State employees would get eight weeks of paid maternity leave under a bill that passed the House unanimously Thursday. It now advances to the Senate.
Currently, government employees in Mississippi must forgo pay if they decide to take time off after the birth or adoption of a child.
House Bill 1063, authored by Rep. Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi, would also give two weeks of paid leave to the child’s father or secondary caregiver. The law would apply to birth, as well as adoption. It would not apply to public school teachers.
“What we’re hoping to do is raise the bar and say ‘Look what we’re doing, everybody else get on board,” Felsher said. “… If you’re looking for benefits behind it, besides being healthy for the family and good for the mom and dad, it sounds like it could be a good recruitment and retention tool for state employees at a time where they’re hard to keep. The state doesn’t pay as much (as the private sector).”
Speaker of the House Jason White also said the legislation is part of the state’s commitment to supporting families in the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to abortion.
“As a pro-life state, Mississippi is in a critical position to meet the needs for healthier outcomes for parents and children and to support families in our state’s workplace,” White said in a statement. “With our fellow southern states offering some form of parental leave, and Mississippi currently offering no paid parental leave to their state employees, we too can reflect our commitment to the well-being of families, as well as utilize this benefit as an employee recruitment and retention tool.”
White also said the legislation sets a good example for the private sector to follow suit.
The policy has garnered broad support this year, across party lines and chambers – with a similar bill introduced by Sen. Jeremy England, R-Ocean Springs.
State leaders such as Attorney General Lynn Fitch have also publicly endorsed the policy.
“Mississippi is one of only twelve states that does not provide paid parental leave for state employees, and I am encouraged to see the Legislature taking steps to enact it this year,” Fitch told Mississippi Today.
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