State employees could get up to six weeks of paid maternity leave under new legislation filed this week.
Full-time employees who have served at least two years with the state would be eligible for maternity leave, and would be in addition to any sick leave taken due to pregnancy.
Senate Bill 16X covers both births and adoptions. The bill was introduced in a special session that was convened last week to give lawmakers more time to adopt the state budget. This legislation follows the introduction of paid maternity leave for teachers, which appeared in the Legislature's education policy and teacher pay package that has reached the governor's desk.
Because both policies specify "maternal" leave, it appears that only mothers would qualify.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for new parents or those who are attending to a family member's health, or personal health issues.
Few states, however, have expanded this practice in state law. Only three states — Georgia, New Hampshire and South Carolina — have offered paid parental leave for state employees, according to the conference.
The bill was scheduled to be heard for the first time in committee on Monday.
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