Paid Leave Programs Across the States

Get the latest on leave programs to make the best decisions for you and your family.

This resource highlights significant developments in paid leave across the country. Consult a local advisor about the laws applicable to you.

The scoop: An eligible employee is entitled to up to eight weeks of paid parental leave at 100% of the employee's base pay for a "qualifying event" of the birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, or placement of a child with the employee for adoption.

Who's eligible:

Certain categories of state employees who have been employed for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the qualifying event.
Certified and noncertified employees of an LEA who have worked for any Alabama LEA for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the qualifying event.
Employees of the Alabama Community College System or any educational institutions under its authority and control who have been employed for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the qualifying event.

Benefits:

Eligible female employees are entitled to eight weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of her child that occurs on or after July 1, 2025.
Eligible male employees are entitled to two weeks of paid parental leave in connection with a qualifying event of the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of his child that occurs on or after July 1. 2025.
Regardless of gender, an eligible employee is entitled to eight weeks of paid parental leave for the qualifying event of the placement of a child with the eligible employee for adoption, provided the child is 3 years old or younger at the time of placement. When both parents are eligible employees, only one parent is entitled to eight weeks, and the other is entitled to two weeks of paid parental leave.
Eligible employees cannot be required to exhaust sick leave, annual leave, or any other leave or paid time in connection with the use of paid parental leave.
Unused parental leave has no cash value, cannot be used to calculate retirement benefits, and cannot be rolled over or reserved for future qualifying events.
Paid parental leave runs concurrently with leave taken under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act when applicable.

Read the Bill

The scoop: The law provides a paid parental leave program for certain public employees of Georgia after birthing, adopting, or fostering a child.

Who's eligible:

Employees who work for the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the state government plus those employed by local boards of education, including charter schools.
Full time employees and eligible hourly employees who have worked a minimum of 700 hours within the six-month period before their leave request.
Employees become eligible after six continuous months of employment for the employing entity, regardless of their FMLA eligibility.

Benefits:

Mothers and fathers can receive up to six weeks per 12-month period after the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
Leave is available for 12 months after the qualifying life event and does not carry over.
Employers bear the cost of covering the employee’s salary while they are on leave, in addition to any collateral expenses, such as funding for substitutes.

Read the Bill

The scoop: School districts have until July 1, 2030, to establish a policy to provide up to 30 days of paid maternity leave for Kentucky public school teachers and employees.

Who's eligible:

Full and part-time public school employees.
Full and part-time public school teachers.

Benefits:

Up to 30 days of paid maternity leave for a public school teacher or employee who gives birth to a child.
The maternity leave must be used before any accrued sick leave or other leave.
The maternity leave cannot be carried over into sick leave or any other leave type.
Any remaining maternity leave must be used in one continuous block and expires upon return to work.
Additionally, teachers and employees must be allowed to use up to 30 days of their accrued sick leave following the birth or adoption of a child.

Read the Bill

The scoop: Expands on extended sick leave laws already in place to include all school employees, such as school bus operators and other school board employees.

Who's eligible:

Offered at the discretion of local school boards.
Applies to all school support staff, including school bus operators.

Benefits:

Up to 30 additional days of extended sick leave in each six-year period for personal illness related to pregnancy, illness of an infant, or required medical visits relating to infant or maternal health.
School employees may take extended sick leave only if school board policy authorizes such leave.
If adopted by the local school board, school employees on extended leave are generally paid 65% of their salary while on leave.

Read the Bill

The scoop: Provides paid leave for mothers immediately following the birth of the employee's child.

Who's eligible:

Employees who have worked for that employer for at least one year and at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months are eligible for benefits.

Full-time employees of a public school district
Full-time classroom instructional employees of certain technology centers
Teachers at the State Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS)
Full-time correctional teachers or vocational instructors of the Department of Corrections (DOC)
Full-time teachers of the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA)

Benefits:

Provides up to six weeks of paid leave for new mothers.
School districts must pay for the maternity leave up front and then file claims with the State Board of Education for reimbursement of expenses. Other applicable employers apply for reimbursement with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.

Read the Bill

The scoop: Provides eligible school employees with paid time off following the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a new child.

Who's eligible:

An employee occupying all or part of a full-time equivalent (FTE) position. Does not include employees in temporary, temporary grant, time-limited, research grant or any other non-FTE position.

Benefits:

Employees can take up to six weeks of paid parental leave during the first twelve months following the birth or legal placement.
For a birth or adoption, the parent who gave birth or is primarily responsible for the child receives six weeks and the other parent receives two weeks.
For foster placement, eligible employees are entitled to two weeks of paid leave.
Leave for part-time eligible employees is prorated according to the percentage of hours they are normally scheduled to work.
Benefits are funded by the eligible employee’s school district.
Paid parental leave must be taken continuously, except that foster parents may request and receive approval for leave in nonconsecutive one-week time periods.
If both parents are eligible school district employees, paid parental leave may be taken concurrently, consecutively, or a different time as the other eligible school district employee.
The use of parental leave is considered paid leave. The time must count toward the eligible employee’s years of service, and it does not prevent the employee from earning a STEP increase the following year.

Read the bill

The scoop: Provides paid parental leave to public school teachers and administrators. Paid parental leave benefits are available for birth, adoption, or after the stillbirth of a child.

Who's eligible:

A teacher, principal, supervisor, or other individual required by law to hold a valid license or qualification for employment in a local education agency (LEA, public charter school, or state special school).
Individual must have been employed full time with a LEA for at least 12 consecutive months.

Benefits:

Eligible employees can receive up to six work weeks of paid leave at 100% of the employee’s salary after the birth or stillbirth of the employee’s child, or the employee’s adoption of a newly placed minor child.
Local policy determines if the six weeks of leave have to be taken all at once, or if the leave can be taken in smaller increments of no less than one week at a time.
Employees must not be required to use sick, annual, or other leave for the leave taken under this bill. However, leave granted for the birth, stillbirth, or adoption also counts toward the employee’s use of leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, where both leaves are applicable.
Each LEA will establish its own policies for implementing the leave requirements.
The state will reimburse an LEA in an amount equal to the cost of the leave paid by the LEA.

Read the bill

The scoop: Provisions related to paid leave for parental and postpartum recovery for LEA employees.

Who's eligible:

LEA employees who accrue paid leave benefits in accordance with LEA's leave policies must be provided paid parental leave and postpartum recovery leave (when applicable) for the birth, adoption, or appointed guardianship of a minor child or incapacitated adult.
Step-parent adoptions are excluded.
Intended parents of a child born under a validated gestational agreement are included.

Benefits:

Up to three weeks of paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or appointment as legal guardian.
Up to three additional weeks of postpartum recovery leave for a birthing parent.

Read the bill

Benefits Strategy