A day after Father’s Day, Mayor Tom Henry today announced a new policy for non-union city employees providing paid parental leave. The policy would help support parents by offering paid time off to focus on bonding with their new child and adjusting to their new family situation.

Both birth and adoptive parents would be eligible for paid parental leave up to 120 hours, which would have to be taken within the first 12 weeks following the birth or adoption. Currently, the City only offers leave to birth mothers through short-term disability. Employees also would need to meet the eligibility standards for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Fort Wayne has been recognized as a great place to raise a family,” said Mayor Henry. “However, more can be done to strengthen families who choose Fort Wayne as their home. We hope this will encourage other employers in the area to consider offering similar support to their employees. We also believe this policy will help attract and retain top talent to both local government service and our community.”

The policy will be introduced at the Fort Wayne Common Council meeting on Tuesday, June 26, and likely will be discussed on Tuesday, July 10. The potential fiscal impact is estimated to be less than $100,000 per year, if it were applied to all employees.

The State of Indiana began offering paid parental leave in January. The United States remains one of the few countries in the world without a national paid family leave policy.