Skip to main content

San Diego Weighs Tripling Paid Parental Leave For City Employees


Earlier this month, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo submitted a proposal to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria in which it has been proposed that city employees would get twelve weeks of paid parental leave (or fourteen weeks if there was a complication during delivery.)

This proposal, which would dramatically increase the amount of paid parental leave currently offered to city employees (four weeks as of this writing), seeks to put San Diego city employees in a class of their own.  Notably, California has a state law in place which offers new parents six weeks of partially paid leave and another six weeks of unpaid leave.

Of course, many readers are likely wondering what this twelve weeks of paid parental leave would end up costing.  That is where things might get tricky.  Currently, San Diego’s paid leave program costs the city $1.5 million/year.  Campillo’s proposal would hike that cost to $5 - $6 million/year.  However, Campillo has suggested that offering twelve weeks of paid leave would decrease staff turnover and overtime (thus helping the city recoup some of the additional cost.)

Now to get approved, Mayor Gloria can approve it without the City Council needing to get involved.  However, that would involve Mayor Gloria needing to negotiate with city unions on the proposed twelve weeks of paid leave and the City Council ultimately having to vote on and approve any new labor agreements.  

While this proposal is far from the finish line, it is worth keeping an eye on in the weeks and months ahead.


For additional information:  https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2022/10/24/san-diego-councilman-proposes-generous-parental-leave-city-employees

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations