Support for paid family leave in New York has increased sharply in recent years across party, gender, and income lines. According to a recent survey, support for paid family leave is now 86%, up from 76% in 2005. Support among Republicans has increased most sharply, with 58% now strongly favoring a state law providing 12 weeks of paid family leave. Even when respondents were told they would pay up to $1 per week for the benefit, over 80% still expressed support. The survey findings suggest paid family leave has become a bipartisan issue with strong backing from New York residents.

1. Paid Family Leave Gains Momentum
Wide support now seen across income, gender, and party, with sharp increase in support among Republicans.
Findings from The Unheard Third 2015.
October 5, 2015
Nancy Rankin
Vice President for Policy Research and Advocacy

2. Q:
2
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 Yorkers strongly favor it.
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?
Paid Family Leave
5%
7%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
7%
13%
10%
10%
10%
11%
15%
77%
69%
71%
76%
73%
67%
42%
89%
83%
85%
87%
86%
84%
76%
-30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Women
Men
Mod-High Income
Low Income
Total
Total
Total
Strongly oppose Not so strongly oppose Strongly favor Not so strongly favor
2005
2014
2015

3. Q:
3
Paid Family Leave has become a bi-partisan issue; with sharpest gains in support coming among Republicans;
58% of whom now strongly favor proposed state legislation.
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?
Paid Family Leave
15%
15%
2%
4%
6%
6%
20%
28%
6%
8%
10%
11%
58%
45%
81%
74%
73%
67%
74%
65%
92%
89%
86%
84%
-60% -50% -40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Republicans
Democrats
Total
Strongly oppose Not so strongly oppose Strongly favor Not so strongly favor
2014
2015
2014
2015
2014
2015

4. Q:
4
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 proposal and strong support shows a leap from
2005.
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?
Paid Family Leave
8%
6%
6%
9%
7%
10%
9%
13%
13%
13%
14%
13%
17%
21%
67%
65%
67%
64%
66%
62%
39%
80%
82%
82%
79%
81%
79%
69%
-30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Women
Men
Mod-High Income
Low Income
Total
Total
Total
Strongly oppose Not so strongly oppose Strongly favor Not so strongly favor
2005
2014
2015

5. Q:
5
Support for paid family leave stays strong across party lines when including a paycheck deduction of up to
$1 a week.
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?
Paid Family Leave
11%
25%
4%
7%
7%
10%
16%
33%
9%
14%
13%
17%
61%
45%
71%
68%
66%
62%
80%
60%
86%
85%
81%
79%
-60% -50% -40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Republicans
Democrats
Total
Strongly oppose Not so strongly oppose Strongly favor Not so strongly favor
2014
2015
2014
2015
2014
2015

6. 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.