As a father of four, I know how vitally important it is for parents to bond with their newborn children or kids they adopt or foster. This early bonding sows the seeds for a lifetime of loving closeness between parents and children and has long-term implications for the family’s health, well-being and relationships.
There are also societal benefits. A CNN analysis found that paid leave reduces the need for public assistance, decreases infant mortality rates and depression among new mothers and increases the likelihood of well-baby visits and vaccinations.
Tony Reardon, National President, National Treasury Employees Union
Recognizing this, every industrialized country in the world and many developing nations provide paid leave to new mothers. But not the United States. Many nations—again, with the exception of the United States— also have passed laws allowing new fathers to take paid leave.
The richest nation on earth has the poorest record when it comes to guaranteeing paid parental leave for its people. This is embarrassing.
The good news is Congress can easily fix this situation for one of the country’s largest workforces: federal employees. My Father’s Day wish is for Congress to pass the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act.
Identical House and Senate versions of this bill have been languishing on Capitol Hill since last year. Previous attempts to pass this commonsense legislation have failed despite widespread support. It’s time for this Congress to pass this family-friendly legislation and help new mothers and fathers establish strong ties with their children from the get-go.
H.R. 532, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), has more than 60 co-sponsors. That bill and S. 2033, introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), would both provide six weeks of paid parental leave to federal employees to care for their new biological, adopted or foster children.
As the head of the country’s largest independent federal labor organization, I believe passionately that federal employees should not have to choose between their paychecks and caring for their newest family members. H.R. 532 and S. 2033 would bring the U.S. closer in line with other industrialized countries and create a national policy similar to policies being adopted by an increasing number of non-governmental employers.
The private sector is way ahead of the federal government in recognizing the value of paid parental leave. More than half the Fortune 100 companies offer it and large private employers such as Netflix and Microsoft have expanded their paid parental leave policies in recent years.
Studies show that paid parental leave reduces turnover, increases productivity, improves morale and reduces absenteeism. It would also help the federal government attract younger workers, who seek flexible, family-friendly workplaces.
Although federal employees receive sick and annual leave, it often takes them years to cobble together enough leave to take off for an appropriate length of time for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child. And if they need sick or annual leave for some other purpose, they will have none if they use it all up to care for their new children.
The Family and Medical Leave Act is an option, but it provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical and family issues. Many federal employees cannot afford to go without a paycheck.
Our union’s members often mention how much they would welcome paid parental leave.
One federal employee whose newborn twins developed serious medical problems spent all his sick and annual leave to deal with the complications and then exhausted leave he borrowed from the sick leave bank. He had to return to work, forcing his wife to quit her job to take care of the children and their medical issues singlehandedly.
Another member, a new federal employee, shared that she worked extra hours just to accrue comp time so she wouldn’t have to use her limited paid leave for prenatal medical appointments. Soon after giving birth to her baby, this young mother teleworked rather than spending time with her infant because she wanted to save her last few days for later.
These are but two examples of the many federal employees who would greatly benefit if Congress passes paid parental leave legislation. The federal government must step up and show the way for public and private employers who have yet to provide this proven benefit to their employees.
Congress can do more than just talk about family values, it can pass legislation that values families. The opportunity is right here, right now. Congress just needs to seize it and give parents throughout federal government a long-overdue gift this Father’s Day.
Note: The National Treasury Employees Union represents 150,000 employees in 31 federal agencies and departments.
A Father’s Day wish: Congress should pass parental leave legislation
The richest nation on earth has the poorest record when it comes to guaranteeing paid parental leave for its people. This is embarrassing.
As a father of four, I know how vitally important it is for parents to bond with their newborn children or kids they adopt or foster. This early bonding sows the seeds for a lifetime of loving closeness between parents and children and has long-term implications for the family’s health, well-being and relationships.
There are also societal benefits. A CNN analysis found that paid leave reduces the need for public assistance, decreases infant mortality rates and depression among new mothers and increases the likelihood of well-baby visits and vaccinations.
Recognizing this, every industrialized country in the world and many developing nations provide paid leave to new mothers. But not the United States. Many nations—again, with the exception of the United States— also have passed laws allowing new fathers to take paid leave.
The richest nation on earth has the poorest record when it comes to guaranteeing paid parental leave for its people. This is embarrassing.
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The good news is Congress can easily fix this situation for one of the country’s largest workforces: federal employees. My Father’s Day wish is for Congress to pass the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act.
Identical House and Senate versions of this bill have been languishing on Capitol Hill since last year. Previous attempts to pass this commonsense legislation have failed despite widespread support. It’s time for this Congress to pass this family-friendly legislation and help new mothers and fathers establish strong ties with their children from the get-go.
H.R. 532, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), has more than 60 co-sponsors. That bill and S. 2033, introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), would both provide six weeks of paid parental leave to federal employees to care for their new biological, adopted or foster children.
As the head of the country’s largest independent federal labor organization, I believe passionately that federal employees should not have to choose between their paychecks and caring for their newest family members. H.R. 532 and S. 2033 would bring the U.S. closer in line with other industrialized countries and create a national policy similar to policies being adopted by an increasing number of non-governmental employers.
The private sector is way ahead of the federal government in recognizing the value of paid parental leave. More than half the Fortune 100 companies offer it and large private employers such as Netflix and Microsoft have expanded their paid parental leave policies in recent years.
Studies show that paid parental leave reduces turnover, increases productivity, improves morale and reduces absenteeism. It would also help the federal government attract younger workers, who seek flexible, family-friendly workplaces.
Although federal employees receive sick and annual leave, it often takes them years to cobble together enough leave to take off for an appropriate length of time for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child. And if they need sick or annual leave for some other purpose, they will have none if they use it all up to care for their new children.
The Family and Medical Leave Act is an option, but it provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical and family issues. Many federal employees cannot afford to go without a paycheck.
Read more: Commentary
Our union’s members often mention how much they would welcome paid parental leave.
One federal employee whose newborn twins developed serious medical problems spent all his sick and annual leave to deal with the complications and then exhausted leave he borrowed from the sick leave bank. He had to return to work, forcing his wife to quit her job to take care of the children and their medical issues singlehandedly.
Another member, a new federal employee, shared that she worked extra hours just to accrue comp time so she wouldn’t have to use her limited paid leave for prenatal medical appointments. Soon after giving birth to her baby, this young mother teleworked rather than spending time with her infant because she wanted to save her last few days for later.
These are but two examples of the many federal employees who would greatly benefit if Congress passes paid parental leave legislation. The federal government must step up and show the way for public and private employers who have yet to provide this proven benefit to their employees.
Congress can do more than just talk about family values, it can pass legislation that values families. The opportunity is right here, right now. Congress just needs to seize it and give parents throughout federal government a long-overdue gift this Father’s Day.
Note: The National Treasury Employees Union represents 150,000 employees in 31 federal agencies and departments.
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