DETROIT, Mich. — Lawmakers and advocates gathered in Detroit on Friday, as a multi-state paid-leave bus tour crossed Michigan, to revive momentum for a state paid family and medical leave program.
Federal Family and Medical Leave Act rules already require larger employers to offer up to 12 weeks away when a baby arrives or a major illness hits, though that time off still comes without a paycheck. Sponsors cited estimates that about three in four Michigan workers lack paid family leave benefits.
Sen. Erika Geiss, a Democrat from Taylor, has introduced legislation this session to create a state paid-leave insurance program. The bill would phase in as much as 12 weeks of paid leave a year over three years for extended illness, caregiving, recovery from sexual or intimate-partner violence, and related needs. Geiss carried a similar package last term that advanced through a Senate committee under Democratic control yet never reached the chamber floor for a vote.
Business groups remain skeptical. A Michigan small-business federation chapter argues Minnesota underestimated costs when it built a similar benefit and warns small firms struggle to hold jobs open for long absences.
Fourteen states plus the District of Columbia already run their own paid-leave systems, with Minnesota the only Midwest adopter so far, according to figures cited at the event from a national policy research group. With Republicans controlling the Michigan House and the calendar running short, sponsors say the political window is narrow unless Democrats regain a legislative trifecta.
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