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Washington, D.C.—As the House of Representatives prepares today to take up H.R. 626, a measure to provide federal employees with four weeks of pay while they are on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for the birth or adoption of a child, the head of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees urged its approval.

National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley sent a letter earlier this week to every member of the House.

“This measure will allow federal workers the ability to better balance family needs and work requirements, as access to paid parental leave has become a necessity for today’s working families,” President Kelley wrote in the letter.

Securing paid parental leave for federal workers is one of NTEU’s legislative priorities for this year. Approval of the measure would bring the government’s approach on family leave closer to that of both the private sector and many other industrialized nations.

President Kelley noted in her letter that—unlike workers at nearly three-fourths of Fortune 100 companies—federal employees currently don’t have any guarantee of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

“Some have accrued sick or vacation time they may be able to use while on FMLA leave,” she said. “However, others, especially younger workers who have not accrued sick or vacation time, have no choice but to take unpaid leave.” For many, that creates a significant financial hardship.

The NTEU leader added that paid leave would be an effective tool in the continuing effort by federal agencies to recruit and retain high-quality employees. “A paid parental leave policy will also save the government money by reducing turnover and replacement costs, which are estimated to be 25 percent of a worker’s salary,” she wrote to House members. NTEU played a key role in congressional approval of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993.

H.R. 626 was introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and a companion measure (S. 354), introduced by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), is pending in the Senate.

“I want to acknowledge and thank all the supporters of this legislation, particularly Rep. Maloney and Sen. Webb, along with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-N.Y.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.), which will dramatically improve the lives of working federal families and bring the government in line with much of the private sector,” President Kelley said. Rep. Lynch is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce.

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