On April 5, 2016, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a law requiring all San Francisco businesses with more than 20 employees to supplement parental leave payments made by the State of California. The legislation will provide new parents with six weeks of fully paid parental leave by requiring employers to supplement payments made by the State of California. If signed into law by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco will be the first city in the country to require employers to pay a portion of an employee’s parental leave.
Under, Federal law, new parents are guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid leave. California, along with several other states, provides new parents with partial pay for a period of time. The state of California currently provides employees with 55 percent of their pay for up to six weeks of parental leave. The source of the money is a state insurance program funded by workers. Any additional time taken would be unpaid.
The new San Francisco law requires employers with 20 or more employees to contribute an additional 45 percent of a worker’s salary during his or her six weeks of parental leave or baby bonding time. The law applies to all parents and to births and adoptions. Under the law, employees who worked for an employer a minimum of ninety days and at least eight hours or more per week are covered.
The legislation will be phased in starting in January 2017. Initially it will only apply to businesses that employ 50 or more workers. Businesses with 35 to 49 workers must comply starting in July 2017 and businesses with 20 to 34 workers will be required to participate starting January 2018.
The law contains a provision that automatically reduces the required employer contribution if the State of California’s contribution increases above its current 55 percent contribution. This last provision may come into play relatively soon if Assembly Bill 908 is signed by Governor Jerry Brown. AB 908 would increase California’s contribution to new parents from 55 percent to 70 percent for low-wage workers and 60 percent for all other wage earners.
Whether San Francisco legislation will be adopted by other cities or the state is unknown. However, San Francisco is frequently at the forefront of quality of life legislation, as evidenced by its approval of a $15 hourly minimum wage for workers in 2014. On April 4, 2016, almost exactly two years after San Francisco enacted its $15 hourly minimum wage, Governor Brown signed legislation mandating that same amount for the entire state. Similarly, San Francisco was a leader in enacting mandatory sick leave laws and protections for a number of minority groups, which were subsequently enacted statewide. Given San Francisco’s history of passing worker protection laws that are later embraced statewide, additional jurisdictions may possibly explore implementing similar laws in the near future.
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