Oregon Public Broadcasting

Some Oregon lawmakers are resurrecting the idea of paying workers who take extended leaves of absence to care for family members.  

The same proposal died near the end of the 2007 session.  A Senate committee voted Monday to try again.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

Right now if you work for a business that has 25 employees or more, Oregon law allows you to take up to 12 weeks off to care for a sick family member or when a child is born.

The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Senator Diane Rosenbaum, says this measure would create a statewide pool so that workers could get at least some money for up to half that time.

Sen. Diane Rosenbaum:  “That’s extremely important because we know that we’ve got great family leave laws in Oregon, but so many people can’t afford to take advantage of them because they just can’t afford to go without a paycheck.”

The extra cash – about $300 a week – would come from a fund paid into by eligible workers.  It would cost employees 2 cents an hour.

Opponents of the bill said even that’s too much, predicting that many people won’t take advantage of the program.

Lawmakers in Olympia approved a paid family leave program two years ago.  But the legislature there voted recently to delay implementing the program until 2012.

Online:

Oregon Senate Bill 966