By Matt Bittle

DOVER — Legislation filed Wednesday would offer 12 weeks of paid leave to private-sector employees, setting up a special account funded by worker and employer contributions.

Senate Bill 1, also known as the Healthy Delaware Families Act, would be filled by payroll contributions — less than 1% of an employee’s weekly pay — split evenly between a worker and his or her employer. Businesses with fewer than 20 workers would not be required to pay their half of the premium, but their workers would still be covered.

Eligible Delaware workers could receive up to 80% of their average weekly wages through the state insurance program if forced to take extended time off from work. Qualifying events would include a serious illness, birth of a child or a military deployment.

The bill is modeled after similar programs in place in nine states. It has no Republican co-sponsors.

“More than anything else, this pandemic has shown us just how desperately Delaware’s working families need common-sense policies that work for them,” main sponsor Sen. Sarah McBride, a Wilmington Democrat, said in a statement.

“No family should ever have to make the impossible choice between earning a paycheck and quitting their job to stay at home with a newborn or care for a family member who is fighting for their life. This legislation will give working Delawareans the security and peace of mind that comes from knowing they will be able to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads even while facing some of the most common challenges we experience as human beings.”

In 2018, lawmakers approved a paid leave program for state workers against some objections.

At the federal level, Congress passed legislation in 1993 giving certain classes of workers job protections when they need extended absences from work for medical and family reasons, though it does not require they be compensated. Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 20% of workers nationwide have access to paid family leave through their employers.

In Delaware, 54% of workers lack paid leave, according to the nonprofit Diversity Data Kids.

“As many of us know, illness and family crises can happen at any time in our lives. No one should ever have to choose between their health, job or assisting a family member in need,” Rep. Debra Heffernan, a Bellefonte Democrat who is the lead House sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “Expanding leave is a commonsense approach to achieving healthier work environments.

“It can be stressful for a person to exhaust their regular sick leave in order to make ends meet when emergencies arise, or when they are experiencing what should be a most joyous time: welcoming a new family member. This bill compliments the state’s current parental leave bill and will make Delaware a leader by offering an attractive benefit to job seekers, leading to better recruitment and retention of workers in the state.”

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found in a 2017 study that first-time mothers who used paid leave had a 92% chance to return to their job after the birth, while those who did not enjoy the benefit had a 73% chance of returning, controlling for other factors. In 2011, Rutgers University’s Center for Women & Work reported that parents who use paid leave are less likely to need welfare benefits afterward.

In a 2018 analysis of 41 “Western” countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States was the only one that did not require any paid leave for new parents.

President Joe Biden last week unveiled a proposal of his own that would offer 12 weeks of parental, family and sick leave to most American workers.

“When my father became sick with COVID, we didn’t know what to expect. Having a parent hospitalized and a mother sick was a lot to juggle along with virtual learning for my son,” Charonda Johnson of Townsend said in a statement.

“If my husband had taken time off from work, we would have risked losing his paycheck — it was a choice we simply could not afford. So we powered on, making the best of it in my father’s final days, and after as my family and I planned the memorial service. I am here today because there are thousands of Delawareans who have had to make the same impossible choice that my family did. No one should ever be put in that situation.”

The bill is backed by a coalition of more than 50 health, labor, faith, business and community groups, but it will be opposed by some companies and organizations. The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce, for instance, has already pushed back against whispers of such a proposal.

The legislation has been assigned to the Senate Health & Social Services Committee.