The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
A national study found a lack of paid leave drops “devastating” costs on Ohioans and keeps the economy from growing.
New research from the National Partnership for Women & Families looked at the national and state-level impact of paid leave policies on economic outcomes. About 72% of Ohioans don’t have paid family leave through their employers, amounting to about 4.5 million workers, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Impossible choices between work and family are hurting Ohio’s economy – and this country’s economy overall – leaving millions of workers suffering,” the study said. “Paid leave means people – especially women – aren’t forced to leave the force to care for their families or health.”
The only law that covers leave nationwide is the three-decade old Family and Medical Leave Act, but pay isn’t guaranteed under the act, and about half the nation’s workforce isn’t eligible based on the amount of time they’ve been on the job and hours given to workers. In Ohio, the partnership study found that 60% do not qualify for the Family and Medical Leave Act.
According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Family and Medical Leave Act applies to public agencies (state, local or federal), local education agencies and private businesses that have 50 or more employees with at least 20 weeks of work in the current or previous year. Eligible workers can receive up to 12 weeks of “unpaid, job-protected leave” in a 12-month period.
“This current climate means that Americans’ ability to take time off is solely dependent on whether they are fortunate enough to have an employer who provides paid family and medical leave, or to work in a state that guarantees the benefit,” the partnership for women and families said in a statement on its research.
The lack of paid leave for most of Ohio is “making the state less competitive, and hurting Ohioans’ personal finances in the long run,” the partnership stated.
At the end of 2024, Ohio child advocacy group Groundwork Ohio made its own case for state-level paid leave in a report that encouraged the state to implement benefits that the group said would improve maternal and infant outcomes, and eliminate some stress for Ohio workers.
The U.S. is only one of six countries in the world without paid maternity leave, which Groundwork called an “abysmally far cry from the average 29 weeks of paid maternity leave sanctified in most other countries.”
The partnership for women and families analysis also compared states and the nation with other countries that have paid leave programs and women’s spending power when allowed to enter and stay in the workforce.
“If women in Ohio participated in the labor force at the same rate as women in countries with paid leave, they would take home $4.5 billion more in wages each year,” the research found.
Instead, Ohio workers lost nearly $2 billion in pay when they took leave, whether unpaid or partially paid, for reasons such as caring for a new child, treating a long-term illness or caring for an extended family member.
Compared to countries like Germany and Canada, the national economy would have had more than $6.7 trillion in “additional economic activity” in the last ten years if women participated in the U.S. labor force in the same way as other countries, the study found.
“Paid leave improves employee retention, morale and productivity, reducing turnover for employers of all sizes and boosting the economy,” the partnership stated. “But small employers often cannot provide the benefit – and universal paid leave would help them do that.”
The group used the study to recommend a national paid leave program that replaces income for workers at any income level, includes workers in any job or region, allows for education and outreach for workers and small businesses and establishes a “sustainable funding source that is affordable for workers, employers and the government without harming other essential programs.”
The Ohio legislature hasn’t passed paid leave measures, even the most recent, Republican-led effort, called the Paid Parental Leave Act. That bill, which would have created an income tax credit for employers who provide paid parental leave for an employee who is a parent or legal guardian of a newborn, newly adopted or stillborn child.
The bill was introduced in Nov. 2024, but never saw action in the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee.
