New Jersey's program started in July 2009 and its balance as of Dec. 31 was $39 million - robust enough so the state recently reduced workers' contribution by half. The maximum annual payment is now less than $18 instead of more than $35.

Through December, New Jersey had approved 44,972 claims -- 91 percent of those filed -- and paid out $105 million in benefits at an average of $471 a week.

California's program began in 2004 and is run by the State Disability Insurance plan, which collects 1.1 percent of pay from 13 million eligible workers. Rift GoldIn 2009-10, the state paid out $469 million for 180,675 claims, with an average weekly benefit of $488.

In New Jersey, men make up about 12 percent of the parents seeking paid leave to bond with a new child. In California, men's share of the leave has risen from 17 percent to 26 percent since 2004.

In each state, some business leaders remain unenthusiastic, though there is no clamor to repeal the programs.

Michael Egenton, senior vice president of New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said the impact had been relatively modest thus far. He attributed this to the recession and the desire of most workers to take paid leave only after conferring with their bosses to ensure the absence wouldn't be disruptive.

"With the tough economy, people are feeling, `I'm glad I have a job,'" he said. RIFT Platinum "We'll be interested in seeing where the program goes when the economy improves."

In California, Chamber of Commerce policy advocate Jennifer Barrera said the leave program -- combined with other policies - "creates a significant administrative burden on employers, increases costs, and minimizes the ability of companies to expand hiring and create new jobs."

However, Eileen Applebaum of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal Washington think tank, said she and a colleague reached a different conclusion in a recent survey of 235 California businesses. rift gold She said the vast majority of employers found the leave program had a positive or neutral effect on productivity, profitability, turnover and worker morale.

Applebaum contended that business associations, rather than individual employers, were the main obstacle to paid-leave proposals in Congress and state legislatures.

"Employer associations in other countries help their companies be successful," she said.
Rift Gold "In this country, employer associations largely exist to resist anything that might be good for workers."

In the European Union, paid parental leave varies from 14 weeks in Malta to 16 months in Sweden, RIFT Platinum which reserves at least two months of its leave exclusively for fathers. Most EU countries have maintained the provisions of their programs despite the recession.

Ellen Bravo of the Family Values at Work Consortium, a 15-state network working for family-friendly policies, rift gold said the bid to expand paid leave in the U.S. was hampered by the clout of corporate lobbyists and the relatively weak status of the labor movement.

"Family values often end at the workplace door," she said. "What we're fighting for isn't just modest - it's meager compared to what other countries have."

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