ATLANTA – About 246,000 state employees and teachers in Georgia would be able to take up to three weeks of paid parental leave under legislation the state Senate passed unanimously Thursday.
The bill, which the Georgia House of Representatives approved overwhelmingly last month, would apply to parents following the birth of a child of their own, an adopted child or a foster-care placement.
Full-time employees would become eligible for paid parental leave after six months on the job.
The House passed the same bill last year, a priority of House Speaker David Ralston, shortly before the General Assembly was forced to take a three-month break because of the coronavirus pandemic.
When lawmakers returned to the Gold Dome in June, the Senate essentially gutted the measure and substituted a different bill reducing legislators’ salaries in an attempt to cut costs because of the pandemic. When the House refused to go along with the change, the bill died.
Because of changes the Senate Industry and Labor Committee made to the bill, it must return to the House before it can gain final passage.