Yesterday’s Advisor took a look at how the slew of sick leave laws have left a new trend in their wake: paid family leave. Today we’ll look at the Department of Labor’s (DOL) plan to research this type of leave.
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DOL to Fund Research
As momentum continues to grow for paid family leave bills, in 2016, the DOL announced the availability of $1 million to fund research and analyze how paid leave programs can be developed and implemented across the country.
According to the DOL, funding will be available for paid family leave statistical analysis, such as cost-benefit or actuarial studies; feasibility analysis; economic-impact analysis; financing, eligibility, and benefit modeling; and education, outreach, and marketing analysis for implementation purposes.
The activities to be funded may include identifying and studying viable options for financing and administering a paid family and medical leave program in states that do not have a temporary disability insurance program (e.g., employer mandates, other social insurance programs, publicly funded programs).
Additionally, eligible entities that have already completed analyses and are awaiting legislative action to formally adopt or have recently adopted a paid family and medical leave program may apply for funds to support preimplementation or initial implementation activities.
The Women’s Bureau at the DOL will administer the funding opportunity. This is the third year the DOL has funded paid leave research. The 2016 initiative builds on grant programs in 2014 and 2015, through which the DOL awarded over $2 million to support paid leave studies.