Paid family leave is a win-win for Long Island

Paid family leave legislation is gaining momentum in Albany, and for good reason. As a small business owner, I know that paid family leave would be a lifeline to New York’s working families, including thousands here on Long Island, without burdening businesses or taking scarce funds from our state budget.

The U.S. stands virtually alone among global leaders in failing to provide any paid time off for workers with new babies or seriously ill family members who need their care. While the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, signed into law 23 years ago, has been tremendously successful, it guarantees only unpaid leave, and applies only to businesses with more than 50 employees.

Even workers who qualify for FMLA often can’t afford to use it. That means parents robbed of crucial time with a new child, or forced to lose income — or even a job — when a son or daughter undergoes cancer treatment or an aging mother suffers a stroke. This can take a huge financial toll, and put a family’s economic stability at risk. New Yorkers should not have to choose between the health of their families and their ability to make ends meet.

That’s why our legislators in Albany are considering a statewide paid family leave program — and why it’s crucial that a bill be passed this session. There are strong proposals that would provide 12 weeks of paid leave at the time of the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a seriously ill family member. Private-sector workers’ jobs would be protected, and they would receive two-thirds of their wages while on leave. The benefit would merely be added to the state’s existing temporary disability insurance program, so businesses would use a mechanism they already know and with which they already comply.