By Journalist Teyte Holcomb (OSU).
Today is the first full day of session, and the House has kept a steady flow of bills for the day.
Carmen Gonser (NWOSU) and Allysa Donaldson (NWOSU) presented a bill known as the “Better Family Foundation Leave” Act, which seeks to guarantee a paid parental leave and requires employers to guarantee a “full-time, six-week pay requiring employers to make payments to the individuals weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly according to the employee’s current pay schedule.”
Gonser (NWOSU) said she feels this bill is important because it provides a stronger family connection.
“We wanted to provide a better family foundation,” Gonser said. “We found that paid at-home leave reduces cases of violence, cases of mental and physical hospitalization by simply paying a parent on parental leave.”
In the state of Oklahoma, there are no laws which require companies to offer a paid parental leave, especially for those adopting. By implementing this bill, Donaldson (NWOSU) said a lot of the issues children face in this state could be prevented.
“A lot of my inspiration came from my social work major,” Donaldson said. “A lot of these issues children face could be prevented if the parents have reduced stress from the jump. Currently, there is a federal 12-week standard for parental leave, which is great, but after adding a new child that pay is necessary.”
The bill states that “Better Family Foundation Leave” may be funded by employees through payroll deductions, which equal 0.4% of an employee’s gross wages each pay period. As well, an employer may choose to pay for benefits on behalf of employees.
Originally, the bill aimed to prosecute employers who did not comply with the paid leave on a scale of a $500 minimum fine, but Alex Thomanson (TU) said he thought the $500 fine wasn’t enough.
“I love the intent behind the bill,” Thomanson said. “I felt that the original $500 fine was too low, and companies would rather pay the fine than give their employees parental leave. I increased that fine to an amount equal to 6 months of an employee’s average weekly rate.”
Bill No. SWOSU-502 passed in a 40-7 vote, and it shall be put into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Donaldson (NWOSU) and Gonser (NWOSU) said they hope this bill will impact Oklahomans for the better.
“This bill makes the conditions of parental leave better for the child to grow and thrive,” Donaldsom said. “I’m excited to see how this bill can impact the state of Oklahoma.”