New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s admirable attempt to provide 12-week paid family leave for workers is rightfully a hard pill to swallow for employers.

Cuomo attended a rally in Rockland County last week in a follow-up to the proposal he initially made in his State of the State address in January, where he elaborated on why he believes paid family leave should be a focus for the state.

The New York State Assembly voted on and passed the Paid Family Leave Act in early February and it is currently waiting on a vote from the Senate. However, the same bill was shot down in 2015 by skeptical senators who stand as the last barrier before the governor can sign this bill into law.

Cuomo has cited that the costs would be a small price to pay for workers: a 70 cent weekly stipend would create a state fund to cover a portion of that worker’s pay while they are on leave — 50 percent of that weekly pay is set to rise to 67 percent by 2021, according to the New York State website.

Though paid family leave is a measure that should absolutely be introduced into the economy, Cuomo’s plan to implement it to New York statewide is headstrong and ignores many costs that could end up hurting the state more than it could help. If not abandoning the plan altogether, the state government should find a way to mitigate the hidden costs of this venture if it’s ever to benefit New York’s 7.5 million private sector workers, according to the U.S. Census, and their families.

Looking at other examples of paid family leave legislation in the United States, only Rhode Island, California and New Jersey provide compensated time off for family matters, a period that exceeds no more than six weeks.

Whether Cuomo is genuinely advocating for 12 weeks — or simply shooting high so he can negotiate it down — is unknown. But what is certain is that the current proposal isn’t feasible because of this unexpectedly high amount of time off as well as the other economic pitfalls including an increase in payroll and additional taxes.

Jeffrey Kubik, an associate professor and director of graduate studies in economics in Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, was clear to express that such a reform would be more complicated than a simple 70 cent weekly payment.

“When you look at things like this, there’s all sort of extra costs associated for businesses: ‘Is this part of a compensation package?’ Et cetera,” Kubik said.

These externalities for businesses are contrary to Cuomo’s incessant assurances that this will cost these employers nothing. He insists that since the payment covering workers’ leave would generated from a statewide workers’ fund, businesses will be free to use wages they would be paying to the employee on leave to hire any additional temporary staff or provide overtime.

As easy as this might be for jobs with low entry requirements, small businesses and professions that require specialized labor training are sure to have lengthy hiring processes or require the business to pay overtime to its remaining workers.

A Glassdoor Economic Research study estimated that in 2014, a typical hiring process in the United States can take longer than three weeks. That is not to mention the time, money and energy invested into training new and impermanent employees.

On a larger scale, it could add more uncertainty to businesses’ prospects about moving into New York or starting out here. One must simply take a tour of our very own central New York to see that this region of the state is in no position to turn away business.

The kind of reform Cuomo is seeking would, and most definitely should, be better served on a national basis, rather than forcing New York business to suffer while the nation plays catch-up. Surely pride is not worth the potential fall.

The initial benefits of paid family leave seem obvious: the ability to spend time with loved ones in times of change, crisis and misfortune. For many, deciding between losing one’s job and missing out on important time with loved ones is not a choice workers should have to make in an ideal world.

Thus, those who support the family leave bill have a good reason to do so, but in the trying economic times we’re in, it’s better to play it safe. These concerns have led many New York institutions, including The Business Council, to oppose the idea at this point in time.

There is a current law in the books, the federal Family Medical Leave Act, that guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid family leave to workers and exempts small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from complying. This is a fair compromise between providing for the worker and protecting fledgling businesses. The state should bide its time and stick to the status quo, at least until the question of paid leave is addressed on a national level.

“Things like this can cause ripples for the larger state economy. New York is not unique in looking at this and there are reasons that other states haven’t adopted policies such as (paid family leave),” Kubik said.

The bottom line is that this reform is long overdue for New York. The problem is that as long as New York stands virtually alone in this venture, it is vulnerable to losing and alienating businesses from its borders.

With the local economy already facing a litany of state and federal labor laws and externalities, heaping more on could tip the scales for struggling businesses.

Theo Horn is a sophomore political science and public policy dual major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at tahorn@syr.edu.

Published on February 28, 2016 at 10:35 pm