The Alabama House voted overwhelmingly to adopt a bill March 20 granting paid parental leave to state employees and teachers, sending the bill to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for final approval. The bill is expected to reach Ivey’s desk during the first week of April when lawmakers return to Montgomery after the current legislative spring break.
“This day has really touched my heart,” said Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, after the bill’s passage through both houses. Figures had sponsored the bill in the Senate, and Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, sponsored the House version. The bill passed the Senate on March 6.
Under the bill, mothers would be granted eight weeks after the birth of a child, and fathers, two weeks. Teachers and state employees would receive 100% of their base pay while on leave, with the benefit extending to parents adopting a child less than three years old.
Figures unsuccessfully pushed last year a bill that would have granted parental leave for teachers, and Shaver, a bill that would grant parental leave for state employees. Both bills managed to pass out of the House, but were held up in the Senate on the last day of the 2024 legislative session.
The two lawmakers continued their efforts to expand parental leave for teachers and state employees, and ultimately, decided to combine their bills into one.
The bill is also a priority of Gov. Kay Ivey, who mentioned it in her state of the state address last month.
Paid parental leave begins July 1
“Alabama teachers and state workers will be able to have paid parental leave beginning July 1,” Ivey stated March 20. “Thank you to Rep. Ginny Shaver and Sen. Vivian Figures for carrying this important legislation. I look forward to receiving the bill and getting my signature on it.”
When introduced on the House floor, the bill saw a number of lawmakers champion the effort, including Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, who recounted his own challenges as a single father, having lost his wife to cancer.
Concerns voiced
Two lawmakers, however, voiced concerns over the proposal, including Rep. Jim Carns, R-Birmingham, who suggested that the existing catastrophic sick leave available to state employees and teachers — a form of leave that allows state employees and teachers to receive donated leave from co-workers in extreme circumstances — was adequate enough.
“I think anybody that’s seen me down here knows that I’m pro-family; I’m also for making sure that our tax dollars are used properly,” Carns said. “There is a runway right now for days to be used (in) situations such as this.”
Shaver noted that catastrophic sick leave was unpaid, and argued that the bill was also consistent with Alabama Republicans’ pro-life values.
“We say we’re pro-life, but people say we don’t care about them after they’re born,” she said. “This is showing that we do because we are giving the mothers and the fathers time to properly bond with those babies, and so it’s a very pro-family bill. We want to support families.”
Another lawmaker that took issue with the bill was Rep. Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont, who said he had received calls from business owners opposed to the bill.
“I know it’s an emotional issue, but I’ve had calls from employers saying ‘Why are you voting to give government employees two months of paid leave when I can’t afford that for my employees?’” Harrison said.
“So I appreciate the intent to help families, but that’s where families come into play, that we help our children. I think it’s unfair to employers in the private sector to be competing in giving benefits that typically, they can’t afford to pay.”
‘Helps to support families’
The bill ultimately passed with a vote of 94–2 — both Carns and Harrison voting against — and two abstentions from Reps. Arnold Mooney, R-Birmingham, and Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity.
“Very happy today, very happy to finally get this bill across the line,” Shaver told members of the press after the bill’s passage.
“We came so close last year and it was quite a let down, but we kept working at it and had even more support this year, and I think the impact will be seen in future years, how it helps to support families and enable them to properly bond with their children and have that time at home.”
A fiscal note attached to the bill did not estimate the total cost but projected financial impact for employers. State agencies would lose savings from unpaid leave, amounting to $8,600 per employee using eight weeks and $2,100 for two weeks.
Local school boards could face costs of $4,800 and $1,200 per employee for eight and two weeks, respectively.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alexander Willis and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
Share with others: