Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announces paid parental leave for state employees

Gov. John Bel Edwards joined the Louisiana State Civil Service, Woman's Hospital, and local elected officials to announce the adoption of paid parental leave for the nearly 70,000 state employees.

State employees who are legal, adoptive or foster parents are entitled to a parental leave benefit of six weeks at 100% pay within 12 weeks of a birth, adoption or foster care to promote bonding with a new child, according to the new policy.

Employees become eligible for the benefit after working for the state for at least one year, which mirrors the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) federal law.

Originally, FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to choose, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid leave, such as vacation or sick leave, for some or all of the FMLA leave period. When paid leave is substituted for unpaid FMLA leave, it may be counted against the 12-week, according to Louisiana Law Help, a organization funded by the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

The new paid parental policy leave will be a new leave type that does not deduct from an employee’sannual, sick or compensatory leave balances.

Full-time employees will be compensated at 100% of their base pay, and part-time employees will be compensated at the rate of 100% of their base pay based upon the average number of hours they worked in the six months immediately prior to the approval of their parental leave, according to the state Civil Service.

"Paid parental leave means better outcomes for every family member, allowing parents to bond with their child without the financial stress of sacrificing their income, savings or paid sick days," Edwards said.

The governor's executive order, in combination with the new Civil Service rule, institutes the policy for classified and unclassified employees.

“This is a great day for Louisiana and the tens of thousands of state employees who will be covered by this policy," State Rep. Sam Jenkins said. "The policy being implemented today will provide a very important benefit to state employees, and I appreciate the state taking the lead. With it, we are sending a signal to young families that we want to attract and retain them in Louisiana.”

Louisiana joins 32 other states with paid parental leave policies, according to Edwards. Believing that this policy is pro-life, Edwards said, "We are positioning ourselves to both attract and retain top talent in state."

A Better Balance, a national nonprofit advocacy organization that was a part of the campaign leading to the enactment of this policy, said this brings Louisiana in line with peer states across the South, including Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and South Carolina.

“We know that paid parental leave is a good thing for our state government, and that it’s going to be even better for the recruitment and retention of employees," said State Civil Service Director Byron Decoteau. "This policy allows parents to focus on bonding with their child, strengthening and building their family unit without the financial worries that often come with unpaid leave,“ Decoteau adds.

The benefit becomes effective Jan. 1, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Governor announces paid parental leave for Louisiana state workers