Minnesota House Democrats have passed their hallmark paid family and medical leave bill off the floor, but have little confidence it will clear the Republican-majority Senate.
The Democratic-led House passed House File 5 by a 70-59 vote on Thursday. The bill would create a state-funded and -operated program that Democrats say mirror existing disability and unemployment programs in the state that would allow all Minnesota employees to take up to 24 weeks of paid family or medical leave.
At a Thursday news conference with fellow Democratic legislators and advocates, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said it’s time for Minnesota to “join the rest of the developed world” in offering paid time off so Minnesotans can care for a newborn baby, ill family member or themselves.
“We in the Minnesota House DFL believe that all Minnesotans deserve time to care for themselves and for their loved ones, and they shouldn’t have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of their family members,” she said.
The bill is funded through state premiums on employers and employees, and HF 5 primary author Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, said at a Thursday news conference that the system would eventually be expected to pay out about $783 million in annual ongoing benefits. Per the bill, the state would begin collecting premiums in 2021 and paying out benefits in 2023.
House Republicans universally opposed the bill in Thursday’s vote, saying that the program grows government, increases taxes and puts restrictive mandates on employers who know what’s best for their employees. While Democrats say universal paid time off could make Minnesota a more competitive job market, Republicans say it could stifle businesses’ growth, or even kill them.
During the House’s hours-long debate, Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, read a list of her hometown small businesses, calling them the “lifeblood” of her community. A “burdensome” bill like HF 5 “will destroy the job-providers of my local community,” she said.
“My heart goes out to these employees that need family leave, but we should trust our small businesses to come up with their own ideas, not universal, one-size-fits-all mandates,” she said.
Republicans argued that many employers already offer paid time off, and it should be the marketplace — not the government — to push them to offer competitive benefits. HF 5 is opposed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
But House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, said that’s not the reality for all Minnesotans, and it is the government’s job to put a check on “abuses of the marketplace.” He likened passing paid time off in 2020 to outlawing child labor, capping maximum working hours and mandating a minimum wage in decades past.
With state health officials bracing themselves for the potential spread of COVID-19 into Minnesota, Halverson said a global pandemic is just one reason for the state to offer a backup plan for employees who face unexpected circumstances.
“We’ve got so many people living on the knife’s edge of economic security it this state,” she said at Thursday’s news conference. “And even if they do have economic security, they do have good insurance, they’re afraid they’ll lose it.”
Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury, said she remained “hopeful” that the Republican majority in the Senate would consider the proposal, though “in all public comments, they’ve been very dismissive of this as a solution.”
In a Thursday written statement, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, called HF 5 “a tax on every business, every employee, and every employer in the state.”
“Our Minnesota employers already offer private options that are more flexible and work better for their employees,” he said.
