Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.—In a move that was applauded by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), a key House subcommittee today approved bipartisan legislation that would offer four weeks of paid parental leave to federal employees.

Marked up today in the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, H.R. 5781, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, would provide four weeks of paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Federal workers currently have access to 12 weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA. The bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and currently has 21 co-sponsors.

“It is time for the federal government, as the largest employer in this country, to step up and make family leave real, not a mirage that few can afford to use,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “Being able to substitute any leave without pay under FMLA with four weeks of paid leave … will make a significant difference in the lives of both parent and child. This is an opportunity to provide federal workers with a benefit that not only helps them, but helps society in general, by offering a chance for a mother or a father to bond with the child.”

The original bill provided eight weeks of paid leave but was amended in committee to offer four because of cost. Nevertheless, Kelley said the measure takes a huge step forward.

In testimony last month before a combined hearing of the House Oversight Reform and Government Affairs Federal Workforce Subcommittee and the Joint Economic Committee, President Kelley pointed to a Columbia University study finding that some 128 countries “provide paid and job-protected leave each year,” at an average of 16 weeks including both pre- and post-birth time off.

Kelley also said that since FMLA was approved in 1993, “it has become clear that many who would take advantage of time off for family and medical leave reasons have not done so because they are unable to forgo their income.”

In light of the looming spike in retirement eligibility among federal employees and the increasingly competitive battle with the private sector for high-quality workers, Kelley explained that providing paid parental leave also could have an enormous impact on federal recruitment and retention efforts.

“The government has numerous options at its disposal to keep its workforce at a sufficient level to carry our nation’s work forward,” she said. “This legislative is just one more tool in the federal toolbox and would turn the promise of paid parental leave into a particularly meaningful reality for many lower and mid-grade federal workers.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.