Montana lawmakers heard a billThursday that would create a fund to help with those in need of family or medical leave from their job.
Jemma Hazen testified in favor of House Bill 392 in the House Business and Labor Committee. She says she could have benefited from paid time off when her son was born.
“Like many other new parents, I was forced to make the difficult choice between my personal health, the health of my son, and the satisfaction and the stability of my career,” Hazen says.
The fund would be made up of a contribution split equally between the employer and employee, or the employer could opt into paying the entire amount.
Republican Representative Jeremy Trebas of Great Falls says he thinks the intentions of the bill are good. But he says with deductions like Social Security and Medicare already taken out of workers’ pay,
“It’s just one more thing that we’re forcing employees to have taken out of their paychecks,” Trebas says.
No one testified in opposition to House Bill 392 at the hearing.
Cole Grant is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.