Recall candidate Kevin Faulconer calls for fully paid parental leave for Californians

Gubernatorial recall candidate Kevin Faulconer wants to implement fully paid parental leave as part of a plan he says will support California women, especially working mothers.

The plan, which Faulconer introduced Thursday, comes as he and other candidates lambaste recall front runner Larry Elder over comments he made in support of pregnancy discrimination.

Faulconer accused Elder of wanting to “eradicate women’s protections” and said his plan will provide mothers with support when they need it most.

“More new mothers and primary caregivers will receive their full pay up to 12 weeks,” Faulconer, a Republican, said standing in front of the Capitol on Thursday. “Secondary caregivers, of course, will be paid up to six weeks.”

Faulconer in recent weeks has worked to contrast himself with Elder, the talk radio host who has been criticized for saying employers should be able to ask female employees about their plans to have children.

“Are there legitimate business reasons for a venture capitalist to ask a female entrepreneur whether and when she intends to have children?” Elder wrote in his 2002 book. “Hell, yes.”

Faulconer’s plan would apply to parents at companies of workers earning less than $100,000 a year at companies with at least 50 employees.

Currently, new California parents on leave from work can receive 60% of their income for up to eight weeks. Birth mothers in California are also provided six to eight weeks of paid pregnancy disability after giving birth, which can extend a mother’s combined leave to 14 weeks.

A bill introduced this year by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, would increase paid parental leave compensation to 90%.

“We have one goal: to make our state more affordable, to support our families, and particularly support our working moms, and they know that you will have a governor in Kevin Faulconer that has your back,” Faulconer said.

Faulconer said Thursday he also plans to take the state’s embattled unemployment department out of the equation. Paid leave would, instead, be in the hands of the employer.

He would also work to ensure childcare tax credits are 100% fully refundable, and will work to add 200,000 state-funded childcare slots “a lot faster than what the current governor wants to do.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom in July signed a bill that will add 200,000 childcare slots by 2025. Newsom also signed legislation this summer that will send a record $123.9 billion to California schools, which will fund a new transitional kindergarten grade.

If he were to win the governor’s office, Faulconer said he would sign an executive order ensuring equitable pay for state workers regardless of gender, and another order to ensure that women and minority-owned businesses have a level playing field when competing for state contracts.

“The time is right, the time is now, the time is past due,” Faulconer said. “And I’m looking forward to implementing these changes with the help of my colleagues, with one goal: supporting our working women and supporting our families.”

The Sacramento Bee’s Jeong Park contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Recall candidate Kevin Faulconer calls for fully paid parental leave for Californians."