Suburban Philly Democrat suggests statewide paid family leave

Rep. Tim Briggs, D-Montgomery, floated a co-sponsor memo Monday calling for Pennsylvania to mandate employers give workers 12 weeks of fully paid leave following the birth of a child.

The idea garnered 19 Democratic co-sponsors last session.

“Pennsylvania should be the next state to stand firmly on the side of workers and families and require paid parental leave,” Briggs said in the memo.

Currently just three states — California, Rhode Island and New Jersey — offer employees fully paid leave, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. New York offers family leave at half pay.

The bill went nowhere last session. The only language related to paid leave was instead a bill from Rep. Seth Grove that would have overridden a Philadelphia law giving all workers paid sick leave.

Business allies justified it as an attempt to keep laws uniform across the state.