Top N.J. Democrat wants to dramatically expand paid family leave

New Jersey Assembly speaker Vincent Prieto(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

TRENTON -- State Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto on Tuesday proposed a dramatic expansion of New Jersey's paid family leave program, the second such proposal to come out of the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Prieto (D-Hudson) said demand for the program -- one of just a few in the country -- has been weak, and increasing the benefits available to people caring for newborns or ill family members and establishing job protections should improve participation.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) previously proposed changes to the program as well. But Prieto said his would go further.

The existing program offers new parents or caregivers up to six weeks of benefits equal to two-thirds of their pay, but capped at $633 a week.

Those limitations, from the cap on weekly wages to the time limits, keep maternity and paternity leave out of reach for many low- and middle-income families, advocates say.

Caregivers are even less likely to participate.

For many, "losing a third of your take-home pay is out of the question," said Jon Whiten, vice president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive Trenton think tank.

From 2009 to 2015, family leave insurance has paid out nearly half a billion dollars in benefits for more than 200,000 claims. About eight in 10 claims are to bond with a child, while two in 10 are to take care of a family member.

The Assembly Democrats' bill would increase the eligibility period from six to 12 weeks, and raise the cap from $633 a week to $932 a week.

States with higher caps, like Rhode Island and California, have higher participation.

Just 12 percent of New Jersey's eligible new parents are receiving the family leave benefits, an NJPP report said.

Siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and parents-in-law would be newly covered as caregivers. Under the current law, only children, parents, spouses, domestic partners and civil union partners qualify.

And notably, the expansion would give job protection during leave to people whose employer has fewer than 50 workers.

Three in 10 New Jersey workers are employed by such small businesses, which account for 92 percent of all employers in the Garden State, according to an NJPP analysis.

"Employees are fearful of losing their job, and this bill corrects that flaw," said Eric Richard, legislative affairs coordinator for the AFL-CIO.

New Jersey's paid family leave program is funded by workers through a small payroll deduction up to $33.50 a year.

The New Jersey Main Street Alliance, a coalition of small business owners, supports the expansion, while the New Jersey Business and Industry Association said its still reviewing the proposal.

"While it is important that employees have the flexibility to take leave for family reasons, potential expansion of the current law must always take into account our members' ability to perform vital functions with fewer staff and also the potential additional costs involved for those business owners who may now just be operating at the margins," NJBIA said in a statement.

Prieto said Tuesday that while he hopes Gov. Chris Christie will support the legislation -- if only to boost his own approval ratings here -- he expects it would be a top priority for the Democrats seeking to succeed the governor next year.

"We're always optimistic that he will do the right thing," the speaker said.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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