There is growing momentum across the country for paid time off for caregivers – but many small employers say that would be tough to afford, according to the Associated Press.
Currently four states — California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island – mandate paid family leave, including time for caregivers, providing employee and/or employer-funded insurance pools to partially replace workers' wages, according to the AP.
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Similar laws in Washington state and Washington, D.C. will take effect in 2020, and advocacy groups are now lobbying hard to enact such laws in other states, including Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Oregon, Hawaii, Colorado and Minnesota, says Ellen Bravo, co-director of Family Values at Work.
However, while many small employers want to give time off for caregiving, many simply don't have the ability to pay workers during that time, according to Eileen Appelbaum, co-director of the think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Joe Gidjunis, owner of JPG Photography in Philadelphia, tells the AP that he offers his 13 staffers five weeks of time for vacation, sick days and holidays, but isn't able to pay them while they're on leave.
"It's difficult to pass these extra fees on to my customers through higher prices," Gidjunis says. He's hoping his 14-year-old business grows enough in the next year or so that he can start offering paid leave: "I'm not there yet, but I'm trying to be."
Caregiver PTO can be a valuable benefit to employees, because it means not having to choose between caregiving duties and a job, according to HRDive. Employers also benefit because workers won't try to do both at once, which often results in a distracted and unproductive employee.
"Some caregiver PTO benefits call for a combination of full- and half-day compensation," HRDive writes. "This might be a viable compromise for some small companies."
Affordability of benefits for small businesses has recently been brought to the fore by Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta in a meeting with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the website adds.
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Katie Kuehner-Hebert
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.
