Allegheny County becomes first US county to mandate paid parental leave

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 22 Oct, 18:33 · Archive

Allegheny County has become the first county in the United States to mandate 12 weeks of paid parental leave for employers with 15 or more employees.

Allegheny County has become the first county in the nation to mandate 12 weeks of paid parental leave, following an 11-4 vote by county council. The policy was proposed by County Executive Sara Innamorato in May. The requirement applies to employers with 15 or more employees and covers leave following the birth, adoption, foster placement or stillbirth of a child. The mandate applies not only to county-based businesses but also to companies headquartered elsewhere that have employees working within the county.

The 15-employee threshold was created to exempt smaller businesses that argued they could not afford the benefit. However, concerns have been raised that businesses operating just above that threshold could reduce their workforce to avoid complying with the law.

Supporters view the legislation as supporting working families and improving health outcomes for new mothers and infants. However, critics have questioned whether the county-level mandate could put local employers at a competitive disadvantage. A survey found that a third of nearly 400 businesses said the policy would force them to move or relocate operations out of the county. Pennsylvania has no statewide paid parental leave requirement for private employers, meaning businesses in neighbouring counties are not subject to the mandate.

Businesses have 12 months to implement the policy. The debate over the measure raised questions about whether concerns over potential job discrimination against women were overstated, given that the policy applies to parental leave rather than maternity leave alone.

How it is being reported

• Pa. county approves landmark parental leave policy despite pushback from businessesA third of nearly 400 businesses recently surveyed said the policy would force them to move existing or future operations out of the county.PennLive · 22 Oct, 18:00
• Editorial: What’s next for paid parental leave?Allegheny County Council made history Tuesday.TribLIVE · 22 Oct, 11:01
• Paid parental leave mandate reshapes the landscape for Allegheny County businessesAllegheny County made history this week by becoming the first county in the nation to mandate 12 weeks of paid parental leave without a statewide requirement, raising questions about the impact on local businesses and the challenges of imposing rules that neighboring jurisdictions don’t share.TribLIVE · 21 Oct, 22:27

In this story: Allegheny County · Sara Innamorato · Pennsylvania · Allegheny County Council · Allegheny County Health Department

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