Paid leave is an essential investment in Kansas businesses. When states offer paid leave programs, their businesses reap the benefits, translating into better recruitment and retention alongside higher productivity.

Research shows: Paid leave saves businesses money by improving retention and reducing costly turnover.

• Employers, from Google to Accenture to Aetna, saw substantial decreases in turnover among women after expanding their paid leave policies.¹
• When California’s paid family leave law came into place, California employers were less likely to see high turnover than employers in neighboring states without such laws.² Ten years after paid family leave went into effect in California, the average firm had a lower turnover rate than before the law, alongside a lower per worker wage bill.³

Research shows: Paid leave boosts productivity—and with it, the bottom line.

• Businesses in paid-leave-covered jurisdictions saw statistically significant increases in productivity compared to their neighbors without paid leave laws.⁴
• In companies that created or expanded their own paid leave policies, most reported increases in revenue per full-time employee as well as profit per full-time employee, alongside improvements in return on human capital. The average increase in profit per full-time employee was 6.8%—direct bottom line benefits to employers.⁵

Research shows: Paid leave helps businesses recruit the best employees.

• Employees with access to paid leave are 22 percentage points more likely to recommend their job to a friend than those without, opening up new networks of opportunity to recruit talent.⁶

Research shows: Paid leave’s business benefits are not accompanied by negative impacts employers often fear.

• One year after New York’s paid family leave benefit began, analysis of employer ratings of employee performance found no evidence of adverse effects on attendance, commitment, cooperation, productivity, or teamwork.⁷
• Similarly, a Rhode Island study found no significant negative changes in employer reports about employee cooperation or attendance after the implementation of the state’s paid family leave law.⁸

Once state paid leave laws are in place, employers adjust easily and support the programs. Once they are in place, a majority of employers support state paid leave laws. Employers report adapting easily to new state paid leave laws while enjoying the advantages.

• In the first year of New York’s paid family leave program, employers reported that handling employee absences was easier than the prior year.⁹
• In Rhode Island, one year after the state’s paid family leave law went into place, 61% of employers, including most surveyed smaller employers, reported supporting the law.¹⁰

Kansas’ program would be inexpensive, but provide substantial value. The Kansas paid leave proposal would be fully funded by small payroll contributions, meaning employers would receive all the advantages outlined above of providing paid leave at no or very low cost.

• State paid leave programs keep dollars in employers’ accounts to use as they see fit, to cover an absence or invest for the future.
• Employers can cover leaves by reassigning work to other employees at no cost.
• Paid leave programs can be structured to give employers flexibility, while maintaining administrative ease. In a typical state system, there are three main options for employers.
  • Commercial insurance carriers can offer plans that meet the law’s requirements, allowing employers to easily select from among competing options (all of which are certified by the state) to find the one that is best for their business.
  • Employers can seek to self-insure, which may be an appealing option for larger employers that would prefer to maintain more control.
  • Employers will always have the option of using the state program.