Most people think federal employees have terrific benefits. And they are good in many respects: paid sick days? Check. Paid vacation days? Check. Health insurance? Check. Sounding pretty good. But. No paid family leave. Hmmmm. Not so good. But a bill was just introduced in Congress to change that for the nation's 2.7 million feds. Moms Rising is working on this one. They write:
The U.S. government employs over 2.7 million people, but it's not a family-friendly employer. Did you know that the U.S. government doesn't offer their employees any paid parental leave days after the birth or adoption of a new child? Not one day.
Federal employees are essentially employed by each of us--after all, our taxes pay those salaries and we elect the "bosses." That means that you have the power, with your vote, to be the type of employer who supports families and a family friendly country -- and you can start working to make that happen right now by telling your Congressperson to support the Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act.
What would the Act do? The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act (H.R. 5781) would give all federal employees 4 weeks of paid parental leave. When we pass this bill, over 2.7 million workers in the United States will have the right to paid parental leave, and we will be setting a standard for creating truly family-friendly workplaces for the rest of the nation to follow. Instead, it is forcing its own workers, the very civil servants we rely on, to choose between family and a paycheck.Wanna Learn More? The National Partnership for Women and Families has excellent general information about paid family leave, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the legislation and has a good summary on her web site.
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