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Washington D.C. – Federal employees could use paid leave to care for new children or ill family members under legislation approved today by the House and endorsed by the National Treasury Employees Union.

The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act was part of the defense bill that passed the House Friday.

“Federal employees are just like everyone else and when a family member is in need, they should be able to afford to take time off to care for them,” said NTEU National President Tony Reardon. “We commend Rep. Carolyn Maloney and many others who have fought long and  hard to secure this important benefit for the federal workforce, and we will continue to encourage Congress to pass it into law.”

Federal employees would be eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a new child, including foster children or adopted children, or anyone in the family with a serious health condition.

“When NTEU first started working on this legislation many years ago, our goal was to make the federal government a leader on the issue of paid family leave. But now in 2019, many private sector companies are already providing this benefit and the federal government will have to keep up in order to compete for skilled workers,” Reardon said.

A paid family leave policy would improve recruitment and retention in the federal workforce and make the government a more pro-family work environment.

“We’ve all been there, whether it’s a newborn or an elderly parent. Our families need us and we shouldn’t have to choose between them or our paychecks,” Reardon said.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees at 33 federal agencies and departments.