Governor Laura Kelly hit the headlines Tuesday when she announced plans to extend parental and family leave for state employees, bringing a national political debate to Kansas.
While proponents of the directive say its executive order could have gone further, they note that it could spur private companies to create or expand their own vacation options for workers, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic makes such a move even more compelling has made.
It comes amid a push for some sort of national family vacation option that was touted by President Joe Biden despite opposition from corporate groups both nationally and in Kansas.
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Kansas Governor Increases Paid Vacation for Government Employees
Kansas does not have a single paid family vacation policy for home workers. While workers in larger companies are entitled to leave under the Federal Sick Leave Act, that leave is not paid, with critics arguing that this remains unattainable benefit for lower-paid workers who cannot waive a salary.
Public service workers have been doing better in recent years. A parental leave program was set up under Governor Jeff Colyer that provides six weeks of vacation for primary carers or the parent or person directly caring for a child or loved one and three weeks for secondary carers.
Kelly’s order on Tuesday increased these to eight weeks and four weeks for primary and secondary caregivers, respectively, and expanded the offer to include parents receiving foster child placement, which the original order did not originally provide.
“Supporting working parents in our workforce is not only the right thing to do – it’s good for our economy,” Kelly said in a statement. “We are committed to recruiting and retaining talented Kansans in our state and creating a supportive environment for our families.”
With the move, Kansas is ahead of many of its neighbors in terms of vacation options for government employees. Oklahoma and Nebraska, for example, only offer public sector workers what is available through the FMLA.
Over a dozen states have regulations on parental and family leave for government employees.
Missouri has had a parental leave scheme since 2017, the terms of which are almost identical to Colyer’s in 2018. And Arkansas has an even less generous offer that included maternity leave in a program that allows employees to take disastrous medical leave.
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Proponents emphasize the health, economic benefits of vacation programs
Brenda Bandy, director of the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, said the hope is that Kelly’s action could spur similar changes in the private sector.
Data from a February survey of human resource managers in Kansas conducted by Bandy’s organization showed that only 7% of companies surveyed offer a paid parental leave program. When restricted to maternity leave, this figure was only 10%. Both numbers, Bandy said, were well below the national average of 20-25%.
Bandy said Kansas companies need to be aware of this. As COVID-19 creates new flexibilities for remote work, employees have a newfound flexibility to pick up and move anywhere if the compensation package is right – and this increasingly includes parental and family leave.
“Families are saying loud and clear that paid family vacation is what they want employers to do,” Bandy said. “To be attractive to the workforce, this is something they have to offer.”
Health outcomes will also get a boost, proponents argue. An American University study comparing Western countries with different paid parental leave regimes found that more flexible options can lower infant mortality and improve childhood vaccination rates.
Bandy pointed to a conversation with the childcare manager at a Topeka employer who found that extending parental leave resulted in children being added to their programs a little older, which improves development outcomes and makes children more comfortable.
“It all goes hand in hand, but I think we shouldn’t overlook the health benefits for Kansans,” she said.
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Despite the group’s skepticism, progress at state and federal level
The creation of some sort of national parental or family vacation program has not gained any attraction in Kansas. No legislation was passed on this issue during the 2021 legislature, although the issue was a priority for Democrats at national level.
In part, that’s probably due to politics – most states that have implemented some type of requirement are left-wing.
This includes Colorado, where voters in that state last year approved up to 12 weeks of partial wage and job security for most workers, with the program funded by a payroll tax shared by employers and employees.
Bipartisan measures have also been approved in Washington and New Hampshire, where Republican Governor Chris Sununu signed a vacation program last month. Former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka was an advocate of a national program, but no consensus has emerged on what that should look like during his tenure.
Corporate groups, both in Kansas and nationally, have long been skeptical of this type of policy, arguing that it places unwieldy burdens on employers, especially small businesses, and siphons off funds that could otherwise be used to expand other benefits.
“As much as they can, small businesses volunteer paid vacations to stay competitive and attract talent,” Elizabeth Milito, an attorney with the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, told a Senate committee in May. “Not all employers can bear the costs.”
Still, there are indications that some corporate groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce, are ready to find a compromise.
This could include a more limited version of President Joe Biden’s plan to eventually provide 12 weeks of parental and family leave and more immediate employee bereavement leave, an initiative that is estimated to cost an estimated $ 225 billion over the next decade. It is part of a wider package of childcare and education proposals.
Bandy acknowledged the uncertainty over the Washington debate. However, she said it was time for federal or state action on the matter, especially as Kansas recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We aim to rebuild the economy in our state. And that goes back to – will Kansas be competitive? ”She said. “These are the kinds of guidelines, the family-friendly guidelines that we need to adjust. And if we don’t, we will be left behind.”
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