Allegheny County adopts 12-week paid parental leave policy

Many Allegheny County employees will soon be eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after the board passed the first policy of its kind in the nation tonight.

The policy will take effect one year after County Executive Sara Innamorato signs the bill. The bill advanced Tuesday follows six months of disagreement largely between business groups on one side and health care workers and parents on the other. The vast majority of the dozens of additional commenters who showed up to comment Tuesday spoke in favor of the measure, often describing the challenges of parenting in harrowing detail.

Companies with 15 or more employees will have to offer this leave. The number of employees requirement was added as a concession to small businesses – and the furlough length was reduced by 18 weeks – after the county received more than 1,400 public comments.

Still, the new policy marks a major victory for Innamorato, who advocated for its adoption while sharing her own pregnancy experience. In the weeks leading up to the final vote, Innamorato held several public events with his supporters, while business groups released a survey last week showing more than 400 companies oppose the new policy.

“By adopting the first county-level paid parental leave policy in the nation, we are showing that we are serious about protecting workers and their families at one of the most economically and medically vulnerable times of their lives,” Innamorato said in a statement.

This is the first paid parental leave policy in the country adopted as a public health measure. Policy experts told Public Source that this policy could be emulated by cities and counties in purple and red states that don’t have their own state-level policies.

Lucy Rose Ruccio, holding her six-week-old baby, urged the council to “seize this historic moment” and vote for policy that would “reverberate for years to come.”

It is only the second parental leave policy in the country to shift the full cost to businesses, and it is the first to ensure parents receive 100% of their income for 12 weeks. The 14 Democratic-led states that already have policies in place pay between 50 and 90 percent of a parent’s income while on leave. Allegheny County’s maximum weekly payment of $4,200 is more than twice as generous as any existing state policy.

Councilwoman Pat Catena said the council should wait for Harrisburg to act because the policy could increase child care and health care costs, which families would end up paying. “The very families we intend to help may end up paying the price,” Catena said. “Our responsibility is not to pass laws but to adopt policies that work in practice and protect our local economy. »

Paul Klein, chairman of the council’s health committee, said the county can’t wait for federal or state action. “In Allegheny County, we decided this was a moral imperative,” he said. “If we don’t do it, who will? And if not now, when?”

The policy applies to both biological parents and their spouses, parents who adopt, and parents who experience a stillbirth. One speaker held up a photo of her baby who died in the hospital, one of many heartbreaking stories that Councilman John Palmiere said helped persuade him to support the bill. One of Palmière’s grandchildren died in his crib.

“Tonight really hit me,” Palmiere said. “I had doubts about some of these questions and this order. … You know what: so what?”

Palmière voted yes. After three hours of comments and discussion, the final vote was 11 for and four against, followed by a standing ovation in the courthouse’s Gold Room.

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, a business advocacy organization, quickly issued a statement saying the mandate “weakens our region’s ability to attract investment, retain talent and create jobs” and “creates an anti-competitive environment that places our employers at a distinct disadvantage compared to neighboring counties and regional peers.”

Several council members said they knew there were problems with the legislation as written and that the county would have to adapt as problems became apparent. “As we move into the implementation phase, unexpected issues will arise,” said Councilor Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling. “We’ll take care of it.”

Oliver Morrison is the health and environment reporter at Public Source in Pittsburgh and can be reached at oliver@publicsource.org.

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