Allegheny County Council passes parental leave mandate in 11-4 vote

Many employees in Allegheny County will soon be eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after council this evening passed the first policy of its kind in the country.

The policy will go into effect one year after County Executive Sara Innamorato signs the bill. The bill advanced Tuesday follows six months of disagreement largely between business groups on one side and healthcare workers and parents on the other. The vast majority of the dozens of additional speakers who showed up Tuesday to comment spoke in favor of the measure, oftentimes describing the challenges of parenting in wrenching detail.

Businesses with 15 or more employees will be required to offer the leave. The employee count requirement was added as a concession to small businesses — and the length of the leave was shortened from 18 weeks — after the county received more than 1,400 public comments.

Still, the new policy marks a major victory for Innamorato, who advocated for its passage while sharing her own experience of pregnancy. In the weeks before the final vote, Innamorato held several public events with supporters, while business groups released a survey last week showing that more than 400 businesses oppose the new policy.

“By passing the first county-level paid parental leave policy in the country, we’re showing that we’re serious about protecting workers and their families at one of the most economically and medically vulnerable times in their lives,” Innamorato said in a statement.

It is the first paid parental leave policy in the country passed as a public health measure. Political experts told Public Source that the policy could be emulated by cities and counties in purple and red states that don’t have their own policies at the state level.

Lucy Rose Ruccio, holding her six-week-old baby, urged the council to “seize this historic moment” and vote for a policy that would “reverberate for years to come.”

It is only the second parental leave policy in the country to put the entire cost burden on businesses, and it’s the first to ensure that parents receive 100% of their incomes for 12 weeks. The 14 Democratic-led states that already have policies pay between 50% and 90% of a parent’s income while on leave. Allegheny County’s maximum weekly payout of $4,200 is more than twice as generous as any existing state policy.

Councilor Pat Catena said the council should wait for Harrisburg to act because the policy could drive up costs for childcare and healthcare, which families would end up paying. “The very families we intend to help could end up paying the price,” Catena said. “Our responsibility is not to pass legislation but to adopt policies that work in practice and protect our local economy.”

Paul Klein, the chair of the council’s health committee, said the county couldn’t wait for federal or state action. “In Allegheny County we have decided that it is a moral imperative,” he said. “If we don’t do this, who will? And if not now, when?”

The policy applies to both birthing parents and their spouses, to parents who adopt and to parents who experience a stillbirth. One speaker held up a picture of her infant who died in the hospital, one of several wrenching stories that Councilor John Palmiere said helped persuade him to support the bill. One of Palmiere’s grandchildren died in his crib.

“Tonight really really hit home for me,” Palmiere said. “I’ve had my doubts about some of these issues and this ordinance. … You know what: So what?”

Palmiere voted yes. After three hours of comments and discussion, the final vote was 11 in favor and four opposed, followed by a standing ovation in the courthouse’s Gold Room.

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, a business advocacy organization, promptly issued a statement saying the mandate “weakens our region’s ability to attract investments, retain talent, and grow jobs” and “creates an anti-competitive environment that places our employers at a distinct disadvantage compared to neighboring counties and regional peers.”

Several council members said they knew there were problems with the legislation as written and that the county would have to adjust as problems became apparent. “As we move into the implementation phase, there will be issues that arise that are unexpected,” said councilor Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling. “We will deal with them.”

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This story was originally published by Pittsburgh’s Public Source and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.