Utah gets failing grade for not expanding on FMLA protection

A new report from the National Partnership for Women & Families, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, gives Utah a grade of F for failing to provide basic workplace protections that go beyond federal law. “Raising Expectations” analyzes state laws and regulations governing paid and unpaid leave in the United States and assigns grades to 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

The report determined that half the states, including Utah, are doing little or nothing beyond what federal law requires to ensure that workers don’t have to risk their pay or their jobs when they need time off to care for a new child or a sick family member, recover from illness, or seek healthcare services.

The report found that, 25 years after the federal government enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), half of the country has failed to meaningfully expand on FMLA’s baseline protection of unpaid leave. These states are also failing to adopt policies to safeguard workers’ economic security when personal or family health needs arise or when a new child is born or adopted. It warns that lack of adequate paid leave will become a bigger problem in the future with people having children later in life and our nation aging rapidly.

The report’s grades are based on how well state laws help people manage their work, health and care needs. States that guarantee workers access to paid or unpaid workplace leave beyond FMLA are likely to receive higher grades. 

The report gives only six states — California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington state — plus the District of Columbia a grade of A or A-minus. Six states receive grades in the B range, with Connecticut and Oregon each receiving a B-plus.

Thirteen states receive grades in the C range and half the states earn grades of D (16 states) or F (nine states) because they are doing little or nothing to offer additional protections to working families. The nine failing states are Alabama, Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

“Millions of families face a heartbreaking choice between job and family when illness strikes or a new child comes,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership. “Families of color and low-income and working-class families are harmed the most by work/family conflicts. We are highly encouraged by the states that earn high grades in this report, all of which are demonstrating that paid family and medical leave programs, paid sick days laws and meaningfully expanded unpaid leave help support workers, families and the economy.”