City Councilor Michelle Wu gave birth to her first child in December. On Monday, Wu, along with City Councilors Tim McCarthy, a father of two boys, and Tito Jackson filed an ordinance that would require the city to offer six weeks of paid leave to mothers and fathers.
“The actions taken by the City of Boston should reflect the values of our community and our residents,” Wu said in a statement. “As a new working mom, I am especially proud to partner with Mayor Walsh and my colleagues to ensure that Boston continues to lead on access to economic opportunity for working families.”
Mayor Marty Walsh fully supports the ordinance, which, unlike the state law, would not require parents working for the same employer to share the permitted amount of time off. Instead, Boston would allow parents who are both city employees to take individual leave—concurrently or in any combination.
“As a father of two, the bonding period between parents and a newborn is so important, and so is the bonding and support needed to strengthen the parents’ relationship during a happy but stressful time,” Councilor McCarthy said in a statement. “This is the right ordinance for Boston and its families.”
Councilor Jackson said he hopes this ordinance will become “a model for both the private and public sectors to empower families.” He added: “Both men and women have important roles in the workforce and at home. This legislation will especially ease undue burden on working class families.”
For the first two weeks of a parent’s parental leave, she or he would receive full salary compensation. During the third and fourth weeks of leave, the parents’ compensation would be reduced to 75 percent, then to 50 percent for weeks five and six.
Mayor Walsh, who collaborated with the city council on this policy, said in a statement:
When we work together, there aren’t many limitations on what we can do to make improvements in local government. It is important for parents to be engaged in a child’s early life. I am thankful that City Councilors are supportive of this initiative, to grant parents who devote their lives to public service the hard-earned support they deserve. My office is proud to support and introduce policies that advance both men and women in the workplace and all aspects of city life. It is my hope that businesses will consider taking the same action steps to ensure families are thriving and healthy.
The United States is one of only three countries in the world without a law requiring employers to fund parental pay. The other two countries: Oman and Papua New Guinea.
Councilors Wu, McCarthy, and Jackson will introduce the ordinance to the City Council at Wednesday meeting.
“This ordinance will help alleviate some pressure on working parents who have to make tough choices every day to do the best they can for their families,” Wu’s statement said. “Access to parental leave will be good for the City, for parents, and most of all, for children.”
