The Louisiana Legislative Auditor is recommending the state consider adopting additional paid parental leave provisions in an effort to “improve Louisiana’s efforts to recruit and retain state employees.”
The auditor released the report Thursday as requested by a House resolution passed earlier this year. It notes several inconsistencies between various state agencies’ parental leave policies, including the level of detail, which agencies utilize FMLA provisions, and a lack of provisions required under the state’s pregnancy anti-discrimination statutes.
One of the more notable differences is that legislative employees are not subject to the provisions of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act—unlike those in executive and judicial agencies. Because of that, parental leave policies in most legislative offices don’t follow FMLA protections, the report notes.
The state also lacks a single entity responsible for ensuring consistency between agencies.
The auditor makes several recommendations in the report, including:
• Consider implementing flexible sick leave and paid leave policies for new parents.
• Pass legislation outlining parental leave policies for legislative offices that mirror FMLA protections and communicate state statute protections.
• Consider having the state Civil Service department develop universal FMLA and parental leave guidelines for all state agencies.
• Have agencies clearly state whether FMLA time should be used for prenatal visits.
Compared to other states, Louisiana was ranked 15th for its laws protecting expecting and new parents by a National Partnership for Women and Families report in 2016, but received a “C” letter grade.
Those that ranked higher had better legal protections and benefits, including paid maternity and paternity leave and access to flexible sick leave to care for dependents.
The Louisiana auditor’s report notes 46 states and the federal government have flexible sick leave policies. Louisiana’s Civil Service rules currently only allow employees to use sick leave for themselves and must use comp time or annual leave to care for sick family members—though some agencies, like the state Supreme Court and Circuit Court of Appeals, allow employees to use up to 20 days of sick leave to care for immediate family.
At least 15 states have a form of paid leave for new parents—some are funded through insurance and range from four to 14 weeks.
There are no federal mandates for paid parental leave, but a new law signed by President Donald Trump last week gives federal government employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
Read the full report here.
