The new legislation in both states is widely seen as a big win for organized labor and as a step toward narrowing the nation’s persistent wage gap. One advocacy group indicates the California law will aid some 6.5 million workers, or about 43% of the state's workforce, who currently earn less than $15.
New York is also enacting a family-leave provision that will make workers eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave to care for an infant, a seriously ill relative, or to compensate for a family member called up to active military service. Currently, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only provides employees with unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks in duration.