Emanuel Announces Maternity Leave Policy for City Workers

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 7, 2011 6:43PM

Mayor Emanuel announced the city's first maternity leave policy for non-represented employees today. The announcement is intended to Chicago in line with standards from the private and public sectors.

Emanuel said in a press release announcing the policy, “Implementing the City’s first maternity leave policy and reforming our vacation leave policies brings our City government into the 21st century, while increasing efficiency and reducing costs to the people of Chicago."

Emanuel also said he's willing to take the hit on giving women who work for the city paid maternity leave while facing a major budget deficit.

“I don’t think we can afford not to … I can say this as a father, but also as the son of a pediatrician, it’s also the right policy for the children. It’s a win-win.”

Under the new policy, female city employees would get four to six weeks of paid maternity leave, parents who adopt a child will get two weeks of paid leave and partners or spouses of women who give birth will receive one week's maternity leave. Women represented by unions who have contracts with the city will have to wait until their new union contracts are negotiated for the police to take effect.