Legislation to affect people with Boston jobs

Posted on May 22, 2015

The city has just enacted new legislation that will affect Boston jobs.

A new ordinance establishes paid parental leave for City of Boston employees, Boston’s first-ever Paid Parental Leave policy.

The Paid Parental Leave policy that features:
•Up to 6 weeks of Paid Parental Leave to be taken by day or week any time during the first year after the birth or adoption of the child or children.

•Applies to all exempt employees, both male and female, who have worked for the City for a minimum of one year, including same-sex couples, and employees covered by collective bargaining agreements whose agreements explicitly provide for this benefit.

•Applies for each instance of eligible employees’ birth of newborns,adoption, surrogacy or other methods, and stillbirths.

•Cannot be added to periods of unpaid, job-protected leave and, therefore, runs concurrently.

Previous parental leave policies, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and Massachusetts Parental Leave Act, have focused on protecting parents’ jobs during unpaid leave. The lack of income during periods of parental leave is a factor in the wage gap experienced by many women, and forces employees to return to work sooner than their particular family may really need with their newborn or newly adopted child.

“I would like to thank the Council for working with the Administration to pass this important step forward for working families,” said Mayor Walsh. “This is not only the right thing to do but it is important to the vitality and economy of our city. The benefits of this policy to both individuals and organization are a win-win and it is my hope that businesses will follow our lead and extend this benefit to their employees.”