Star Tribune Exclusive
By Julia Coleman | MARCH 7, 2023 

If you ever find yourself needing to care for a new child or a sick loved one, flexibility at work will help you focus on your family’s needs. I know what it’s like not to have a paid family leave benefit. While pregnant with my first son I spent long hours moonlighting small gigs to afford my unpaid time away from work. Eighteen months later, when my twins were born, I couldn’t imagine trying to balance work and their time in neonatal intensive care.

My heart aches for mothers who have found themselves in similar straits, and I am committed to fighting for good legislation to help those who are not currently covered gain access to paid family leave benefits. That’s why I’m advocating for an innovative approach to expanding access to the paid family leave benefit.

After speaking with many employers and employees from across the state, I know there is a strong desire to ensure greater access to paid family leave — building on the current paid leave programs many employers already offer. I also talked with many Minnesota families who equally want to see an expanded availability of this benefit.

What they are united against, however, is a massive new bureaucracy, increased taxes, limited options and a one-size-fits-all mandate that will crush small businesses. With these concerns top of mind, I authored legislation that takes a free-market approach through private insurance (SF 1385, SF 1277, SF463).

The last thing Minnesotans need is the massive new government program proposed by Democrats. Instead of creating a large bureaucracy, I propose creating an insurance product precisely tailored to paid family leave. By taking a private market approach, we will eliminate the need for another government entity, including hundreds of new employees. And unlike a state-managed program, the private-sector approach to the paid family leave benefit can be launched immediately, and can be customized for each business and its employees’ unique needs.

Additionally, the Democrats’ government-managed approach to paid family leave will be extremely costly for Minnesota taxpayers. The costs of simply operating the bureaucracy will be enormous, with a mandated employer and employee tax that some estimate would cost nearly $2 billion annually. This is because the funding mechanism for the state program will be a new payroll tax for all employees and employers. Furthermore, since the requirement would impact all schools, counties and cities, these entities will likely need to increase local taxes so they can absorb their employer costs.

It is also important to note that many companies already offer generous paid leave for their employees. If we were to mandate all businesses to offer paid family leave through a state program, many employees would lose access to benefits they like.

Instead of eliminating a benefits system that is in place and working well, we should be looking for ways to build upon industry expertise and the current great programs. This is exactly what the private insurer route would allow. Businesses and insurers could develop customized products to give more flexibility to families and employers.

The mark of good legislation is a bill that seeks to find a balanced approach to solving an unmet need within our communities, while considering any damage the legislation may create. Simply put, the proposal put forth by Democrats will cause more harm than good, as small businesses will close, and benefit options will be inflexible and costly.

The Legislature should strongly consider my proposal for a paid family leave solution that is friendly to families, businesses and Minnesota taxpayers.