and 10 weeks of partially paid family leave for employees who couldn’t go to work due to public health orders, doctor’s orders or because they had children stuck at home due to coronavirus restrictions. The program expired at the end of December.
Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that guarantees two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave for most California employees, including state workers, who can’t work due to the coronavirus.
Senate Bill 95, authored by Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, makes the two weeks of supplemental leave available through the end of September, and specifies it may be used for vaccine-related absences. The leave is available in addition to regular sick leave.
“CalHR will review our paid sick leave policies and update consistent with the provisions of SB 95 which Governor Newsom signed on March 19,” Government Operations Agency spokeswoman Amy Palmer said in an email.
The administration hasn’t addressed the family leave portion of last year’s relief package, the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act.
The Act provided up to 10 weeks of family and medical leave at two-thirds pay, up to a maximum of $10,000, for parents with children at home due to the virus.
The family leave was a lifeline, at least for a couple of months, for many state workers with children at home due to school closures.
Congress allowed last year’s mandatory leave program to expire, but offered tax credits to employers who wanted to keep the program going.
Biden’s American Rescue Plan continues the optional program through Sept. 30. It expands the optional benefits slightly, bumping the total up to $12,000, according to an analysis by New York-based law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. The plan also makes the family leave available for reasons other than taking care of a child.
The state doesn’t pay federal taxes, so it doesn’t have the same incentive a private employer would to offer the program. Last year, the state was able to use federal coronavirus funds to pay for the mandatory expansion, according to Finance Department spokesman H.D. Palmer.
California state government is set to receive $26 billion in federal money through Biden’s stimulus package. It’s not clear if the money could be used to cover expanded family leave benefits.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 5:25 AM with the headline "Biden plan helps employers expand family leave. Will California offer it to state workers?."