Here's why electing the right State Representative is so important:

States Have Family and Medical Leave Extension Bills in the Hopper

Several states have reacted to President Clinton's November proposal that states be permitted, if they wished, to use their unemployment compensation systems to pay parents on leave to care for their children.

Illinois:

An Illinois House bill would permit workers to receive up to $296 in weekly unemployment benefits for up to 12 weeks while on leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or in cases of family or personal illness, according to the Feb. 8 Chicago Sun-Times. The proposed formula for reimbursement would grant a worker with a dependent child 65.5 percent of salary, up to the maximum. A worker with a dependent spouse would receive 58.5 percent, and a single worker, 49.5 percent of salary during the leave. According to the Sun-Times, supporters of the measure face an uphill battle. Although the state house has passed bills to extend provisions of the federal FMLA, the state senate has balked at the proposals.

Indiana:

Legislation to provide paid family leaves for parenting passed the Democrat-controlled Indiana house on Jan. 19, according to the Jan. 20 Indianapolis Star. "But," the Star reported, "a hearing for House Bill 1301 in the GOP-dominated Indiana Senate appears unlikely." House Bill 1301 would allow workers to take 12 weeks off with pay during the first year of a child's life, or within a year of adopting a child, paid from unemployment funds.

Massachusetts:

Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci has signed legislation to establish a task force to study various aspects of Massachuetts' current unemployment system to determine the feasibility of a statewide inurance and retirement plan that would cover temporary disabiity, family medical related leave, and retirement, according to the Jan. 23 Boston Globe. Another bill in the legislative that has yet to become law would provide a full 12 weeks of unemployment benefits for workers taking time off for any of the reasons recognized in the federal law - a serious health condition of the worker or a close family member, childbirth or care of a newborn, or adoption or placement in foster care of a child. Advocates of the measure, the Globe reported, maintain that the new system would cost less than $1.25 per week per employee.

Florida and Ohio:

In Florida and Ohio, the family leave clock seems to be turning back rather than forward. The Feb. 9 Columbus Dispatch reported that while other states are considering methods to compensate workers during family or medical leave, "Ohio is not among them," And Deltona, Fla., city leaders, according to the Orlando Sentinel, are considering a proposed personnel policy to group all types of leave - sick, vacation and furneral-into a single category, and reduce the total amount of time off available. A worker who became ill, or who experienced a death in the family, would have to use time he or she could otherwise use for vacation to seek medical treatment or go to a funeral. The purpose of grouping the leave into what is sometimes called a paid time off (PTO) bank" is to reward people who are not abusing sick time," according to the city's finance director. Workers could cash out up to half their unused time off at the end of each year. The proposal would cost those with five years of seniority about five days of leave a year, the Sentinel reported. At the same time, the prosposed policy changes city maternity benefits to be consistent with the federal FMLA.