WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Wednesday it will offer employees parental paid leave starting in 2020.
All FDIC personnel will qualify for up to six weeks of paid leave following the birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child in their home, the agency said.
The move makes the FDIC one of the first federal agencies to offer its employees parental paid leave, which was a benefit available to about 17% of the nation’s workforce as of 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We are proud to provide this important benefit to our employees to ease some of the burden and worry that new parents face,” said FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams in a press release. “We recognize that many of our employees spend much of their time on the road and away from their family, and it is important that they feel supported.”
Currently, there is no requirement for federal employees to receive paid family leave from their employers. However, the topic has come up on Capitol Hill in recent months. Over the summer, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., introduced a bill that would guarantee new parents employed by the government 12 weeks of paid time off.
The Trump administration has also referenced support for such a move in its budget proposals over the last three years, but with few specifics.
The FDIC'S introduction of parental paid leave was the result of an agreement between the agency and the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents the FDIC’s workforce. In a statement, NTEU President Tony Reardon said the union “recommended the paid parental leave during negotiations and FDIC management agreed it was a smart, family-friendly program that would benefit the agency and the taxpayers.”
