Paid Family Leave gains

momentum
Wide support now seen across income, gender and party, with sharp
increase in support among Republicans
Findings from the 2015 Unheard Third
October 5, 2015
Nancy Rankin
Vice President for Policy Research and Advocacy

Paid family leave is an idea whose time has come.

Since we asked this question in 2005, overall support
has grown from 76% to 86%, and the intensity of
support has skyrocketed. Now nearly 3 out of 4 New
Q: Employees instrongly
New York State are currently covered by a state disability insurance program that replaces some lost wages when
Yorkers
favor it.
someone is temporarily out of work because of a disability. Would you favor or oppose modernizing this insurance to provide up to 12
weeks in a year of paid family leave to a worker who needs time to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member, like an aging parent?

2005

Total

-9% -6%

2014

Total

-5%-6%

2015

Total

-4%-6%

Low Income

-4%-6%

Mod-High Income

-4%-6%

Men

-6% -7%

Strongly oppose

34%
67%

-20%

-10%

0%

17%

73%

13%

76%

11%

71%

14%

69%

-2%
-5%

Women
-30%

42%

14%

77%
10%

Not so strongly oppose

20%

30%

40%

Strongly favor

12%
50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Not so strongly favor

2
The Unheard Third 2015
www.cssny.org

Paid Family Leave has become a bi-partisan

issue; with sharpest gains in support coming
among Republicans; 58% of whom now strongly
Q:
Employees in
New York State are currently
covered by a legislation.
state disability insurance program that replaces some lost wages when
favor
proposed
state
someone is temporarily out of work because of a disability. Would you favor or oppose modernizing this insurance to provide up to 12 weeks
in a year of paid family leave to a worker who needs time to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member, like an aging parent?

2014

-5%-6%

2015

-4%-6%

73%

2014

-4%
-4%

74%

Total

2015

-4%
-2%

Democrats

2014

Republicans

2015
-60%

-50%

-13%

67%

Strongly oppose

-30%

-20%

-15%

-10%

13%

15%

81%

45%

-5% -15%
-40%

17%

11%

20%

58%
0%

10%

Not so strongly oppose

20%

30%

16%
40%

Strongly favor

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Not so strongly favor

3
The Unheard Third 2015
www.cssny.org

Pointing out that employees would pay for family

leave insurance causes only a slight drop-off in
support. Even if it meant up to $1 a week from
their paychecks, 8 out of 10 New Yorkers favor the
Q: Employees in Newand
York State are currently covered by a state disability insurance program that replaces some lost wages when
proposal
strong support shows a leap from
someone is temporarily out of work because of a disability. Would you favor or oppose modernizing this insurance to provide up to 12
weeks in a year of paid family leave to a worker who needs time to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member, like an aging
2005.
parent, if it meant up to a dollar a week would be deducted from your paycheck?
2005

Total

2014

Total

-7% -10%

2015

Total

-6% -7%

-12%

-9%

Mod-High Income

-7% -6%

Men

-7% -6%

Strongly oppose

-20%

-10%

0%

17%

66%

15%

64%

15%

67%

15%

65%

-5% -8%

Women

30%
62%

-5% -9%

Low Income

-30%

39%

17%

67%
10%

Not so strongly oppose

20%

30%

13%
40%

Strongly favor

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Not so strongly favor

4
The Unheard Third 2015
www.cssny.org

Support for paid family leave stays strong

across party lines when including a paycheck
deduction of up to $1 a week.
Q: Employees in New York State are currently covered by a state disability insurance program that replaces some lost wages when
someone is temporarily out of work because of a disability. Would you favor or oppose modernizing this insurance to provide up to 12
weeks in a year of paid family leave to a worker who needs time to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member, like an aging
parent, if it meant up to a dollar a week would be deducted from your paycheck?

2014

-7% -10%

2015

-6% -7%

66%

2014

-7% -7%

68%

Total

2015

Democrats

2014

Republicans

2015
-60%

-50%

62%

-5%-4%

-8%

Strongly oppose

-30%

-25%

-20%

-10%

15%

45%

0%

17%

71%

-5% -11%
-40%

17%

15%

15%

61%
10%

Not so strongly oppose

20%

30%

19%
40%

Strongly favor

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Not so strongly favor

5
The Unheard Third 2015
www.cssny.org

How the survey was conducted

The Unheard Third 2015 is based on a scientific survey of 1,705 New York City adults conducted for CSS by
Lake Research. Respondents were reached by telephone using land lines and cell phones. The survey was
fielded July 19 through August 17, 2015. The margin of error is +/- 2.37 percentage points for the total sample,
+/- 3 percentage points for the low-income sample of 1,052 respondents with incomes below twice the federal
poverty level and +/- 3.8 percentage points for the moderate and high income sample of 653 respondents.
When reporting the findings for the total sample, the low-income respondents are weighted down to their actual
proportion of the population.

6
The Unheard Third 2015
www.cssny.org