ST.PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House voted 68-64 to require paid family and medical leave. Under the bill, employers and employers would pay into a state fund from which employees could collect up to 18 weeks pay to welcome a new child, to recover from illness, or to care for a loved one. The bill was supported by faith leaders, unions and health organizations. A similar bill is working its way through Sente committees. The issue of a state-mandated program has been a Democratic priority in the Legislature for eight years. Most Republicans have come around to support the concept but objected to how Democrats had structured the the plan. Republicans instead preferred tax incentives to businesses set up leave policies businesses but no state mandate. In final form the House bill’s original 24 weeks of leave was trimmed to 18.
Triumphant pose. Paid family leave advocates all smile “cheese” for a portrait after House passage.
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Ruth Richardson, a Democrat elected from Mendota Heights and the bill’s sponsor: “At the foundation of this bill is a recognition of our shared humanity. At some point, we are all going to be tied to either care for ourselves or to care for a loved one.”
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Dave Baker, a Republican elected from Willmar: “I think the private industry knows this industry better than government. They have to live and breathe. They have to make it work financially. They do it every day, all day.”