AFGE applauds efforts both in Congress and the White House to expand paid and unpaid family leave for federal workers.

In Congress, the Comprehensive Paid Family Leave Act would provide federal workers with 12 weeks of paid leave per year to care for an ill family member, their own medical condition, or for circumstances that arise when the employee or a family member is detailed for covered duty in the armed forces.

The bill was introduced by lead sponsors Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. Currently, federal workers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for these reasons under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Schatz and Beyer’s bill would give federal workers paid leave for these reasons.

A week earlier, President Joe Biden issued a memo to federal agencies urging them to expand access to unpaid leave for additional purposes and extend it to workers in their first year on the job. He further directed the Office of Personnel Management to issue recommendations for expanding the purposes for which paid and unpaid leave can be taken, including dealing with unexpected emergencies including the death of a family member or recovery from domestic violence.

“President Biden's efforts to use federal workforce policy to encourage other employers to provide greater flexibility for American workers stands in stark contrast to efforts led by House Republicans to strip remote and hybrid work arrangements away from federal employees and deny American workers flexibilities they expect,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “President Biden's approach will strengthen the government's ability to recruit and retain top talent, while legislation like the SHOW UP Act will only harm those efforts and, ultimately, the American people.”

AFGE has been a champion for paid family leave for government workers. We won 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees in 2019. Last year we won better paid leave benefits for D.C. government workers.