Family Leave Loophole Creates Huge Problem for Small Business

During a recent SacTown Talks panel, Tom Sheehy, Principal and Founder of Sheehy Strategy Group, explained a huge issue with state and federal family leave laws. 

These laws used to line up, only allowing employees 12 total weeks of protected leave. But SB 1383 leaves a loophole. If employees play it carefully, they can get 24 weeks of leave. That’s almost six months!

When members of CalChamber tried to amend SB 1383 to fix this issue, the author of the bill dismissed their concerns, saying no one would take advantage of the system.

This loophole is a huge problem for small businesses. Imagine losing one of your employees for six months. You can’t replace them because they haven’t resigned; they’re only on leave. And finding a temporary worker is nearly impossible with the other regulations here in California. 

Sheehy says that if members of the Legislature ran a business, they would be more concerned about the repercussions of SB 1383. 

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