Nurses Lead Push for Nation’s First Countywide Paid Parental Leave Policy

In a campaign launched on Mother’s Day, nurses from UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh partnered with parents, advocates and elected officials to draft a paid-leave proposal for Allegheny County. On Tuesday night the County Council voted 11-4 to adopt a 12-week paid parental leave ordinance, the first county-level policy of its kind in the United States. The measure grants three months of paid leave within the first year of childbirth, adoption, foster placement or stillbirth, preserving jobs and health benefits.

To qualify, workers must be full-time for six months or part-time with at least 625 logged hours, and businesses with 15 or more employees must provide the benefit. Supporters cited rising severe maternal morbidity and racial disparities as urgent reasons for the law. The initiative is viewed as a potential catalyst for statewide and federal paid-leave legislation, which already enjoys broad public support.