Buttigieg Proposing Paid Parental Leave
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSouth Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is looking to provide paid parental leave for city employees beginning in the next fiscal year. The proposal was included in the city’s budget presentation this week to the South Bend Common Council.
Under the policy, the city would provide employees with six weeks of 100 percent paid parental leave. The mayor’s office says that time could be taken continuously or in weekly increments over a six month period after the birth or adoption of an employee’s child.
Buttigieg says the policy aims to give new parents additional flexibility to adjust to their new family situation.
"The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not mandate leave for new parents. Rather than wait for national policy to improve, we can lead by example. We believe the whole community will be better off when City employees can benefit from these family-friendly policies," said Buttigieg. "We hope other employers in the area consider offering similar plans to their employees."
The city says the policy would be subject to approval of the administration’s 2018 budget by the South Bend Common Council.