By GLYNIS HART
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PLAINFIELD – Sen. Martha Hennessey stopped in Plainfield Monday to promote paid family and medical leave insurance. For the first time, bills for family medical leave have passed the state house and senate with bipartisan support.
“It’s been mostly bipartisan and it should be bipartisan,” said Hennessey, who made her speech in front of Anne’s Plainfield Country Store on Rt. 12A. “Granite Staters in every community have told us that it is a clear priority.”
According to a poll conducted by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire in 2016, 82 percent of New Hampshire residents were in favor of a paid family and medical leave insurance program.
The new insurance program would function like unemployment insurance. Amanda Sears, director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, said Senate Bill 1 would offer up to 12 weeks of paid leave for such events as a new baby in the home, a sick relative needing someone to stay with them, and the illness or injury of the worker.
“This is something we need,” said Sears. “This is why we have unemployment insurance; to help people who need a temporary financial bridge.
“There are several programs like this across the country,” Sears continued. “Two-thirds of New Hampshire residents don’t have access to family medical leave.”
Another study by Carsey Research found that one-third of New Hampshire workers have jobs without extended paid leave for their own illness and about half lacked parental leave. Women are more likely to take time off to care for an ill family member, and many work part-time jobs in order to do so.
The bill would provide up to 60 percent of a worker’s pay for up to 12 weeks for such events as pregnancy complications, caring for a new child, or tending to a seriously ill family member (including oneself).
“This has been shown in other states to be successful,” said Sears. “But we’re facing a threat of a veto from Governor Sununu. He says it’s an income tax, erroneously — it’s just like unemployment insurance.”
When Hennessey took the podium she criticized Sununu, calling his paid leave plan “half-baked.”
“Governor Sununu has said time and time again he would support paid leave,” said Hennessey. “But he has so far been unwilling to support any legislation that offers real paid leave. Sununu’s plan is not a real plan at all; even the insurance companies [who bid on] his plan suggested it would be necessary to make it more expensive for those most likely to use it, like women of child-bearing age and older workers, and suggested denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.”
Sununu and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott have proposed a Twin State Family Leave Plan that would cover all state workers automatically at no cost to the workers. Individuals, private employers and other public entities, like cities and towns, could opt to buy in. By building incentives for employers into the plan to get all their workers covered, the two governors believe they would increase the risk pool enough to keep premiums low. According to a press release by the Governor’s office, Sununu said: “By leveraging the economies of scale of each state’s employment base, insurance carriers will be able to write a competitively priced family leave plan.”
The Twin State plan would cover up to six weeks of leave at 60 percent of the worker’s regular wages.
However, the two governors’ plan would have to pass Democrat-controlled legislatures in both states — each of which has created its own Family Medical Leave plan.
“Employers would include the premiums in their unemployment insurance payment,” said Hennessey, “Which would cost about $5 a week. They also have the option to pass it on to their employees, either partially or entirely.”
The Twin State plan also uses the $5 benchmark for employees who could voluntarily opt in by buying into the insurance chosen by the two state governments. Sununu’s financial advisor has stated they could keep the cost to workers at $5 a week.
Brian Sullivan, (D- Sullivan County Dist. 1), chair of the House Labor Committee, took the podium after Hennessey. He said at the Labor Committee hearings “a great deal of young people came to testify (in favor of the bill). We amended the bill very carefully so it would cover everyone in the state. Governor Sununu’s bill is an opt-in bill. People who might not think they’ll need it will opt out, thus making it much more expensive.”
Hennessey said self-employed people would be able to buy in, and in New Hampshire, the bill would cover grandparents needing time off to care for grandchildren.
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