In place of Paid Family Medical Leave, Worcester will propose new employee benefits

WORCESTER — In response to a group of city employees calling for Worcester to opt into the state Paid Family and Medical Leave Program, the city administration found the costs of entering the program outweighed the benefits and promised to soon propose an alternative to improve parental leave for city workers.

In May, city workers Megan McCraw and Brian Dutremble submitted a petition requesting that the city enter the state program. District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj submitted an order requesting the city manager provide a report on the feasibility of implementing it.

In 2018, Massachusetts enacted a law providing paid family and medical leave benefits to most private sector workers and state employees.

However, municipal governments were excluded.

In a document shared on the Tuesday council agenda, City Manager Eric D. Batista wrote that the administration had concluded that opting into the Paid Family Medical Leave Act would adversely impact municipal operations.

Batista listed three considerations for the administration's decision: That no other municipality in the state has opted in, that the program would present substantial direct and indirect costs to the city and its staff, and that opting in would create complicated bargaining issues for the city and unions to navigate.

"I want to underscore that the precedent of no other municipalities opting into PFML is not necessarily a reason on its own for Worcester to decline adoption," Batista wrote. "However, it is an indication that the benefits of the PFML program are outweighed by its potential adverse impact on municipal government staff and operations."

Batista said the administration is looking to put forward an "aggressive and comprehensive" alternative benefits package that will meet the needs of staff and offer benefits superior to those in the Paid Family Medical Leave program.

William Bagley Jr., the city's chief human resources officer, and Theresa Reichert, director of labor relations and workers' compensation, estimated that the total contribution needed for the program in the current fiscal year would be $3,075,783.97.

The employer share of that contribution would be $1,523,245.39 and the employee share would be $1,552,538.57, but they wrote it would be possible for the employer to foot the full contribution depending on bargaining.

They also cited indirect costs including increased overtime to cover for employees taking time off and a decline in employee productivity.

Bagley and Reichert wrote that no union representing city employees has raised the Paid Family Medical Leave program since it was established in the state. They wrote the implementation of the policy would need to be negotiated with the unions as it is a change in employee benefits.

McCraw, who is pregnant, spoke about the matter during public comment at Tuesday's City Council meeting. They said the wording of the administration's report made them "furious."

"The report and following letter were filled with language that I interpreted as pithy, demeaning and patronizing, yet I'm expected to stand up here as a city worker and respond with decorum," McCraw said. "A report that seemed to reflect the attitude of the head of HR back in June when I sat in a standing committee meeting and I was in so many words told that I should be grateful for my job and to stop complaining."

McCraw works at the Worcester Public Library.

McCraw also said they considered it disrespectful to imply that workers would be less likely to perform well at their jobs with the program in place.

District 1 City Councilor Sean Rose asked Batista about the timeline for the city's alternative benefits proposal.

Batista said he hopes the administration will have a report back by the Sept. 12 City Council meeting. He reiterated his confidence in the city's upcoming proposal.

"We feel very confident in terms of our proposed plan, which could be very progressive in terms of any municipality across the state," Batista said.

Responding to another question from Rose, Batista said the package would likely focus on municipal employees and not school employees, but that the city is discussing the program with the school department.

Mayor Joseph M. Petty said employee benefits are an important aspect of competing with private industry and other municipalities for employees. Following the conversation, Petty used his right as a councilor to move further action on the matter to Sept. 12.

The mayor said he was looking forward to Batista's report, saying it looked like he was proposing an extensive package.

"This is important, there's no question about it. You see how it affects and impacts people's lives," Petty said.

Haxhiaj said she was frustrated with Bagley citing a reduction in productivity as a potential drawback of paid family medical leave.

Bagley said his finding was based on discussions with outside counsel and from entities who were required to participate in the program.

Responding to Haxhiaj's question about whether an employee taking time off to address complications of pregnancy would impact their seniority, Bagley said the current policy is that an employee's seniority date is altered when they take an extended amount of unpaid leave for any reason. He said the city could look at this matter.

Bagley also said employees whose partners are giving birth or are adopting children are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

On whether employee bereavement leave includes miscarriages, Bagley said bereavement has historically been interpreted as applying to the loss of a "live birth child." He said that is another matter the city could look into.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester seeks its own alternative to Paid Family Medical Leave