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.
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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.
- 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 120 hours per 12-month period after birthing, adopting, or fostering 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.
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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 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.
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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.
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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.
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The scoop: Provides eligible school employees with paid time off following the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a new child. This law mirrors the paid parental leave available to employees of the state of South Carolina.
Who's eligible:
- An employee defined by the Department of Education using the Professional Certified Staff system or any full-time equivalent position categorized as classified staff.
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 tobe taken consecutively.
- For foster placement, eligible state 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.
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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).
- 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.
- The six work weeks of paid leave do not need to be consecutively taken as long as the leave is used within 12 months of the birth, stillbirth, or adoption.
- 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.
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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, adoptions, 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.