C.J. Jome owns the Unity Café in St Paul. He actually opened the business during the pandemic. He’s been struggling to make ends meet after getting into a car accident. He needed physical therapy but couldn’t take time off work, because it would mean losing about $500 dollars a day.
“So I cannot afford to address my injury without the serious thought of the financial consequences of my business and my job,” Jome said.
Jome is one of thousands of Minnesotans who would benefit under a proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
He hosted Governor Tim Walz, as well as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Steve Grove.
“There are many reasons to implement this program,” Jome said. “Particularly for woman and children. 82% of women who took paid time off to have a child returned to work.”
The bill (SF2) would tax employees and employers like unemployment insurance and then allow up to 12 weeks for medical leave and up to 12 weeks for family leave. It would be paid for with a payroll tax that both the employer and employee would contribute to.
The National Federation of Independent Business, or NFIB, which represents over 10,000 small businesses across the state, cautioned state lawmakers about proceeding with the $1 billion, 24-Week Paid Leave proposal.
The proposal is a wage replacement program that requires every employer to allow every employee to take up to 24 weeks of leave per year. It is paid for by a new, 0.7% payroll tax on each employee’s wages. The payroll tax can automatically increase without limit to cover rising program costs.
An employee seeking to take paid leave will apply to a new division within the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Estimates done by DEED indicate the program will cost $56 million per year to operate and require over 300 new employees.
“This massive new mandate on small business presents major problems at a time when many are struggling to recover from the pandemic and ensuing economic headwinds,” John Reynolds, the NFIB Minnesota State Director, said. “The $1 Billion tax will eat into small businesses’ shrinking bottom lines, 24 weeks of leave will exacerbate the worker shortage, and small employers face ruinous penalties for program violations.”
The Senate will hold a hearing on the bill on Wednesday.
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