Today, Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Jean Godden announced a new paid parental leave benefit for City of Seattle employees.

Murray and Godden will introduce legislation that will provide employees access to four weeks per year of paid parental leave for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a minor child or children. This leave would be in addition to other paid accrued leave available to City employees, such as vacation and sick leave. This benefit will be available to all regular employees six months after their hire date consistent with the City’s Family Medical Leave policy. Implementation of this new policy will be negotiated with the city’s labor partners, many of whom have already demonstrated their support for this benefit.

“The United States is only developed nation in the world without a statutory right to paid parental leave,” Murray said. “The City of Seattle is proud to not only lead the region by adding a four week benefit for City employees, but I hope this is yet another way Seattle leads the nation.”

“Providing paid time off for working parents to care for a new child allows time to create and strengthen bonds between the child and parents easing the transition to a larger family,” Murray said.

"Paid parental leave is good for our workers, good for our children and good for our economy. It is an important step towards creating a workplace which supports all employees, especially women, and is fundamental to the gender equity policies that Seattle-- and the nation -- have long needed," said Councilmember Godden, Chair of the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries, and Gender Pay Equity Committee.

In implementing a Paid Parental Leave policy, the City of Seattle continues its history of leading the region and nation for employee benefits. The Mayor’s first executive order was to raise the minimum wage for City of Seattle employees to $15.00 per hour. The City was among the first employers in the region to offer domestic partnership benefits. Beginning in 2004, the City recognized marriage for same-gender employees well before Washington State recognized marriage between two women or two men. The City passed a paid sick leave ordinance in 2012 requiring most employers to offer their employees paid sick leave.

Based on the number of new parents in 2011 and 2012, the new Paid Parental Leave could cost the City up to $1.35 million annually. Legislation will be drafted in the next few weeks, and the City will continue to work with the labor organizations who represent City employees to implement this benefit. More information is available on our Frequently Asked Questions document.