In an emailed statement, Grosso said he worked with his staff to model the implications of such a robust program, including tax numbers, employee numbers and the preliminary findings of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research — a group commissioned by the Department of Labor to study the impact of paid leave.
Among those figures, the institute estimates there are about 481,000 private company workers in the District, about 230,000 federal workers, 44,000 self-employed individuals and 42,700 local government employees. The estimated benefit levels for men and women in D.C. ages 25 to 34 — prime child-bearing years — is about $1,173 and $1,230, respectively.
The estimated length of leave time for women under 45 is 6.69 weeks for bonding and 2.99 weeks for family care. For men under 45 years old, the estimated amount of leave time is 3.2 weeks for bonding time and 2.16 weeks for family care. The average cost of family medical leave for private sector workers in D.C. is about $34.1 million in benefits.
