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Kansas Senate committee hears informational presentation on paid family and medical leave
Summary
Advocates and a Topeka employer told a Kansas Senate committee that paid family and medical leave could improve maternal mental health, support senior caregivers and aid small-business recruitment, and presented cost and design examples from other states.
A Kansas Senate committee held an informational hearing in Topeka on paid family and medical leave, where advocates, a small-business employer and public-health advocates described models, costs and likely uses of a state-run program.
Advocates said the proposal would provide paid time off for parental bonding, individual serious medical conditions, caregiving for elderly relatives, and military-related leaves. "It really represents kind of a common sense balance between health and family needs and work," said Tracy, speaking for the Paid Leave for All Kansas coalition.
Supporters said state-run paid-leave programs in other states typically operate through a small payroll contribution that funds a pooled benefit distributed at the state level. Tracy told the committee that 14 states have implemented paid family and medical leave and that many programs target roughly 12 weeks of paid time off, patterned in part on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act but with pay attached. She also cited Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) data that "about 85 percent of senior caregivers are unpaid," noting that paid leave could help employees manage eldercare while remaining in the workforce.
Jan Mars, shareholder at Mize Here CPAs in Topeka, described the employer perspective. Mars said her firm adopted a fully funded parental-leave policy two years ago and reported retention of 87 to 88 percent and improved recruiting outcomes. "We have not lost a single recruit due to concerns over parental leave," Mars said, and added that the firm saw higher productivity from secondary caregivers once leave could be planned rather than taken at short notice.
On costs, the committee heard a sample calculation for average payroll contributions. "The employer contribution at about a little under half of a percent would be about $2.60 dollars a year for that 1 employee," said Brenda Bandy, executive director of the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, citing a quick statewide estimate presented to the panel. Presenters also noted that most states phase in collections for 18 to 36 months to build a self-funded pool before paying claims.
Committee members asked about program design choices, including coverage thresholds for small employers, whether contributions would be mandatory statewide and how benefits would be defined. Tracy told senators that most enacted models split contributions between employers and employees and that some states exempt very small employers under a chosen threshold.
The committee treated the session as informational only. No bill on paid family and medical leave was offered at the hearing, and staff said the presentation was intended to gauge interest and gather information for future work.
The hearing included written proponent testimony from other organizations in the committee folder; presenters and senators said they wanted more data on designs, costs and implementation timelines before pursuing legislation.
