On May 8, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC) submitted a letter to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee regarding the hearing, “Paid Family and Medical Leave: Helping Workers and Employers Succeed.” In the letter, ABC expressed concern over proposed legislation that would mandate employers to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave funded through a new payroll tax on employers and employees.
“ABC understands that Americans have long struggled with the stress of finding a healthy balance between work and family, especially when it comes to new families following the birth or adoption of a child and individuals dealing with a personal or family illness,” the letter reads. “ABC and its members remain committed to providing essential workplace benefits, and we are committed to working with Congress and the White House to expand access to paid family and medical leave.
“While providing quality employee benefits is a top priority for ABC and its member companies, we remain concerned about the federal paid leave proposals currently introduced in Congress that prescribe restrictive government mandates and additional payroll taxes which would most adversely affect lower income workers and could have a detrimental impact on the wages and employee benefits that construction employers currently provide.”
Among the concerns cited by the association were that the legislation could affect time-sensitive construction projects if passed.
“As is common in the construction industry, many ABC members operate under tight deadlines and work to complete projects in an effective and efficient manner,” ABC states in the letter. “ABC believes that a mandated payroll tax could negatively impact the construction industry in two ways when it comes to time-sensitive projects: 1) Construction workers might not be able to take leave and therefore might not ever receive benefits from the program; or 2) Forcing employers to provide multiple months of paid leave to employees could result in higher rates of leave taken, resulting in additional costs and time to complete these projects.”
ABC said via a release that it is committed to working with Congress and the White House to expand access to paid family and medical leave, but it believes that participation in any federal program established to support and expand family and medical leave should be voluntary for employers and employees.