Catherwood LibraryILR School

California is once again taking the lead in the protection of workers? rights and the support of healthy work/life balance, as members of Governor Gray Davis? administration announced Sunday that the governor will sign paid family leave legislation passed three weeks ago by the state legislature (see WIT for Aug. 29, 2002). Although the Governor?s request to the bill?s authors to forgo an earlier plan to make employers pay for half the benefit was met, and the benefit will be financed entirely by deductions from workers? paychecks, business groups have still vehemently opposed the legislation all the way. Despite the final bill?s limiting of pay to only six of the twelve weeks of leave most working Americans are entitled to under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers have argued that the landmark bill will result in huge costs to California businesses in terms of lost productivity, and training and hiring replacement workers.