Mothering Justice Executive Director Danielle Atkinson speaks at Mothering Justice’s “Mama’s March” on June 15, 2022. | Photo by Anna Gustafson
Advocates for a paid family and medical leave program in Michigan highlighted the economic and social benefits at a virtual press conference Wednesday and urged passage of legislation to make it a reality.
Held by the MI Paid Leave for All Coalition, the conference discussed results of two new reports on paid family and medical leave and the importance of passing the Michigan Family Leave Optimal Coverage (MI-FLOC) during the current lame duck session of the Michigan Legislature.
The reports, released by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), outlined the potential benefits of a state paid leave program, including decreasing poverty and reliance on social welfare, while potentially improving employee’s future earnings and U.S. business’s profitability.
Reports break down the benefits of paid family and medical leave programs
“These studies highlight that paid family leave is a win-win for people and businesses. Companies with paid leave programs report higher employee retention, increased productivity and lower turnover costs. For workers, they will have the time and financial assurances that they can take care of themselves or a loved one, without sacrificing financial security,” said state Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), one of the sponsors of the MI-FLOC package. “Paid leave programs lead to healthier, more productive workers, which translates to a stronger workforce and a more resilient economy, for generations to come.”
Geiss, along with state Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) introduced the MI-FLOC package, consisting of Senate Bills 332 and 333 and House Bills 4574 and 4575, in May 2023. Together they would provide Michigan workers with up to 15 weeks of paid leave, funded through contributions by both employers and employees.
But the bills have remained in their respective committees without any hearings, and with the end of Democrats’ control of the Michigan House coming in January, the pressure to push the bills forward is mounting.
Also speaking in favor of the legislation was Mothering Justice National Executive Director Danielle Atkinson, who said this is an issue that cuts across ideological lines.
“We know that in this last election, people voted with their financial strengths and interests at heart,” said Atkinson. “We know this policy is overwhelmingly popular because it’s overwhelmingly needed. When we do polling or talk to people on their doors, they speak about this issue, about the ability to take time off when they’re sick, when they have to care for the people that depend on them, when they are welcoming a child, or saying goodbye to a loved one.”
Atkinson called those concerns “bread-and-butter issues” that define the financial restraints many people face, adding they are “overwhelmingly popular” with Democrats, Republicans and independents.
That is backed up by polling conducted in August by Progress Michigan which indicated that 71% of Michiganders support a 15-week paid family and medical leave program in Michigan.
The issue came to a head in July, when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in a lawsuit brought by Mothering Justice, that the Legislature subverted the rights of citizens in gutting a ballot initiative to guarantee workers paid sick leave by adopting and amending the policy.
The ruling means that by Feb. 21, 2025, the Earned Sick Time Act will require all Michigan employers to offer 72 hours of sick leave. While companies with fewer than 10 employees must offer up to 40 hours of paid sick leave, employers with 10 or more employees must offer a full 72 hours of paid sick leave.
While state Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns) is working with businesses to finalize details on a bill that would moderate those changes, MI-FLOC supporters say moving toward a 15-week paid family leave policy benefits both workers and employers.
“We have a growing body of evidence from 13 states and the District of Columbia that have done programs like this,” said H. Luke Shaefer, the director of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions and a co-author of one of the reports.
“We’ve seen that each of these three types of leaves; paid parental leave, caregiving leave, and medical leave, combined in many state policies, as we’re discussing here, each individually and when combined, have demonstrated positive economic impacts for families as well as positive health impacts for employees and their families and can have long run positive impacts on labor force participation of the workforce,” said Shaefer.
He added that paid leave policies can also play an important role in addressing gender and racial inequities, particularly benefiting women and women of color who bear disproportionate shares of caregiving responsibilities.
Meanwhile, an actuarial analysis released in July by LEO indicated that if Michigan were to implement the most robust plan possible, a worker making the state median salary or $46,940 (at 40 hours per week) would pay $178.37 annually, which would work out to just over $3 per week in contributions. An individual earning the current minimum wage, meanwhile, ($21,486.40 at 40 hours per week) would pay $81.65 annually or about $1.50 per week.
“Paid leave will cost less than a pop or a cup of coffee each week for workers that make the minimum or median wage,” said Monique Stanton, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy.
“The costs of not implementing paid leave include wage and job losses for workers and families, worse health outcomes, higher health care costs, talent losses for businesses, and a negative impact on the state economy,” she said.
Stanton said the Legislature still has time to make a 15-week paid leave program a reality, but has to act quickly or waste an opportunity to help workers throughout the state.
“We as the coalition are going to continue to make a final push to see this important policy priority make it to our governor’s desk for the sake of our state’s workers, families, small businesses, and the economy,” she said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.