BOSTON, May 15 (UPI) -- Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would give employees 12 weeks off with pay to care for family.
If approved, it would be the nation's most generous paid leave policy, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
The bill would pay workers their full salary -- up to $750 a week -- for up to 12 weeks to care for newborns or ill family members.
University of Massachusetts Boston economics professor Randy Albelda says some 440,000 workers in the state currently take leave each year at a cost of $370 million a year to employers.
While the number of leaves would go up to 470,000 per year if the bill becomes law, Albelda's research contends employers will save some $100 million when factoring in less turnover and fewer paid sick days, the newspaper reported.
Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, U.S. workers receive 12 weeks of unpaid leave at larger companies. But some 60 percent of employees who want to take family leave are not eligible for it because it only applies to companies with 50 or more employees, the National Partnership for Women and Families said.
