Paid Family Leave is an Important Step Forward for Federal Workers and Public Service

Statement

Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04) praised the inclusion and passage of paid parental leave for non-military federal employees in this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The enactment of parental leave benefits for more than 2 million federal workers is a step toward America joining the rest of the industrialized world in offering this critical benefit to new families.

The state of Maryland is home to more than 120,000 dedicated federal public servants. Congressman Brown's Congressional district, spanning both Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties, boasts over 50,000 federal employees - the fifth largest population in the country.

The provision, included in this year's NDAA, will provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave for parents who have a new baby or have just adopted a child. Currently, non-military federal employees are only offered 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Paid parental leave has been shown to improve workforce retention - particularly among women - and recruitment, boost maternal and infant health outcomes and create stronger families.

"Federal employees go to work each day to better this country and our communities. Paid parental leave for federal workers is the right choice for our local economies and, more importantly, the right thing to do for our families," said Congressman Anthony Brown. "While public service is a calling, modern benefits like parental leave will more readily attract the highly skilled, diverse federal workforce we need and better retain the talent we have."

"AFGE has been fighting to provide all federal workers with paid family leave for decades, and this agreement is a huge step in that direction. Providing federal employees with 12 weeks of paid time off for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child will help them better balance their work and home lives, and it will give agencies a needed advantage when recruiting and retaining workers to carry out critical missions on behalf of our country," said American Federation of Government Employees. "We thank Congressman Brown for supporting this critical new benefit and we look forward to working with Congress on our ultimate goal of providing all American workers with paid family leave."

"Creation of a paid parental leave program for federal employees is nothing short of historic. Finally, our nation's civil servants will be able to spend time with their new arrivals -- through birth, adoption or foster -- without jeopardizing their ability to pay their bills. This is a basic, human right that will make the federal government a more family-friendly place to work. We commend Rep. Brown for his strong support on this issue and for working with his colleagues -- and with us -- to get this done. Our persistence has paid off. Federal employees around the country -- and their families -- are grateful," said Tony Reardon, President of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 150,000 employees in 33 agencies and departments.

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