Fort Bend workers will get parental leave

Fort Bend County employees are now entitled to six weeks of paid parental leave, following unanimous approval of the policy by commissioners on Jan. 23. The policy went into effect as soon as it was approved.

“We are about families in Fort Bend County, and this policy change now fully reflects that value,” said Dexter McCoy, Fort Bend County commissioner for Precinct 4, who drafted the policy. “Every day our county employees work tirelessly to support families in Fort Bend County. It is our duty to make sure they also have the time to care for their own families. At such a pivotal moment, a paycheck should be the least of anyone’s worries.”

Full-time county employees will receive six weeks of paid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, according to the policy. In the event of a miscarriage, stillbirth, or a pregnancy-related emergency, the employee will receive three weeks of paid leave.

It comes at no extra cost to the county since the salaries are already budgeted for the employee unless it is determined that a temporary worker would need to be brought on, said Nadia Hakim, communications director for the precinct.

Hakim said the county did not foresee any difficulties securing sufficient staffing during employee leaves under this policy.

“They have a good idea of when the employee will need to be out and for about how long,” Hakim said. “Departments will have months to split up and delegate those responsibilities to other staff with the bandwidth or determine that they will need to hire a temporary employee. Compare this to an employee suddenly getting sick for several weeks … where departments do not have the luxury of time to prepare.”

By approving paid parental leave for county employees, Fort Bend County follows Houston, Harris County and the city of Sugar Land.

Paid parental leave has been associated with lower rates of infant mortality and reduced instances of postpartum depression in mothers.