美國的有薪假與無薪假之論
The District’s proposed law shows the wrong way to provide paid leave
華府的提議，顯示提供有薪假的方法不正確-美國是先進國家中，不提供有薪假的國家
The issue of paid leave is heating up in 2016. At least two presidential candidates —Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) — have proposed new federal policies. Several states and large cities have begun providing paid leave to workers when they are ill or have to care for a newborn child or other family member.
有薪假的問題在 2016 年，被炒得沸沸掦揚。至少兩位總統候選人 — 民主黨候選人希拉蕊和共和黨參議員 Marco Rubio（佛羅里達州） — 已經提出了新的聯邦政策。幾個州和大城市已經開始向工人提供有薪給的休假，當他們生病或者須要照顧新生嬰兒或其他家庭成員時。
This forward movement on paid-leave policy makes sense. The United States is the only advanced country without a paid-leave policy. While some private and public employers already provide paid leave to their workers, the workers least likely to get paid leave are low-wage and low-income workers who need it most. They alsocannot afford to take unpaid leave, which the federal government mandates for larger companies.
這項對有薪休假政策的推動是有意義的。美國是唯一先進國家中，缺少無薪假政策的國家。雖然已有一些私人和公家機構的雇主，已向工人提供有薪假，但最不可能獲得有薪假的是，最需要它的低工資和低收入的工人們。他們也不能獲得放無薪假，這是聯邦政府要求較大的公司必須實施的。
Paid leave is good for the health and development of children; it supports work, enabling employees to remain attached to the labor force when they must take leave; and it can lower costly worker turnover for employers. Given the economic and social benefits it provides and given that the private market will not generate as much as needed, public policies should ensure that such leave is available to all.
有薪假是有益於兒童健康和發育;它支援工作，並使員工保持工作力，當他們必須請假時：他們能為雇主降低高昂的員工流失率的支出。鑒於它所提供的經濟和社會效益，以及私人市場無法盡量產生所需，公共政策就應該確保，這種請假方式應是人人皆可得到。
But it is important to do so efficiently, so as not to burden employers with high costs that could lead them to substantially lower wages or create fewer jobs.
States and cities that require employers to provide paid sick days mandate just a small number, usually three to seven days. Family or temporary disability leaves that must be longer are usually financed through small increases in payroll taxes paid by workers and employers, rather than by employer mandates or general revenue.
有些州和城市，要求雇主提供支付生病的請假天數，只是一個小數目，通常是三至七天。因家庭因素或臨時殘疾，必須有更長的假期，通常由工人和雇主支付的小額增加的工資稅來負擔，而不是由雇主的強制義務或總收入來支付。
Policy choices could limit costs while expanding benefits. For instance, states should limit eligibility to workers with experience, such as a year, and it might make sense to increase the benefit with years of accrued service to encourage labor force attachment. Some states provide four to six weeks of family leave, though somewhat larger amounts of time may be warranted, especially for the care of newborns, where three months seems reasonable.
在擴大員工福利的同時，政策選擇也可能會限制成本。例如，州政府應依年資限制工人資格，例如一年，同時依累積服務年資而增加福利，以鼓勵勞動力的固定也許是合理的。一些州提供四至六周因家庭因素的假期，雖然可能多少需要較多的時間，特別是照顧新生兒，三個月似乎合理。
Paid leave need not mean full replacement of existing wages. Replacing two-thirds of weekly earnings up to a set limit is reasonable. The caps and partial wage replacement give workers some incentive to limit their use of paid leave withoutimposing large financial burdens on those who need it most.
帶薪的休假並不意味著完全取代現有工資。合理的辦法是取代三分之二，而達到設定的限制週薪是合理的。最高額度和部分工資的取代，會激勵工人，限制其使用的有薪休假，而不會對那些最需要它的人，施加大的財政負擔。
While many states and localities have made sensible choices in these areas, some have not. For instance, the D.C. Council has proposed paid-leave legislation for all but federal workers that violates virtually all of these rules. It would require up to 16 weeks of temporary disability leave and up to 16 weeks of paid family leave; almost all workers would be eligible for coverage, without major experience requirements; and the proposed law would require100 percent replacement of wages up to $1,000 per week, and 50 percent coverage up to $3,000. It would be financed through a progressive payroll tax on employers only, which would increase to 1 percent for higher-paid employees.
雖然在這些方面許多州和地方政府已取得了明智的選擇，但有些州則尚未。例如，華盛頓特區議會已提議，為所有除了聯邦政府工人以外的有薪假立法，此立法幾乎違反了所有的這些規定。它將需要達到16 周的臨時殘障病假和達到，16 星期的有薪請假;幾乎所有的工人將有資格獲得被涵蓋的範圍，而不需要主要的工作經驗要求;和在研擬的法律中，將需要100%取代最高每週工資 一仟元，和50%涵蓋率達到三仟美元。這項融資辦法乃藉由只對僱主課以累進薪資稅，而它對有較高薪資的員工則增加到 1%
Our analysis suggests that this level of leave would be badly underfunded by the proposed tax, perhaps by as much as two-thirds. Economists believe that payroll taxes on employers are mostly paid through lower worker wages, so the higher taxes needed to fully fund such generous leave would burden workers. The costly policy might cause employers to discriminate against women.
我們的分析表明，由於提議的稅法，這種給假的水準，會有嚴重的經費不足，或許最高可高達三分之二。經濟學家認為對僱主課徵的薪資稅，大多由收入較低的工人工資來支付，因此，此等可以充分資助有薪假的更高稅負，就會增加工人之負擔。這項項昂貴的政策可能會導致雇主歧視婦女工人，而不想僱用他們。
The disruptions and burdens of such lengthy leaves could cause employers to hire fewer workers or shift operations elsewhere over time. This is particularly true here, considering that the D.C. Council already has imposed costly burdens on employers, such as high minimum wages (rising to $11.50 per hour this year), paid sick leave (although smaller amounts than now proposed) and restrictions on screening candidates. The minimum wage in Arlington is $7.25 with no other mandates. Employers will be tempted to move operations across the river or to replace workers with technology wherever possible.
這種冗長的有薪假的瓦解與負擔，假以時日，可能會使雇主雇用更少工人，或轉移操作方式到別處。在這裡尤其如此，鑒於華盛頓特區議會，已經對雇主課加成本高昂的負擔，例如高的最低工資標準 （今年已上升至每小時11.50 美元）、有薪病假、 (儘管比現今提議較小的數額) 、和對請假人篩選的限制。在阿靈頓地區最低工資是 7.25 美元，無其他強制條件。雇主將被引誘到另外其他地區操作，或用科技來取代工人，那一種條件可行，就採用那一種。
Cities, states and the federal government should provide paid sick and family leave for all workers. But it can and should be done in a fiscally responsible manner that does not place undue burdens on the workers themselves or on their employers.
城市、 州和聯邦政府應該提供給所有工人，有薪假和因家庭事故的請假。但應依財政上負責的態度來做，它不會對工人本身或對他們的雇主增加不當之負擔。
Justin Lai 編譯
08/15/2016
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