State-Run Paid Leave Evolves to Emphasize Low-Income Workers (1)

Ensuring low-income workers can access paid time off for family and medical needs has become an increasingly high priority for state-run paid leave programs, including one in Connecticut that’s set to start paying benefits Jan. 1.

The movement among the most recent paid leave adopters—including Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon, and Washington state—also helped shape the policy details of a nationwide paid leave proposal that passed the U.S. House last month but faces major hurdles in the Senate.

Newer programs such as Connecticut’s are being designed to replace nearly all of low-wage workers’ earnings during their weeks of leave, ...