The proposed Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Insurance Act would be funded by employee contributions to an employee-funded state insurance fund.
Under a new proposal, Wisconsin workers would be eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid leave. With the introduction of the Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Insurance Act (FMLIA), workers will be able to take time off due to personal or family illness or to care for a new child.
The Department of Workforce Development and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance shall determine the amount of employee contributions necessary to fund the benefit. Contributions will go to an employee-funded state insurance fund to provide wage replacement for employees who take leave from work.
In an interview with WisPolitics, NFIB’s Wisconsin State Director Bill Smith said that the proposed paid leave family program bill would affect the state’s small businesses.
“The bill would be too burdensome on small businesses,” said Smith. “The loss of a single employee ‘for any reason’ has a much greater impact on a small business than a large corporation.”
NFIB is the only group to lobby against the bill in both the 2015-16 and 2017-18 sessions and will continue to lobby against the bill again.
