Reply to DC proposing 16-week paid parental leave!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a flaming liberal, a woman, a feminist.  I've never voted anything except Dem in my life.  I'm a mother and I've had to be out of work due to having my babies.    I run the finances and HR of a ten million dollar business downtown.  Including our FMLA leave (currently 16 weeks unpaid under the law)

I think this proposal is outrageous.  The Feds are exempt from the tax???  But they get the benefit?  DC residents who don't work in DC, whose employers don't pay in, get the benefit? ??

For a benefit like this to work, everyone should have to pay to play.  You don't pay in, you shouldn't get paid out.

Why not just negotiate with a short term disability provider to offer STD at advantageous rates to DC residents and DC employers?

I think it's unfair to expect say, a small  business that is privately owned to fund a STD benefit for the rest of DC.  I would absolutely move my business to VA if they did that.  I have been trying to convince our top exec to move to VA anyway for the cheaper rent and other tax advantages.

I think for paid FMLA leave to work, you need a really large pool paying in.  I don't think it's fair to expect what amounts to comparatively few businesses in DC to fund paid FMLA leave for a universe this large.

Just my opinion.

[/quote]

You can only take the benefit if you or your employer has paid. District non-fed employers of more than 20 employees will pay a tax for their employees. This means that anyone who works in DC (excluding those who work for the federal government or small employers) will be eligible to take this benefit because their employers pay for it. DC residents who do not work for an employer who is required to pay in (i.e., those who work for small employers, or feds) are eligible to pay their own tax in order to be eligible. In other words, in order to take the benefit, the District Dept of Revenue must have received your buy-in. Everyone who is "playing" will have "paid".

Your point about FMLA is correct--you do need a large pool paying in in order to make this work financially. Unfortunately, your alternative of private STD for city residents is in direct conflict with this.

FWIW, I'm a fiscally-conservative libertarian, and I don't consider myself a feminist. I've had one baby, and took 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave. I agree that negotiating with an STD provider to provide a good rate would be the best, but I know good rates come from good risk pools. What would most likely happen under this scenario is that those who anticipated needing STD would be the only ones to purchase it. If everyone who has bought into the policy is likely to take out $16,000, what do you think the buy-in rate has to be in order for the insurance company to just break even? This was one of the reasons why the individual mandate was needed for the ACA--the risk must be spread around in order to keep rates down.

Also, you undoubtedly already know this, but most STD benefits for birth are 6-8 weeks. The proposal would pay for a full 16 weeks of family leave, which is much more generous than an STD carrier is going to offer.[/quote]

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