House Passes Parental Leave Bill for Federal Employees

The new bill states that its purpose is “To provide that 4 of the 12 weeks of parental leave made available to a Federal employee shall be paid leave….,” according to the news report. The bill provides that the parental leave is not to be considered annual or vacation leave, and it does not accumulate for future use.

If the bill passes in the Senate, it already has the support of the Obama administration, the news report said. Providing the new leave will reportedly cost about $850 million over a five year period

The bill was introduced last year by Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) who pointed out that federal employees do not receive leave specifically for the birth of a new child, but instead have to use accrued sick days and vacation time (see Federal Workers Get up to 12 Weeks Leave in New Bill ). The bill did not pass in the Senate last year.