The City of Pittsburgh and the county in which it is located are fast becoming a major hub for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). On October 20, Allegheny County became the first county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to adopt paid parental leave for employees.
The controversial policy forces employers to foot the bill for both parents of newborn babies to receive three months of paid time off. In Allegheny County, not only must employers pay the wages of non-working personnel for up to 12 weeks, but they must also pay for temporary, part-time, or full-time personnel to cover for employees on leave.
In other states that have such policies, they did not place the entire burden on the employer. In California, employees fund the policy 100% through employee payroll tax contributions, managed through the State Disability Insurance program. In Colorado, employers and employees split the funding 50/50. Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Minnesota have similar arrangements. In New Jersey, employees cover 100% of the funding through Family Leave Insurance. And in New York, the policy is 100% employee-funded through payroll deduction, along with insurance coverage that employers buy.
But in Pittsburgh, county leaders joyfully defied public outcry over the proposed totally employer-funded program, as they stuck it to large and small organizations, not just private industry.
Card-carrying members of the DSA infest county government, starting at the top with County Executive Sara Innamorato, who has an ally in Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), a junior varsity member of “The Squad” in Congress.
