Alabama lawmakers approve paid parental leave for state employees

 1665997698 
1742502269

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Thursday approved a bipartisan bill that would make teachers and state employees eligible for paid parental leave.

The Republican dominated House of Representatives voted 94-2 to pass legislation that would offer up to eight weeks of maternity leave and two weeks of paternity leave after the birth, stillbirth or miscarriage of a child. The legislation now goes to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who endorsed the legislation in her annual state of the state speech in February.

Sen. Vivian Figures, who co-sponsored the bill, said it would give mothers time to heal after pregnancy, improve education and help the state “recruit the personnel we need and be able to retain them.”

Alabama is one of just over a dozen states that does not offer paid parental leave to state employees, according to A Better Balance, the non-profit organization that advocates for paid family leave. Alabama state employees currently use sick leave and unpaid time off if they wish to stay home after a child’s birth or adoption.

Alabama had just under 29,000 state employees in 2023, according to the latest available data from the Alabama Personnel Department. Around 57,000 public school staff and over 50,000 public university staff also would be eligible for paid leave if the law is signed, according to the Alabama Department of Education and the University of Alabama.

Paid leave laws for private sector workers vary nationally. At least thirteen states have state-funded programs that mandate paid family and medical leave, funded by payroll taxes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Alabama and seven other states, employers in the private sector have the option of purchasing paid leave plans through private insurers.

The bill drew support from Republican and Democratic legislators alike.

“We say we’re pro-life, and people say we don’t care about them after they’re born, and this is showing that we do,” Republican Rep. Ginny Shaver, one of the bill’s sponsors, said on the house floor.

 

U.S. commander overseeing attacks against alleged drug boats off Venezuela to retire

The news of Adm. Alvin Holsey's upcoming retirement comes two days after the U.S. military's fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean against a small boat accused of carrying drugs.

Ace Frehley, lead guitarist in Kiss, dies at 74

The co-founding member of the band was known as the Spaceman and had a hit single of his own in "New York Groove."

In Pictures: Remembering Susan Stamberg, one of NPR’s Founding Mothers

Susan Stamberg joined NPR at its start, originally to cut tape — literal tape, with a single-sided blade — at a time when commercial networks almost never hired women.

Ex-national security adviser John Bolton indicted in classified documents case

The charges come two months after the FBI executed a search warrant at Bolton's suburban Washington home.

Adelita Grijalva can force a vote on the Epstein files, but she’s still not sworn in

The Arizona Democrat would be the decisive signature on a petition to force a vote on releasing the records. But Speaker Mike Johnson says he will not swear her in until after the shutdown is over.

NPR ‘founding mother’ Susan Stamberg has died

Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died.

More 2025 Legislative Session Coverage