Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program; established. (HB2126)
Introduced By
Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria) with support from co-patron Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
✗ |
Passed Committee |
☐ |
Passed House |
☐ |
Passed Senate |
☐ |
Signed by Governor |
☐ |
Became Law |
Description
Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. Entitles individuals to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) benefit payment for each month they are engaged in qualified caregiving, not to exceed 60 qualified caregiving days per year. Qualified caregiving means an activity, except regular employment, for a reason an individual is entitled to leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Benefits would amount to 66 percent of an individual's monthly wages, based on highest annual earnings from the prior three years, up to a capped monthly amount, and would be indexed to the national average wage index. If a person takes the maximum number of days, the benefits would range from a minimum benefit of $580 to a maximum benefit of $4,000 per month in the program's first year. To be eligible for benefits, an individual is required to (i) be insured for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act at the time his application is filed; (ii) have earned income from employment during the 12 months before filing the application; (iii) have filed an application for a FMLI benefit; and (iv) have been engaged in qualified caregiving, or anticipate being so engaged, during the 90-day period before the application is filed or within 30 days thereafter. The measure establishes the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Fund and requires FMLI benefit payments to be made only from this Fund. A tax of 0.2 percent is imposed on the wages received by every individual, and an excise tax of 0.2 percent of the wages paid in any calendar year by the employer with respect to their employment is imposed on employers. The measure has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2018. Read the Bill »
Outcome
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 01/11/2017 | Committee |
| 01/11/2017 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102389D |
| 01/11/2017 | Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor |
| 01/19/2017 | Assigned C & L sub: Subcommittee #2 |
| 01/24/2017 | Impact statement from DPB (HB2126) |
| 01/24/2017 | Subcommittee recommends passing by indefinitely |
| 02/08/2017 | Left in Commerce and Labor |
Comments
The ACLU of Virginia supports HB2126, which would require the Department of Labor to develop a plan for implementing a paid family leave program for all employees in Virginia. When a family welcomes a new child or a family member has a medical emergency, many Virginia workers face a difficult dilemma. If they are among the 60 percent of workers covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), they have the option of taking time off from their jobs unpaid. But if workers can't afford to forego the pay – which is often the case – their families are without a caregiver at a time of urgent need. The fact is, only 12 percent of employees nationwide receive paid family leave from their employers. Over the past several decades, Virginia's workplaces and families have changed dramatically – there are more women in the paid workforce than ever before; in most families, both parents have outside jobs; many households are headed by single parents; and family members are living longer and require more care in the latter part of their lives. Given these realities, paid family leave is essential to the health and wellbeing of Virginia’s workforce – especially to those who live paycheck to paycheck and lack job security. As the vast majority of care giving continues to be provided by women, the lack of paid family leave in Virginia is not only a matter of economic justice – it is an injustice that implicates constitutional principles of gender equality. At minimum, the Commonwealth should implement a plan to address this critically important issue.