Rep. O’Driscoll: No One Knows True Cost Yet of Paid Family and Medical Leave Act

(KNSI) – The Minnesota House passed the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act on Tuesday night, and local state Representative Tim O’Driscoll says the idea behind it is a good one, but he could not support the measure.

He says the current version of House File 2 is setting up a liability for businesses when no one knows how big it is.

“What’s really bad about this is the approach. Basically standing up another government agency to collect payroll taxes from employees and employers to fund a plan that there is no actuarial evaluation to figure out how much money do you need? How many benefits you’re going to pay out? What’s the true cost of this program?”

O’Driscoll says the eventual backstop is the taxpayer if the current plan proves too much for employers. The bill includes a 0.7% payroll tax to fund an insurance pool that allows employees up to 18 weeks off per year for personal use or to care for someone close to them.

O’Driscoll says it won’t just affect private businesses and warns the public sector is worried about how they will be able to comply with the potential new demands.

“Keep in mind that this plan will apply to school districts. And I can tell you that St. Cloud School District has major heartburn on this, absolute major heartburn,” says O’Driscoll.

The bill is still being considered in the state Senate, and if it is approved there, legislators would need to get together and reconcile the differences between the two bills before it could go to Governor Tim Walz for his signature.

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