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Current Event Policy Analysis:

FSU's New Staff Paid Parental Leave Policy

Sabrina H. Smith

Askew School of Public Administration

PAD 5035: Policy Development and Administration

Dr. Daniel Fay

July 28, 2021

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2019 Fact Sheet, only 25% of

state and local government employees have access to paid family leave through their employers.

This percentage is low compared to other countries such as Estonia, the leading country for paid

parental leave with 84 total weeks available (OECD, 2021). However, in 1988 the United States

BLS reported only 2% of full-time workers had access to paid maternity leave (BLS, 2019). The

pressure for companies to provide more comprehensive employment benefits attributes to this

upward trend in access to paid parental leave. In addition, workplace culture has shifted over

time to be more employee-centered, influenced by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

written into law in 1993.

Over the last two decades, companies have slowly modified their benefits packages to

try and improve employee retention rates and increase job satisfaction. To stay competitive in

recruiting and retaining highly accomplished scholars, Florida State University updated its

employment benefits package on July 1, 2006, including paid parental leave (PPL) for faculty

members – a huge step to creating a competitive benefits package for faculty. According to Rupp

and Zeager (2018), there is reason to believe that paid parental leave positively influences female

faculty retention, which is ultimately cost-saving. Because universities are constantly looking for

ways to be efficient and cost-effective, this policy is for the betterment of the overall university.

The paid leave policy, while excellent for faculty, does not currently apply to staff

members. Their only option is the 6-week unpaid leave, which FMLA requires employers to

provide. If the staff member wants to receive pay during their time off, they would have to use

accrued sick or vacation days. Florida State fully complies with the law, as the FMLA does not

require payment during their FMLA leave. However, starting on August 1, 2021, Florida State
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will begin offering a 6-week paid parental leave package to staff members, to only be used once

during their employment.

A significant difference between the policies is the requirement for the staff member to

return to work for a minimum of 6 months – for those who do not will be held responsible for the

6-week paid parental leave. Another item of note is the new option for two staff employees to

request paid leave for one birth – although it cannot exceed the 6-week total. There is increased

research showing the positive effects of paternal paid leave on infant-father bonding (Schaber,

2021) and the increased acceptance of same-sex couples receiving equal benefits as their

different-sex couple counterparts (Lim, 2019; Holman, 2018).

This new policy should provide employees with more confidence in their employer to

provide benefits and increase job satisfaction. While there are many perceived benefits to

providing PPL, studies have shown that there are research-proven benefits to mothers, such as

maternal mental health improvement (Aitken, 2015; Avendano, 2015; Chatterji, 2012) and a

decrease in infant mortality rate (Ruhm, 2000; Tanaka, 2005). There is also research on

preventing domestic violence through providing PPL (D'Inverno, 2018), improvement to labor

markets (Stock, 2021), and female success in the workplace (Hoey, 2014). Providing a

comprehensive policy has lasting effects on employees beyond the workplace, which can help

create more fair and equal opportunities.

A suggestion to university leadership would be to increase training for supervisors about

the policy, how to apply, and basic information that employees may ask. Research has shown the

importance of supervisor support in supporting work/life arrangements surrounding parental paid

leave (Kossek, 2011; Richardson, 2019). Another suggestion would be to consider offering a

parental paid leave policy program to Graduate Assistants. Many Ph.D. students are under an
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assistantship, and while they work for the university, they do not have access to the same faculty

and staff policies. While slow-moving, we see a shift in universities providing this benefit, as

seen at Colorado State University, Dartmouth, and Stanford, which all provide paid parental

leave to graduate assistants. Florida State can lead the nation in providing comprehensive

benefits for all employees.

References
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Aitken, Z., Garrett, C. C., Hewitt, B., Keogh, L., Hocking, J. S., & Kavanagh, A. M. (2015). The
maternal health outcomes of paid maternity leave: A systematic review. Social Science &
Medicine, 130, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.001

Avendano, M., Berkman, L., Brugiavini, A., & Pasini, G. (2014). The long-run effect of
maternity leave benefits on mental health: Evidence from European countries. SSRN
Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2436913

Chatterji, P., & Markowitz, S. (2008). Family leave after childbirth and the health of new
mothers. https://doi.org/10.3386/w14156

D'Inverno, A. S., Reidy, D. E., & Kearns, M. C. (2018). Preventing intimate partner violence
through paid parental leave policies. Preventive Medicine, 114, 18–23.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.05.024

Hoey, A. (2014). Do pay parental leave policies increase female success in the workplace?
( (thesis).

Holman, E. G., Fish, J. N., Oswald, R. F., & Goldberg, A. (2018). Reconsidering the LGBT
Climate Inventory: Understanding support and hostility for LGBTQ employees in the
workplace. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(3), 544–559.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072718788324

KOSSEK, E. L. L. E. N. E. R. N. S. T., PICHLER, S. H. A. U. N., BODNER, T. O. D. D., &

HAMMER, L. E. S. L. I. E. B. (2011). WORKPLACE social support And WORK-
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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01211.x

Lim, F., Jones, P. A., & Paguirigan, M. (2019). A guide to fostering an LGBTQ-inclusive
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Oecd. (n.d.). Employment: Length of maternity leave, parental leave, and paid father-specific
leave. https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54760.

Richardson, D. M., Steeves-Reece, A., Martin, A., Hurtado, D. A., Dumet, L. M., & Goodman, J.
M. (2019). Employee experiences with a newly adopted paid parental leave policy: Equity
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Ruhm, C. (2000). Parental leave and child health. Journal of Health Economics, 6(931).
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Rupp, N. G., & Zeager, L. A. (2017). Paid parental leave and female faculty retention. Eastern
Economic Journal, 44(3), 475–488. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-017-0099-9
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Schaber, R., Kopp, M., Zähringer, A., Mack, J. T., Kress, V., & Garthus-Niegel, S. (2021).
Paternal leave and father-infant bonding: Findings from the population-based cohort study
dream. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.668028

Stock, W. A., & Inglis, M. (2021). The longer‐term labor market impacts of paid parental leave.
Growth and Change, 52(2), 838–884. https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12486

Tanaka, S. (2005). Parental leave and child health across OECD countries. The Economic
Journal, 115(501). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0013-0133.2005.00970.x

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019, February 26). Fact sheet: Family leaves benefits in the
United States. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/factsheet/family-leave-benefits-fact-sheet.htm.