Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Overwhelmingly Passes House
Friday, June 5, 2009(National Federation of Federal Employees)
Thursday evening, the
U.S. House of Representatives voted 258-154 in
favor of H.R. 626, the Federal Employees Paid
Parental Leave Act (FEPPLA).
The bipartisan bill,
sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and
cosponsored by 55 others, extends four weeks of
paid leave to federal employees with a newly
born, adopted, or fostered child. Under current
law, federal employees may take up to 12 weeks
of unpaid leave when caring for a
newborn, forcing many new families to choose
between a paycheck and caring for their
child.
“Faced by a slumping
economy, federal employees are increasingly
unable to afford the option of taking unpaid
leave after the birth of a child,” said NFFE
National President Richard N. Brown. “This puts
some federal employees in the unenviable
position of having to delay starting a family
because of the financial hardship associated
with lost wages. A paid parental leave benefit
is a good idea for a lot of good reasons, but
above all else, it’s the right thing to
do.”
NFFE has always been a
strong supporter of obtaining paid parental
leave for federal employees. Having won passage
in the House Thursday, our efforts are now
refocused on getting this bill through the
Senate, and delivering this important benefit
for federal employees.
“We applaud the House for
taking the initiative on this crucial piece of
legislation,” said Brown. “We look forward to
working with members of the Senate and Obama
Administration in making this bill the law.”