Federal Workers May Soon Get 12 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave

More than two million nonmilitary federal workers will soon be eligible for 12 weeks of parental leave.

Congress recently reached an agreement that would give federal employees (sorry, this soon-to-be law doesn’t extend to non-government employees) paid leave to care for a newborn or adopted child.

photo: Lisa Fotios via Pexels

Provided the deal is passed and signed into law, it will become the first major change in benefits for federal workers since 1993 and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Even though this new expansion of federal employee parental leave benefits is a step in the right direction, it isn’t a done deal yet. It must pass the House vote before it moves on to the President.

While there are plenty of applause for this potential paid parental leave act, some advocates still think the new measure should also include benefits for federal employees who need to care for non-infant/child family members. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. said, in a prepared statement to NBC News, “I believe with all my heart that we need a policy that supports that hard-working young woman who is having her new baby, that supports the father in crisis who is caring for his two-year-old daughter with cancer, and that supports the dedicated husband who is helping his wife recover from her stroke.”

—Erica Loop

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