Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act.
If enacted, the legislation would make leave currently offered to federal employees under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) paid leave.
Under current law, most federal workers are entitled to as much as 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave for a variety of purposes, such as caring for a spouse, child or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition, or dealing with the employee’s own serious health condition that renders them unable to perform the essential functions of their role, for example. Federal employees are also eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA for the birth of a child and the care of that child.
Whether the Act becomes law remains to be seen. But the state of New York isn’t waiting for any such mandate to start offering its employees paid parental leave.
On Feb. 14, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a “nation-leading initiative” to offer fully paid parental leave benefits to New York State employees. According to a statement from Hochul’s office, the new policy qualifies more than 10,000 unrepresented New York state employees to receive 12 weeks of fully paid leave to use for bonding with a newborn, fostered or adopted child.
‘It’s Good Policy’
Governor Hochul first announced her proposal in January of this year, as part of her 2023 State of the State. Under the just-issued policy, all of the state’s unrepresented executive branch employees who work full-time or who work at least 50% part-time are eligible for this benefit, with eligibility beginning on their first day of service.
Noting the well-documented benefits of paid parental leave to maternal and infant health, Hochul’s statement also pointed out that “the United States is the only developed country in the world without a national paid parental leave policy.”
While such a policy may ultimately come to fruition, many new parents and caregivers currently “depend on a patchwork of various federal, state and local leave policies, in addition to any employer-sponsored benefits.”
Offering paid parental leave to New York’s state employees figures to “make a significant difference to working families by helping parents care for their children without the fear of losing a paycheck,” said Michael Volforte, director of the New York State Office of Employee Relations, in a statement. “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, I look forward to working with our union partners to extend fully paid parental leave to the New York State workforce.”
New York has helped lead the way on paid parental leave, with former Governor Mario Cuomo signing the New York State Paid Family Leave policy into leave in 2016.
That law obliged employers to offer paid leave to eligible non-academic staff members to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or for a qualifying military exigency. In 2021, Governor Hochul signed legislation expanding the law to include caring for a seriously ill sibling.
In announcing the new paid parental leave initiative, Hochul expressed her hope that the new policy will establish New York State as a model for helping working families.
“My administration is committed to giving our public servants the support they need,” she said, “because it’s not only good for their families, it’s good policy.”
22 February 2023
Category
February 2023 Issue