If passed, the bill introduced in the New York City Council requiring private employers to provide paid family leave for their employees will hurt families, kill jobs and further weaken our city’s economy as we struggle to emerge from the current recession.
Legislation, no matter how well intended, cannot change the basic laws of economics. Requiring employers to pay employees for up to 12 weeks out of the year when they are not working increases costs significantly. When the cost of hiring a worker rises, demand for workers falls. In other words, employers stop hiring, and unemployment rises.
Indeed, many of the costs of paid family leave will be imposed on small and medium-sized businesses, the backbone of our economy. Many of these businesses will not be able to absorb the expense. Not only will there be the costs of lost productivity and administrative expenses, but the cost of additional training for temporary workers who will have to be hired to replace the workers taking paid leave.
If a medium-sized employer had a large number of employees taking paid family leave, the business might have to shut down. Certainly, this proposal makes the city less attractive to businesses, which may take their jobs to cities and states with a more job-friendly environment.
The people of New York have been burdened with billions in new taxes. Paid family leave is simply another mandate whose cost cannot easily be recovered. This will result in more hardship, hitting working people right in their pocketbooks.
Moreover, studies have shown that mandated paid family leave makes it especially more expensive to hire women, since women are more likely to use it, thereby making them less attractive to employers.
While the stated goal of the bill’s proponents is to help workers, especially women, in reality this mandate will make it harder for women, especially those with limited education, to find jobs.
Simply put, mandatory family leave imposed on private employers will actually decrease the number of jobs in the economy.
The right way to help workers is by enforcing the current federal Family Medical Leave Act and legislation barring employment discrimination, against women in particular.
We also need more generous tax credits and deductions for taxpayers’ medical expenses and lost wages resulting from taking time off to address their health needs and that of their loved ones.
For these reasons, I will stand with the working men and women of our city and vote against paid family leave.
Dan Halloran represents City Council District 19 in northeast Queens.
