At State Capitol, a day to talk paid family leave

Feb. 15--There were days when Stephanie Johnson -- raising two sons, one of whom has autism -- had to go without a paycheck and food on her table to take care of her son. She was pleased with the disability insurance available when she was living in Rhode Island and now, she feels it's time for Connecticut to step up.

"You're not a bad employee if you need to take time off to take care of your family," said Johnson, who works as a sleep technician at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. "The pressure of having to work while you're dealing with an ailing member of your family is intense and unfair. It's even worse if you have to be concerned about your bills. Your job is what you do; your family is who you are."

Johnson spoke at a news conference that the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave held in Hartford on Thursday afternoon. It preceded hours of testimony in front of the Labor and Public Employees Committee on Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 5003, which would create a family and medical leave insurance program.

It's an employee-funded program that would offer covered employees up to 12 workweeks of compensation during any 12-month period, by taking up to 0.5 percent from employees' paychecks.

Addressing the committee, Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, said she thought this contribution was a "reasonable accommodation" and said the "vast majority" of people will at some point be impacted by a family life event that necessitates taking advantage of the program.

The bill calls for the Connecticut Department of Labor, the administrator of the program, to start collecting funds July 1, 2020, and start compensation July 1, 2021.

Upon approval from the Department of Labor, employees on leave will get 100 percent of their earnings up to $1,000 per week, with future increases in the maximum based on consumer price index calculations.

Reasons someone may take leave include childbirth, a serious health condition or caregiving for a family member with a serious health condition.

The bill states that the amount of earnings subject to the 0.5 percent contribution shall not exceed the Social Security contribution and benefit base, unless the Department of Labor determines contributions are insufficient for solvency and the General Assembly approves an increase in the amount of earnings subject to contribution.

The Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program does not include state, municipal or board of education employees, unless their collective bargaining unit opts in.

The bill allows the State Bond Commission to authorize up to $20 million in bonds for start-up costs of the program.

Advocates share personal stories, and opponents their concerns

A review of 39 pieces of written testimony submitted on S.B. 1 showed 33 writers -- including six from AARP and four from SEIU Healthcare 1199 -- generally in support of the legislation, and six either opposed or with significant reservations to the bill as written.

Kaitlyn Shake, a nurse living in Stratford, recalled the difficulty of working while her mother was recovering from emergency surgery, and then becoming her full-time caregiver.

New Haven resident Sarah Locke wrote about the "mounting debt" she and her mother incurred when she was diagnosed with cancer at 28 and both were unable to work. Both Locke and Patrick Comerford, also of New Haven, spoke of the necessity of paid family medical leave for those in the LGBTQ community, who often rely on their "chosen family" for support.

Opposing the bill, the Connecticut Food Association -- in testimony also submitted by Jonathan Edwards, of the eponymous Stonington winery -- said the proposal is "grossly inflated compared to neighboring states," would impact the flexibility of current CFA disability benefits and has high expenditures for business.

One of the first to testify at the hearing was Eric Gjede, vice president of government affairs for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, in opposition to the bill.

He argued that funding state employees to administer the program will require additional costs not previously computed and he disputed claims that the program will be at no cost to employers. Gjede said a soon-to-be-released survey of CBIA members showed that 80 percent have either significant or moderate concerns about the legislation.

This seemed to confuse some legislators, who have heard strong support.

Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, declared at the news conference that people "voted for paid family leave when they elected me to be a state senator" last year, as it was an issue on which she campaigned heavily.

Kushner is co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee along with Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, who spoke during the news conference of her daughter being born in 1993 weighing only 1 pound, 11 ounces. For two and a half months, Porter went to work during the day and visited her daughter in the hospital at night, having a "meltdown" whenever she left the neonatal intensive care unit, afraid her daughter might be gone when she returned.

"I had to make a decision on being away from her in a time when she needed me the most, to make money, to keep the household going," Porter said.

Noting that surrounding states have "implemented this program and implemented it very well," University of Connecticut student Jessica Weaver indicated that paid family leave would increase her chances of staying in the only state she has ever called home and help stem the "brain drain" of millennials and those in Generation Z.

Committee ranking member Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, said that while he is "keenly interested in having young people stay in the state," he has concerns about sustainability, worrying that the share of people who need to contribute to the system but not withdraw is too high.

e.moser@theday.com

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