California’s governor vetoed a bill September 30 that would have granted 6 weeks of “parental leave” to some employees in the state. Governor Jerry Brown (D) said in a letter to lawmakers that he was particularly concerned about the impact the law would have on small businesses.
 |
The bill would have given covered employees 6 weeks of job-protected leave to bond with a new child within 1 year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement. It would have had similar eligibility criteria to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which is 1,250 hours of service within the previous 12 months. It would have applied, however, to employers that employ 20 individuals within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite, instead of the FMLA’s 50-employee threshold.
Advocates say the law was intended to cover employees who don’t otherwise have access to such leave. “Due to an inequity in current law, employees who work for companies with 49 or fewer employees pay into the state’s Paid Family Leave Program but lack job-protection given to employees who work for companies of 50 or more,” said the bill’s primary sponsor, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D), in a press release.