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Study finds support for public paid family leave

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According to a report from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, over 80% of New Hampshire residents support a state paid family and medical leave insurance program. 

Such a program would provide income when an employee needs to take time off to care for a new child or sick family member. The Carsey Institute study polled respondents about a program that would require a payment of $5 per week.

College-educated, employed, and married men were somewhat less likely to support paid family leave than their female counterparts. Overall 76% of men supported a state paid family and medical leave insurance program, compared to 88% of women.

The report concluded, “Women know first-hand that, without paid family and medical leave, workers often must choose between taking unpaid leave to care for loved ones—or perhaps losing their jobs—and staying at work to maintain their paycheck. As women’s earnings are increasingly critical to family economic well-being, maintaining women’s employment and steady earnings is good for the whole family as well as the economy overall.” 

Opponents of a paid leave program note that readily available, long-term leave programs can actually make it less likely that employees return to work. Other economists argue that the prospect of extended leave after childbirth might make employers less likely to hire women. 

Those opponents argue that flexible work scheduling and part-time jobs are a more appropriate way to address an employee’s need to care for a family member.

Do you have an opinion on public paid family leave insurance? Let us know in the comments.

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