Drafter
Clerk 11/15/2016
Title
AN ORDINANCE establishing a paid parental leave program for employees eligible for leave benefits, including annual reports; amending Ordinance 12014, Section 5, as amended, and K.C.C. 3.12.010 and adding a new section to K.C.C. chapter 3.12.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Under federal and state law, eligible employees are entitled to take up to twelve weeks of leave for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child. During that period, employees' jobs are protected, and they continue to receive employer paid health benefits; however, there is no requirement that employees be paid during the leave.
2. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not mandate paid parental leave.
3. Paid maternity leave can increase breastfeeding rates and duration, reduce the risk of infant mortality and increase the likelihood of infants receiving well-baby care and vaccinations.
4. Fathers who take time off from work around childbirth are likely to spend more time with their children in the months following their children's birth, which could reduce stress on the family and contribute to father-infant bonding.
5. A 2012 U.S. Department of Labor survey found that the number of employees who reported needing leave, but not using it, had doubled since 2000. The most-common reasons for not using leave were inability to afford an unpaid leave and fear of losing one's job. Those who did not take needed leave were disproportionately women, nonwhite, unmarried, and earning less than $35,000 per year.
6. The King County women's advisory board has issued a report, Improving Wage Equity and Promoting Family Friendly Workplace Policies throughout King County, that recommends that King County offer paid parental leave to its employees.
7. Providing paid parental leave may help attract and retain employees and may reduce employee turnover, which has been estimated to cost twenty-one percent of an employee's ann...

Click here for full text