Paid parental leave puts family first in Ohio

Lawmakers introduce insurance program for new parents

Welcoming a new baby girl or boy into a family
should always be a joyous occasion. However, because most Ohio employers do not offer paid family
leave, many Ohio parents must worry about balancing work with caring for the new addition to their family.

up medical care and bond with their new child without

the fear of economic penalties.

Women make nearly half of the workforce in Ohio, but the majority of
them are not eligible for paid maternity leave.1 In addition, the United
States is the only economically developed country that does not offer
mandatory paid paternal leave.2

Currently, the federal Family Medical Leave Act

(FMLA) allows working people to take
an unpaid leave up to 12 weeks
during a 12 month period after the
birth of a child and to safely return to
work once the leave is over. Paid parental leave, a form of family leave
that can include pregnancy and maternity and paternity leave, is currently a discretionary policy for employers.

In order to help ease the burden on

working families, State Representative Christie Kuhns
(D-Cincinnati) recently introduced legislation to create the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program.
This bill would offer paid family leave to both men
and women for up to twelve weeks.

By providing all working parents, regardless of their employer or job classification, the
ability to support and grow their families without having to worry about losing their job or falling behind
financially, this bill will truly make Ohio a better place
to live, work, and raise a family.

Paid leave is an important tool for families especially new parents because it allows them to recover after delivery, adjust to new routines, access follow

http://innovationohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/
IO_Paid_Parental_Leave_2015.pdf
2

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/maternityleave-paid-parental-leave-_n_2617284.html

New firearm legislation to allow guns in daycares, churches

Opponents say controversial guns everywhere bill will make Ohio less safe
Ohio is one of only 17 states where more people die
from guns than motor vehicles and yet, new legislation making its way through the state legislature
threatens to allow guns to be even more prevalent in
public spaces.1

expansion of concealed weapons as proposed in HB

48 would normalize the presence of dangerous weapons in public spaces and strengthen the culture of
fear fostered by some individuals and companies who
profit from gun and ammunition sales.2

Introduced by Republican State

Rep. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon), House
Bill 48 would allow concealed handguns to be carried in day-care centers, college campuses, public areas of police stations and airports,
and even churches and others places of worship.

House Bill 48 was passed out of the

House in late November largely
along partisan lines. Several Democratic representatives attempted to
voice their concerns about the bill
on the House floor, but debate on
the legislation was limited to just
the bill sponsor.

The controversial bill, which is opposed by the Ohio Association of

Chiefs of Police, among others,
would also reduce the penalty for
violating a public universitys ban
on carrying a gun on campus down to a minor misdemeanor, eliminating jail time for offenders.

House Bill 48 is currently under

consideration in the Ohio Senate.

Opponents of the bill testified in committee that the

1
2

http://www.vpc.org/studies/gunsvscars15.pdf

http://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/cm_pub_api/api/unwrap/
chamber/131st_ga/ready_for_publication/committee_docs/
cmte_h_state_govt_1/testimony/cmte_h_state_govt_1_2015
-06-10-0200_677/hb48ohiocoalitionagainstgunviolence.pdf