Delaware Legislature approves 12-week paid family leave for state workers

State workers scored a victory Wednesday when the Delaware General Assembly approved a bill granting them 12-weeks of paid family leave.

The Senate voted 16 to 4 to provide what remains a relatively rare benefit in the United States. The House passed the bill earlier this month.

The measure now heads to Gov. John Carney, who opened the year by pledging his support for the bill. He and his wife Tracey also recently penned a column on the subject for Mother's Day.

Carney on Tuesday said women will make up a large portion of the state's new hires as a large portion of the state's workforce reaches retirement age.

"This benefit will be great for those women, great for us in terms of attracting them and great for the babies and children as well," he said. "It's the right thing to do for families, it's the right thing to do for the women who work for the state of Delaware and it's the right thing to do for our state."

The passage of House Bill 3 also was cheered by the Delaware State Education Association, the largest union that represents state workers.

"We shouldn’t be forcing people to choose between taking care of a new child and being able to put food on the table or paying the bills” said DSEA President Mike Matthews. “And, not only does this legislation support new parents, but it also helps in the recruitment and retention of educators and state workers.”  

First proposed by Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte, in 2015, the bill will allow state workers employed for at least a year to take up to three months of paid maternity or paternity leave within a year of their child's birth. Parents who adopt a child ages 6 and younger also will be eligible.

"It was three years of hard work and really a group effort," Heffernan said. "I think it's a fantastic benefit for all state workers."

The Office of Comptroller General estimates about 1,000 state workers — including public, charter and vo-tech school employees — will take advantage of the paid leave offered by the bill each year.

The total cost to the state is estimated at about $4 million per year. School district's also will have to spend a combined $1.26 million per year on substitute teachers, the comptroller reported.

That cost raised concerns among some lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Gary Simpson, R-Milford.

"I fully appreciate the social aspects of this bill," he said. "But I think this body is asked to look a little deep into whether it is fiscally sound and I've got to say this is probably the most fiscally irresponsible bill that I've seen in my 20 years in the Senate."

He also questioned whether the bill might contribute to a serious staffing shortage in the Department of Correction, while the executive director of the Delaware Association of School Administrators said she fears the legislation will add to a long-standing shortage among substitute teachers.

Simpson was joined by three other Republicans in opposing the bill, including Sens. Gerald Hocker of Ocean View, Dave Lawson of Marydel and Brian Pettyjohn of Georgetown.

With the bill's passage, Delaware becomes the sixth state, along with Washington D.C. to offer some form of paid family leave to public sector workers.

The federal Family Medical Leave Act allows state — and most private employees — to take 12 weeks of leave to care for a newborn. But the law does not require employers to pay those workers during that time.

Heffernan's legislation does not impact private businesses in Delaware, although some major employers here already offer paid family leave, including JPMorgan Chase, Sallie Mae, Barclays and Amazon.

Only three states — California, New Jersey and Rhode Island — and the District of Columbia require private employers to provide paid family leave, including time off to care for sick family members.

Massachusetts lawmakers approved legislation Tuesday that would allow all workers to take up to 12 weeks paid family leave and 20 weeks of medical leave.

The Delaware Senate on Tuesday also passed the first — and by far the largest — of several pieces in the state budget puzzle.

The $4.27 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2019 — 4 percent more than the current year — cleared the chamber with only Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover, casting a vote of opposition.

The bill, which includes the core of the state's spending plan for the coming year, now heads to the House for final approval.

The General Assembly has yet to consider a supplemental budget bill that includes bonuses for state workers that would bring to total spending growth to 5.2 percent. A bond bill that includes funding for capital projects and a Grant-in-Aid bill that provides taxpayer dollars to a more than 100 nonprofits have yet to be introduced.

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Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.