California governor OKs increased pay during family leave

(AP) — Continuing a wave of expanding labor policy reforms aimed at addressing income inequality, California's Democratic governor signed legislation Monday to increase time-off pay for employees who must leave work to care for their family.

At a signing ceremony, Brown said providing more assistance to the state's lowest earners on family leave will help correct the growing income disparity facing California and every other state.

Many Republicans opposed the legislation but there was little debate about it in the state Legislature and several GOP lawmakers declined to offer comment Monday.

San Francisco last week became the first place in the country to require businesses to provide six weeks of fully paid leave for new parents, a rarity now offered to some government sector workers and some private employees.

Federal law requires private businesses with 50 or more employees and all government agencies to allow workers to take 12 weeks of unpaid family leave.