It isn’t the egregious and dictatorial type of paid leave mandate we’ve seen in a number of cities and states around the country, but the US Senate is endorsing the creation of a national paid leave policy. A moderate paid leave policy filed by Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer made its way through the Senate Finance Committee and into the Senate’s tax reform bill to be voted on later this morning.  The latest draft offers companies a tax credit equal to 25% of an employee’s earnings during their leave in exchange for the company offering two weeks of paid family leave to its workers. House democrats were pushing legislation to mandate up to 12 weeks of family leave, funded by a 0.4 percent payroll tax split between the employee and the employer. That approach was opposed by business interests while Fischer’s incentive-focused bill, coming in at a fraction of the mandate cost, stands a much greater chance of passage. We’ll have a better idea when the differing House and Senate versions are negotiated in conference.