Ohio just took another swing at paid family and medical leave. This one might matter.
On April 23, Senators Beth Liston (D) and Louis Blessing (R) introduced SB 396—a bipartisan bill that would create a statewide paid leave insurance program run by ODJFS. It’s early. No hearings yet. But bipartisan sponsorship gives this version more legs than prior attempts.
The bill sets up a social insurance model funded through payroll contributions (estimated around 0.4%). Employers with 15+ employees would have to contribute. Smaller employers might dodge the payments, but not necessarily the paperwork.
Eligible employees could receive up to 14 weeks of paid leave (18 in some cases) for the usual suspects—serious health conditions, bonding with a new child, caring for a family member, or certain military needs. Benefits would replace up to 85% of wages, capped.
Job protection? Yes. Health insurance continuation? Also yes. And leave would run concurrently with FMLA where applicable.
Employers could opt out—sort of. The bill allows private plans, but expect strict equivalency rules, ongoing reporting, and oversight. If you’ve dealt with similar programs in other states, you know “opt-out” doesn’t mean “hands-off.”
If this all sounds familiar, it should. This bill largely mirrors paid leave frameworks already in place across a growing number of states. Ohio is starting to look like the outlier.
So what should employers do now? Don’t panic. But don’t ignore it either.
Start by pressure-testing your current leave policies against what’s proposed. Look at your short-term disability, PTO, and FMLA practices. Model the financial hit of payroll contributions. If you offer generous benefits already, explore whether a private plan could make sense.
And if you operate in multiple states, brace for more complexity. Another jurisdiction means more coordination, more compliance risk, and more administrative lift.
Also worth watching: enforcement. The current draft is light on details, but expect anti-retaliation provisions, penalties, and agency oversight to show up as the bill evolves.
This isn’t law. Not yet. But it’s not nothing either.
Paid leave keeps coming back to the Ohio legislature. This version has bipartisan backing and a familiar blueprint. That combination makes it harder to dismiss.
Now is the time to get ahead of it. Loop in your HR team. Talk to your payroll provider. Start modeling costs and stress-testing your policies. And if you need help figuring out what this could mean for your business, reach out.
