Paid Parental Leave, Coming to America?
On Sept 15, 2015, Democrats of the Senate proposed a bill that would give federal workers up to 6 weeks paid leave in order to either give birth to a child or go through the process of adopting a child. Senator Brian Schatz and Senator Barbara Mikulski are heading the bill that is ultimately a response to the memo President Obama released earlier this year that pushed for Congress to give federal workers more paid leave.
“Working families who work hard and play by the rules deserve to get ahead and not just get by,” said Mikulski. “No working parent should be forced to choose between caring for their family and keeping their job.”
As you might expect, federal employee unions and advocacy groups are strong supporters of this bill.
Richard G. Thissen, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) said, “It’s long past time for the federal government to offer this benefit, particularly as more and more private-sector companies are learning that in doing so, they improve both employee morale and retention of good employees.”
Senator Schatz also touched on how overdue this legislation is for our country, “While private companies are beginning to see the benefits of providing paid family leave, America is still the only industrial nation in the world without a program that gives working parents the time off and income they need to care for a new child.”
When you’re the last industrial nation in the world to do something, it may be fair to say you are a little behind the times. Perhaps our government is beginning to realize that happy employees work better than disgruntled employees. A similar bill that proposed only four (4) weeks of paid parental leave was voted down by Congress in 2013. Hopefully, congress has a better vision of the future this time around and they reward our hard working federal employees.
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