A bill that would provide all federal employees four weeks of paid parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child was introduced into the House today by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Danny Davis (D-IL), and Edolphus Towns (D-NY). A bill proposing the same passed the house in the last Congress, but former President Bush suggested he would veto the legislation.
Currently, federal employees receive no paid maternity or parental leave and are instead forced to take unpaid leave or use vacation or sick days to recover from childbirth and adjust to life with a new child. The federal government, which is the nation’s largest employer, is behind the private sector in providing this benefit where 53% of employers provide some form of paid parental leave.
Representative Wolf cited this disparity as a barrier to competing for new employees. “The aim of this legislation is to keep the federal workforce in step with the private sector, which has been providing this benefit for many years,” he said. “And with the coming wave of federal retirements, we must ensure that federal employment is a competitive option for young Americans starting families.”
In addition to giving federal employees four weeks of paid leave, FEPPLA would allow them to use any accumulated annual or sick leave to offset the 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Senator Jim Web (D-VA) intends to introduce a companion bill into the Senate, saying it is “an issue of fairness for the working family.”
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