Sen. Dossett leads study on paid family leave

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, will lead an interim study in the Senate’s Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism Committee exploring the feasibility of statutory paid family leave in Oklahoma.

“Statutory paid family leave is in its infancy in Oklahoma since we added paid maternity leave for teachers and state employees in statute a few years ago. It’s time to start studying what that could look like applied to the private sector,” Dossett said. “Some of our bordering states, including Texas, Arkansas, and Colorado have already enacted some form of statutory paid family leave in the private sector, and we do not want Oklahoma families to be left behind.”

The panel of experts assembled for the study include in-state experts Jon Trudgeon from the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness, Colleen Howe from the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, as well as Dr. Cynthia Osborne from Vanderbilt University. Among the information presented will be the results of a recent actuarial study on what different statutory paid family leave models would cost the state of Oklahoma. Models explored will include both mandatory and voluntary paid family leave programs.

The interim study will take place on Wednesday, October 8 at 9:00 a.m. in room 535 at the state Capitol, and can be viewed online at oksenate.gov/live-chamber under Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Jo Anna Dossett: (405) 521-5624 or JoAnna.Dossett@oksenate.gov