City Council weighed the implications of significantly expanding benefits for emergency services employees this past Thursday in a resolution that calls for a new family leave policy for the city’s EMS, police, and fire departments.
The resolution, sponsored by Council Member Ann Kitchen, directs city staff to develop plans for a program providing adequate paid leave for new parents in emergency services departments and to return with cost estimates within 30 days. The resolution passed unanimously, with Mayor Steve Adler off the dais and Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison abstaining.
“I think parental leave is a necessity for all of our employees, and I don’t think we should be negotiating it,” Kitchen said at Council’s work session last Tuesday. “Regardless of the fiscal implications, I think this benefit is fundamental.”
Currently, sworn employees across the three public safety departments receive the 12 weeks of unpaid leave mandated by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, but receive no additional compensation from the city. Kitchen noted that this stands in contrast to the city’s policy toward civilian employees, who receive six weeks of paid family leave.
The proposal comes at a critical time for the city’s EMS department, which is seeing record staffing shortages and rates of employee dissatisfaction. Further complicating things is a hole in leadership, with former EMS Chief Ernesto Rodriguez retiring after 40 years of service. Under these precarious...
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