State Sen. Shelia Kuehl paid a visit to the UCLA labor center
Wednesday to reiterate her pride in a bill she authored that
provides paid time off for workers who care for a new child or a
sick family member.
The paid family leave bill, Senate Bill 1661, was signed by Gov.
Gray Davis in September at the UCLA children’s hospital and
is designed to give most workers about 55 percent of their salary
for six weeks of leave.
The legislation will go into effect in July of 2004.
“I’m very proud of this bill,” said Kuehl, a
Santa Monica Democrat whose district includes UCLA.
“This is a humanitarian response to the need of people to
balance … work and family.”
Funding for the program relies on employee payroll deductions of
about $26 per year. It is estimated that over 80 percent of
California’s 16 million workers will qualify for the paid
leave program.
Exemptions to the new law include businesses with fewer than 50
employees and workers for state and local governments, who
contribute to a different plan.
As Kuehl delivered her brief address, she was flanked by Myra
Katz and Jeffery Norvet ““ the type of people the bill aims to
help.
Norvet, a camera operator from Augora Hills, had to take time
off work last May after his wife endured a ruptured colon.
Norvet’s wife had to go through five surgeries, and Norvet
recalled how difficult it was to make time to care for his
family.
“It was just impossible for me to work,” he
said.
Norvet remembered following his wife’s ambulance to the
hospital and thinking, “My whole life just
changed.”
“I didn’t know who was going to pick my children up
from school,” he said.
Norvet went on to praise the paid family leave bill ““
which many people think would primarily benefit women ““ and
said “it would have helped a lot.”
Similarly, Katz said the bill would help her to take care of her
husband.
Katz has taken care of her husband Herb, who has advanced
Parkinson’s disease, for years. She wakes up at 4:30 a.m.
every day, shaves her husband, helps him bathe, and prepares
breakfast and lunch for him.
“My whole life has been devoted to him,” she
said.
After working at home and at a cancer research center, Katz
often felt exhausted, but she was still able to devote the
necessary time to her husband and her job.
A few years ago, however, she was diagnosed with breast
cancer.
“I realized I was mortal,” she said. “I
realized the care-giver was now in need of care herself.”
Katz said the bill would allow her to use her own vacation and
sick days to take care of herself, while she could use the family
leave time to care for her husband.
While those present at the UCLA labor center fully supported the
bill, others staunchly oppose it.
Because the paid leave is paid for by all employees regardless
of whether they use it, a press aide for the California
Manufacturers and Technology Association said unmarried workers
will bear the brunt of the bill.
“A single employee may be paying for this for others who
will eventually take the benefit. One of my concerns is employees
will see that and find ways to take this six-week medical
leave,” said Gino DiCaro.
“This will inevitably lead to reduced productivity,”
Dicaro said.