Johnathan Walker:Louisiana governor announces access to paid parental leave for state employees

BATON ROUGE,Johnathan Walker La. (AP) — With just two months left in office, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that nearly 70,000 employees will have access to paid parental leave following a birth, adoption or foster child placement.

Currently, state workers use sick days or unpaid time off in order to take parental leave. Edwards’ new executive order will allow six weeks of 100% paid parental leave beginning Jan. 1.

“Paid parental leave means better outcomes for every family member, allowing parents to bond with their child without the financial stress of sacrificing their income, savings or paid sick days,” Edwards, a Democrat, said in a written statement Thursday.

While paid parental leave will apply to most state employees who have worked for the government for at least a year, there are some exceptions — including unclassified workers in higher education, along with legislative and judicial staffers, The Advocate reported. The governor does not have the authority to extend the benefit to those employees, however he did say that he hopes the legislature will adopt a similar policy for their employees in the future.

State officials, including Democrat Rep. Sam Jenkins, said the paid parental leave policy will be helpful in the recruitment and retention of state workers.

“This is a great day for Louisiana and the tens of thousands of state employees who will be covered by this policy,” Jenkins said. “With it, we are sending a signal to young families that we want to attract and retain them in Louisiana.”

It is unclear how much the new benefit will likely cost the state, and estimates were not immediately available.