Skip to main content

Colorado's Fight for Paid Family and Medical Leave


While the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 mandates employers to allow employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave and to retain their health coverage for business with over 50 employees, the Colorado State Legislature will seek to change this during the 2020 legislative session after disagreements during the 2019 session sunk a bill proposing up to twelve weeks of paid family and medical leave (Anderson 2019). After the session, the Democratic-party controlled legislature set up a task force to hopefully resolve divides and get the entire party on board with the 2020 version of the bill. Many have also said that the failure of the previous bill in the 2019 session was nevertheless a big step forward in eventually gaining support for passage of the bill.

Resolute claims to continue to push for this bill came from impassioned Democratic Senators, including Senator Faith Winter, who was quoted as saying that “Ultimately we want universal coverage, and that is not something we will compromise on… whether you are a fast food worker or work at a law firm, you should have access to paid leave” (The Associated Press 2019). Support is strong among Democratic female legislators due to arguments that family leave disproportionately affects women and minorities. Passage of a bill in 2020 also seems even more likely not only due to the Democratic party trifecta in both chambers and the governorship but also due to increased representation of women in the legislature even despite the fact that in the previous decade, “Republican women had been numerous and had constituted much of the moderate wing of the party; by 2008, however, they were virtually gone” due to a Republican party shifting away from moderate candidates (Straayer 2011). Additionally, a recent study found that female committee members and chairs overall change the dynamics of women’s issues and witnesses during hearings as well as may open up more democratic forms of facilitation for committee work, which could also aid in passing a bill in 2020 concerning paid family medical leave.

However, some of the main opponents for the bill came in the form numerous business interest groups due to employers being expected to pay into the program as well and were eventually successful in stopping its passage even with numerous concessions to appease them proposed. These sentiments come in opposition to a March 2019 poll showing that over 64% of Colorado small business owners supporting the establishment of a publicly administered family and medical leave insurance program.

Figure 1.

Democratic members of the legislature still seem determined despite interest group opposition, as evidenced by Senator Angela Williams' comment that “What the business community has to realize is that the traditional nuclear family has changed since the federal Family and Medical Leave Act was adopted in 1993” (The Associated Press 2019). Whether the legislature as a whole will be able to work out divides to comes together and finally pass the bill will, however, will still be quite the challenge.

Works Cited
Anderson, James, “Colorado Lawmakers Advance Ambitious Family Leave Bill,” 9 Apr 2019, accessed at https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/colorado/articles/2019-04-09/colorado-lawmakers-consider-ambitious-family-leave-bill, 4 Dec 2019.

Daum, Courtenay W., et al., editors. State of Change: Colorado Politics in the Twenty-First Century. University Press of Colorado, 2011 pp. 146. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nv8h.     

Kathlene, Lyn. “Power and Influence in State Legislative Policymaking: The Interaction of Gender and Position in Committee Hearing Debates.” The American Political Science Review, vol. 88, no. 3, 1994, pp. 574. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2944795.

Small Business Majority, “Colorado Small Businesses Support Paid Family Medical Leave,” 28 Mar 2019, accessed at https://smallbusinessmajority.org/our-research/workforce/colorado-small-businesses-support-paid-family-medical-leave, 4 Dec 2019. 

The Associated Press, “Colorado lawmakers vow to return on paid family leave,” 25 Apr 2019, accessed at https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/politics/colorado-lawmakers-vow-to-return-on-paid-family-leave, 4 Dec 2019. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ballot Initiative in Colorado

    One of the most distinctive features of the legislative process in Colorado is the prevalence of the ballot initiative. In the election this November, voters had the opportunity to approve their own laws. One of these laws included a proposition that would legalize sports betting.     This is not the first time that voters have had the ability to make hugely influential decisions. Voters have voted to legalize marijuana. In Colorado, they even approve tax increases because of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR. This means that, unlike in other states, Colorado voters have legislative power of their own.      One of these most recent initiatives involved sports betting. Colorado would legalize sports betting, but sports betting would be taxed. This revenue would be used to fund plans to address Colorado's water problem. However, according to the Colorado Sun, the money from sports betting will not generate any money to address these water iss...
Post a Comment
Read more

TABOR & Proposition CC: Providing Context to Colorado's Tax Problem

Edward Baisley Prof. Matthew Hitt POLS 304 Dec. 2019 Blog Post 3 (TABOR and Proposition CC) Colorado's tax system is very unique in comparison to pretty much every other state in the U.S. Arguably the biggest aspect of the tax system that is unique is the amendment to the Colorado Constitution known as TABOR or the Tax Payers Bill of Rights. This amendment which was drafted into law in 1992, has many implications for Colorado's state and local governments. One of the main implications is that TABOR requires the state and local governments of Colorado to acquire voter approval before any tax increase can be implemented. Some other more less known implications are detailed by Denver Post author Anna Staver, she explains that TABOR: “ Limits how many tax dollars governments can keep … It’s called the TABOR cap, anything a government collects above the cap gets returned as a TABOR tax refund … (TABOR) Limits when lawmakers can ask voters to raise taxe...
1 comment
Read more

The Flawed American Electoral System

A free and fair election is one that is inclusive to all of the population. A democratic state requires active citizen participation to ensure equal representation. The framers of the constitution originally wanted the United States government to only be governed by educated white men. It was not until 1920 that the 19th amendment was passed that allowed white females to vote in America. Then it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that allowed African-Americans the right to vote freely. There were many amendments and reforms throughout history that has changed our election system. Different changes to state election process will ensure an equitable election system. This is a highly debated legislative issue that goes back and forth for the past decade and into the 2020 election. It is crucial for such a powerful and free country to protect its proud democratic values.  There are still issues with the American election systems. There are a lot of holes in represe...
1 comment
Read more