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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Announces Paid Parental Leave Policy For Staff


Earlier this month, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted out a new paid parental leave policy she was implementing for her staff.  According to her tweets, every new parent on her staff will receive three months of paid leave. According to the policy, the twelve weeks of paid leave do not need to be taken all at once.  In fact, Representative Ocasio-Cortez indicated it was at the discretion of the worker on how to use the paid leave time.  (For those wondering, the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") requires public agencies to offer employees twelve weeks of unpaid leave.  As for each member of Congress, it is up to them to determine how much paid time to offer.  Needless to say, Representative Ocasio-Cortez's policy is quite generous, when viewed in the scope of what is specifically required under the FMLA.)

Interestingly, she made a specific point of mentioning that the paid leave applies to both mothers and fathers, whether it be to care for a biological or adopted child.  In doing so, Representative Ocasio-Cortez pointed out that it was imperative to extend this paid parental leave policy to both new mothers and fathers, as the failure to do so would perpetuate the pay gap among genders.

As well, the paid parental leave policy includes the option for parents to bring their children to work.  I have made note previously of taking steps to implement a policy if children are allowed in the workplace.  While some workplaces might be conducive to having young ones running around, this might not apply in all scenarios.


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