Paid family leave benefits Ohio’s economy, families too • Ohio Capital Journal

A children’s rights group in Ohio is pushing for paid family leave, one of many that have been passed in recent years as child care costs continue to rise.

Ohio base used his latest report encourage the implementation of paid leave policies in the state where the vast majority of residents have a job that does not offer paid family leave.

“The benefits are enormous, including improved maternal and infant health, reduced infant mortality rates, and reduced emotional and financial stress,” says Lynn Gutierrez, president and CEO of Groundwork Ohio.

One of the other types of leave that exists in the United States is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides leave that prevents people from losing their jobs for specific family and medical reasons, but this leave is unpaid. Groundwork Ohio’s analysis estimates that 8.4 million people, about 5.3% of eligible workers—those who work for companies with 50 employees or more and have worked for at least a year— use FMLA annually, but also found that FMLA “has significant limitations, forcing more than 40% of the entire U.S. workforce to use benefits available through legal technicalities.”

Under the FMLA, “family” is classified as spouses, children and parents, but excludes “modern families and LGBTQ+ groups,” the study said.

To fill gaps in FMLA coverage, the report argues, state legislators should support paid family leave to not only better support families, but also to bring the U.S. in line with other countries. The U.S. is currently one of only six countries in the world without paid maternity leave, according to Groundwork, which is “an awfully far cry from the 29-week average paid maternity leave mandated in most other countries.”

“In the absence of a functioning paid leave insurance system, American workers are likely to use earned vacation or sick time for family and medical reasons, leading to increased burnout, turnover, and worse mental health outcomes,” the study says.

Paid family leave gaps come amid a child care landscape that also considered unavailable and inaccessible to many in Ohio and across the country.

Some state legislatures have already taken steps to address the paid leave gap, with 21 states and the District of Columbia passing paid leave laws in 2023.

A study of state-level programs conducted by National Partnership for Women and Families in 2023, it found increased labor force participation rates, less need for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or other public assistance programs, and improved health outcomes for children and parents.

“People’s access to paid leave should not depend on where they live or work, or what job they hold,” the NPWF said. “The success of statewide paid family and medical leave programs demonstrates that there is an effective, affordable and proven model that works for families, businesses and the economy.”

Ohio’s economy could see a boost from the implementation of a paid leave policy, according to Groundwork’s analysis. A full-time employee in Ohio loses about $3,100 in income if he takes one month of unpaid leave.

“If women in Ohio were able to participate in the workforce at the same level as women in countries with paid leave policies, the state would generate approximately $3.9 billion more in wages statewide, while boosting the state’s economy and helping to stabilize families,” the study says. stated.

Citing Federal Reserve estimates, the study found that Ohio’s overall GDP would have been $67 billion higher between 2005 and 2019 “if gender and racial wealth gaps had been closed.”