House Committee Approves Federal Employee Parental Leave Bill
Thursday, May 7, 2009(National Federation of Federal Employees)
Wednesday, the House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
passed the Federal Employees Paid Parental
Leave Act (FEPPLA), H.R. 626/S.354, a bill that
will give federal workers a minimum of four
weeks paid leave to care for a newly born,
adopted, or fostered child.
Under current law,
expecting parents may take up to 12 weeks of
unpaid leave to care for their
newborn, forcing them to use sick and annual
leave to make up for the lost time. To Rep.
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who is the original
sponsor of the bill, this is
unacceptable.
“The current recession
only makes paid family leave more important. No
federal employee who’s a new parent should be
forced to choose between their paycheck and
their newborn – or newly adopted – child in
those vital first few weeks home,” Maloney
said. “As the nation’s largest employer, the
federal government can – and should – lead the
way on this issue.”
Today, many private
sector employers provide workers with paid
parental leave which, along with comparatively
higher salaries, put the federal government at
a competitive disadvantage in recruiting new
talent. Oversight and Government Reform
Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
recognizes that this bill will be key in
closing this gap.
“The country is better
served by an experienced and productive federal
workforce that is able to adequately provide
for the health and well-being of their newborn
or newly adopted children,” said Chairman
Towns. “The federal government is becoming an
increasingly aged workforce so we must begin to
implement workplace benefits that allow us to
be as attractive, if not more attractive, than
the private sector. By doing so, we can create
the most skilled and effective workforce for
the future.”