House members unveil paid parental leave legislation
New bill would provide eight weeks of paid leave to all federal employees for the birth or adoption of a child.
House lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday that would institute a paid parental leave policy for all federal employees.
The bill (H.R. 3158), sponsored by Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., would provide all federal employees with eight weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
Under current rules, employees can use a combination of paid annual leave, paid sick leave and unpaid leave under the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act for childbirth or adoption. Federal parents can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity or paternity leave and up to 13 days of paid sick leave to care for newborn or adopted children.
"Every day, federal employees provide a variety of services vital to the progress of this nation," Hoyer said in a statement. "The work that these men and women do is critically important, and their compensation and treatment in the workplace needs to fairly reflect that."
In addition to providing the eight weeks of paid leave, the new legislation would allow federal employees to use any accumulated annual or sick leave to get to the 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed under current law.
The bill has been introduced in the last three congressional sessions but did not make it out of committee. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, introduced similar legislation in January that would provide at least eight weeks of paid leave for a mother after childbirth, while requiring one week of paid leave for fathers and adoptive parents.
In 2001, the Office of Personnel Management, which administers leave policy, published a report that found the federal government's leave policies compare favorably with those in the private sector.
But by failing to provide paid parental leave, the government lags behind the private sector and many industrialized nations, the bill sponsors argue. Currently, 53 percent of private sector employers provide some form of paid parental leave, the sponsors said.
"Antiquated family leave policies are a talent drain on the government -- they're an incentive for people to look elsewhere for work at the very time when our government needs them most," Maloney said.
OPM Director Linda Springer acknowledged in May that the federal government's lack of paid leave was hindering its ability to recruit women of childbearing age. Springer said OPM may seek to add the benefit through insurance, making it more appealing to budget-minded legislators.
Meanwhile, Maloney recently introduced two broader pieces of legislation that would expand family-friendly workplace policies. One bill (H.R. 1369) would establish a pilot program for federal employees, allowing them to use 24 hours during any 12-month period to participate in a school activity of a son or daughter, such as a parent-teacher conference.
Another bill (H.R. 2792) would amend current law to allow federal employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a domestic partner, same-sex spouse, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling or grandparent who has a serious health condition. Current law only allows such leave for the care of parents, children under 18 or a legal spouse.
Last week, Liz Connell, a legislative assistant and senior health adviser for Stevens, said that the gradual bipartisan support for paid leave policies for federal employees puts the legislation in good standing for passage this Congress. "Its chance of becoming a reality is greater than ever," she said.