Superior to offer paid parental leave for city employees
May 9—SUPERIOR — New moms and dads working for the city will have a new benefit: six weeks of paid parental leave.
The new policy adopted by the Superior City Council on Tuesday, May 7, would provide up to six weeks of paid leave within the first eight weeks of giving birth or adopting or fostering a child. Full-time employees are eligible for the benefit if they are eligible for the Family and Medical Leave Act and they've completed their probationary period.
Only one six-week leave would be permitted in a calendar year.
Part-time, temporary and seasonal employees are excluded from eligibility.
Councilor Jenny Van Sickle worked with police officers, firefighters, city employees, the human resource director and other entities to develop the policy over eight months
before it was presented to the Human Resources Committee in April. The committee recommended the council adopt the policy.
"I just want to thank the employees of the city," Van Sickle said. "I've never done a policy like this before where it was built so internally. So that was a new experience."
Councilor Jack Sweeney said he had questions about including foster children because he believes foster parents are paid.
The money paid to foster parents isn't intended to be income; it is to cover expenses for the child, Councilor Garner Moffat said.
Foster children are included in the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which is why they were included in the city's policy, said Cammi Janigo, human resources director.
"If there was an emergency placement ... that would not apply," Van Sickle said. She said the policy requires an application to human resources in advance of the leave to ensure the department can accommodate the leave.
A motion to amend the policy to exclude foster children failed.
"Specifically, I would like to highlight that the birthing parent is still allowed six weeks of leave after still birth for pregnancy loss," Councilor Mark Johnson said. "That is very important."
