No parent should have to choose between their paycheck and their newborn. No worker should have to drain their savings to care for a sick spouse or aging parent. But right now, more than three in four Ohio workers have no paid family leave — which means when a health crisis or a new baby arrives, they're forced to choose between their family and their financial survival.

Senate Bill 396 would change that. Introduced by State Senators Bill Blessing and Beth Liston — a Republican and a Democrat — the bill would create a state-run paid family and medical leave fund for Ohio workers. Under the program, eligible workers could take up to 14 weeks off per qualifying event and receive 85% of their regular pay, up to a $100,000 salary cap. It would be funded by a modest 0.4% payroll tax, split between workers and employers — just 40 cents per $100 in pay.

The need is real and the cost of inaction is measurable. An average Ohio worker who takes just four weeks of unpaid leave loses $3,100 in wages, according to TimeToCareOhio.org. That's a car payment, a month's rent, a child's medical bills. For families already stretched thin, that loss doesn't just sting — it can be devastating.

Madison Greenspan, a Cleveland-area mother, knows this firsthand. When her premature twin girls spent weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and then required ongoing medical care after coming home, Greenspan eventually had to quit her job entirely. "I don't know what a family does when they don't have the option to step away," she said. She shouldn't have had to make that choice. Neither should any Ohio worker.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act has protected workers' jobs since 1993 — but it only guarantees unpaid leave. Ohio has the opportunity to go further. We're calling on the Ohio Senate to pass Senate Bill 396 and give Ohio's working families the stability and support they deserve when life demands it most.