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State Laws Leave Benefits

Posted in Employee Rights

Many legislators in the United States think that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lacks the scope when it comes to providing benefits to employees who seek to take a leave from office to attend to a seriously ill family member or taking care of their newborn.  This is why several states have come up with their own laws that cover the loopholes that FMLA drafted.  In fact, these state laws have greater benefits and protection compared to FMLA.

Covering what the FMLA has failed

Some states may allow family and or medical leave to employees even for employers who have smaller employee population as FMLA only covers companies who have at least 50 workers.  Other state laws may provide greater total job-protected time even if the employee takes more than 12 weeks of leave.  A possible scenario is when a female employee gives birth, then takes care of her pregnancy disabilities, and takes a time off to care for her newborn after birth.

Aside from these, several states allow some form of wage-replacement benefits, which employees can apply even while on an unpaid family or medical leave.  Five states (California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) and Puerto Rico offer temporary disability benefits for employees who are temporarily unable to work because of their own medical condition, which includes pregnancy and birth.

California is the first state in the United States to provide comprehensive benefits on paid leave, offering an additional six weeks of partial wage benefits during an employee's unpaid time off.  Other states are considering similar programs.