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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the largest independent union of federal employees today applauded approval by the U.S. House of Representatives of legislation to provide federal employees with four weeks of paid parental leave. The vote was 278 to 146.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said “The House passage of H.R. 5781 is a big step toward making a marked difference in the lives of federal employees and strengthening the government’s ability to recruit and retain needed workers.” The bill, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), would convert to paid leave four of the 12 weeks of unpaid leave currently available to federal employees under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

In April, President Kelley testified before Congress on the need for this legislation. Her testimony, she said, prompted a number of voice mails and e-mails from NTEU members who shared the hardships they encountered when forced to choose between a paycheck and the desire to stay home with a new child.

“Some of the people I heard from had terminally ill family members, and having used up all their sick leave and annual leave on caring for them, had nothing left to use upon the birth of a child,” President Kelley said. “Others were ill themselves, but kept working because they had used up all of their leave when they had a child."

Still others cannot afford to take unpaid leave, Kelley said. “This should be an unacceptable situation in today’s United States. Many of the country’s top companies already offer a paid benefit and the federal government needs to do the same.”

While the FMLA has been a terrific first step in helping Americans balance family needs and work needs, President Kelley said, “this legislation is needed to allow employees to follow through on that promise and ensure that every federal worker has the ability to adequately care for a new family.”

Besides helping address these critical family issues, paid parental leave also provides federal agencies with another effective tool in their continuing efforts to recruit and retain the high-quality employees they need.

NTEU will now turn its attention to companion legislation, introduced by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), which is pending in the Senate.