Paid family leave is one of the hottest topics in employment law, and various states and cities are moving to address the issue. Washington, D.C.'s City Council has proposed its own version of paid family leave with the Universal Paid Family Leave Act of 2015. The Act would offer employees 16 weeks of fully paid family leave to be taken in a lump sum or intermittently. The proposed law is in contrast to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which currently offers employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying events.
Employers should be aware that the Act would be fully funded by employers and run by the city. It is important that employers factor this cost into their budgets, as well as examine current employee structure and how the leave would be implemented and communicated to employees.
In this interview with Colin O'Keefe of LXBN TV, I discuss some of the implications for employers if the Act is passed into law.
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