After the recent D.C. Council vote Tuesday to pass the Universal Paid Family Leave Act in the District, Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed concern about the effect the proposed plan could have on small businesses—which would likely include many DC-based startups.
But some D.C. startups and small companies are telling DC Inno that they're championing the District's efforts.
FiscalNote CEO Tim Hwang said in an email to DC Inno that he's always supported the idea of extending paid family leave, saying this is a great step for the District.
"At FiscalNote, we have always given our employees 18-weeks paid paternity and maternity leave, in addition to unlimited time off, and an annual bonus when employees take vacation time to be with families for more than five days," Hwang said. "I think employers do better when they support their employees and their lifestyles. This is how you attract more knowledge workers to the city."
The measure requires employers to provide all employees eight weeks of paid leave for new parents, six weeks of paid leave to care for sick family members and two weeks of personal medical leave. The measure requires employers to pay a 0.62 percent increase in payroll taxes.
Despite that, Hwang isn't alone. An UrbanStems spokesperson also said that the startup is in full support. And Elizabeth Lindsey, executive director of D.C.-based nonprofit Byte Back, said when she raised her children, she was lucky to have eight weeks of paid leave, and she's excited to see that opportunity become available to everyone.
"When I came to Byte Back a little over a year ago, I with my team, rewrote our paid leave policies," Lindsey told DC Inno. "We offer new parents six weeks paid leave, and I just think that's extremely important to support people, and I think that if we're serious about recruiting and retaining talent, we have to be serious about providing that benefit."
But because Byte Back is a small nonprofit, Lindsey is worried about the 0.62 percent payroll increase that comes with this.
"That's significant for us," she said. "Our biggest expense is salary. So we're going to have to raise more money and move money around to cover the cost. But because we are a developed country without paid maternity and paternity leave, we do have to do this because it's really important."
However, just because these small companies support the plan, it doesn't mean that all startups are on board. Many declined to comment when DC Inno reached out, saying they needed more time to assess the measure before coming to a conclusion. Those startups include well-known growing companies like Social Tables, Heartful.ly and cove.
After Tuesday's 9-4 vote, Mayor Muriel Bowser released a statement saying that the proposed plan would support mostly residents in Maryland and Virginia. She promised to veto it.
"I predict the (DC) Council will need to revisit this legislation and address the detrimental impacts on District residents and small businesses," the mayor said in the statement. "I will not add my name to this legislation."
Image used via CC BY 2.0 — credit Katsuhito Nojiri
