Six weeks of Paid Family Leave would be available to employees

 

When the federal government’s 2018 fiscal year begins on Oct 1, 2017, what changes will be lined up for Payroll?

 

Now that the president’s budget proposal has been released, we can get an idea where we’re headed.

 

Here are some highlights:

 

Changes you may see

 

Most notably, paid family leave would be provided to employees.

 

Six Weeks of paid leave would be made available for new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents.

 

The program would be managed on the state level, with states having leeway about how to design and finance the program.

 

So if your state already requires employers to offer paid family leave you may not see major upheaval.

 

Funding wouldn’t come from employers. Instead, the unemployment insurance (UI) system would be the base. With that in mind, the budget proposal also includes ideas for reforming the UI system.

 

Those reforms are:

 

Reducing improper payments

 

Helping unemployed workers find jobs more quickly, and

 

Encouraging states to maintain reserves in their unemployment trust fund accounts.

 

Another change found in the fiscal year 2018 budget proposal is decreased spending for some federal government agencies.

 

The Department of Labor would take a hit, with spending being cut 19.8%.

 

Meanwhile, spending for the Dept. of Treasury would also decrease, but less dramatically, by 4.1%.

 

As for the SSA, that agency fares much better, with a 0.3% spending increase being sought.

 

Other aspects of the budget proposal affect Payroll – among them the call to simplify the tax code and provide tax relief.

 

Moving forward

 

Next, House and Senate committees will hold hearings on the budget.