![]() If a state law also provides employment protections (such as the right to get one’s job back), a worker may need to meet additional requirements to be eligible for those protections. 34 In most programs, workers who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements can receive benefits if they are unemployed or between jobs when they experience a qualifying need. This makes benefits portable, meaning that workers can keep their benefits as they move from job to job or combine multiple sources of income. In most state paid leave programs, workers can combine earnings or time worked from multiple covered employers to meet these requirements. Workers become eligible for paid benefits by meeting minimum standards in terms of how much they have earned, how long they have worked or been employed, or some combination of both. ![]() Most state programs allow self-employed workers-including sole proprietors, freelancers, and independent contractors-to opt into coverage voluntarily. 32 Except in Delaware, state paid family and medical leave laws cover employers regardless of size, meaning that employers with as few as one employee may be covered. Paid family and medical leave laws generally cover all or nearly all private sector (nongovernment) employees in a state many also cover some or all state and local government employees. Who do paid family and medical leave laws cover? 27 Unlike the states listed above, New Hampshire and Vermont do not legally guarantee workers the right to paid leave, only provide a voluntary opportunity to purchase insurance coverage. 26 Vermont’s governor has taken a similar approach. New Hampshire has enacted a voluntary law that provides paid leave only to private sector employers or employees who opt in by purchasing coverage, with guaranteed coverage for state employees. 13Įleven states have passed paid family and medical leave laws: California, 14 Colorado, 15 Connecticut, 16 Delaware, 17 Massachusetts, 18 Maryland, 19 New Jersey, 20 New York, 21 Oregon, 22 Rhode Island, 23 and Washington state, 24 along with Washington, D.C. House of Representatives as part of the Build Back Better Act, 12 building on the long-standing proposal for the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. However, important proposals have been advanced, such as one that passed in the U.S. federal law provides a right to paid family or medical leave. 11 What laws provide paid family and medical leave? 10 Many industries also have paid family leave coverage rates that are notably lower than that of the private sector workforce as a whole, including construction (12 percent), leisure and hospitality (10 percent), accommodation and food service (10 percent), and transportation and warehouse work (9 percent). 9 Just 12 percent of part-time workers have paid family leave, compared with a still low 28 percent of full-time workers. Among the lowest 10 percent of earners, only about 1 in 20 (6 percent) have access to paid family leave. 8Īs with short-term disability insurance, access to paid family leave is not evenly distributed. More than 3 in 4 (76 percent) private sector employees do not have access to paid family leave. Regarding paid family leave, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only about 1 in 4 employees (24 percent) in the private sector workforce have access to paid family leave. In 2021, private sector workers with paid sick time received an average of seven days per year 7-not enough to cover lengthy recovery from surgery or repeated absences due to medical treatments such as chemotherapy. However, most do not have enough paid sick time to cover an extended illness or injury. Most-though not all-private sector employees have access to at least some paid sick time through their employer, which could cover a serious health condition. Service workers (23 percent), 5 leisure and hospitality workers (19 percent), and accommodation and food service workers (19 percent) are all about half as likely to have access as the private sector workforce as a whole. 4 Workers in industries with large numbers of low-income workers are also less likely to have access to short-term disability through their employers. 3 Similarly, only about 1 in 5 part-time workers (19 percent) have access to short-term disability coverage through their employers, compared with half (51 percent) of full-time workers. For example, only about 1 in 10 of the lowest 10 percent of earners have access to short-term disability coverage. 2Īccess to short-term disability coverage is not evenly distributed. In other words, a majority-57 percent-of private sector employees do not have access. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43 percent of the private sector workforce has access to short-term disability coverage through their employer. Within paid medical leave, short-term disability insurance is an important source of pay for workers taking extended time off from work for health reasons.
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