MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH FIRST-EVER PAID
PARENTAL LEAVE FOR ELIGIBLE CITY EMPLOYEES
Councilors Michelle Wu and Tim McCarthy to File Policy Granting Up
to 6 Weeks Paid Parental Leave
BOSTON—Mayor
Walsh today announced that Councilors Michelle Wu and Tim McCarthy filed an
Ordinance to create the City of Boston's first-ever Paid Parental Leave policy.
The City Council will assign the Ordinance to a committee, where a hearing
process precedes a vote on the matter. The Mayor will sign the Ordinance should
the Council pass it.
The
Councilors' Ordinance contains the Mayor's policy of granting up to six weeks
of Paid Parental Leave to both men and women, as well as same-sex couples, who
have worked for the City for at least one year.
“When we
work together, there aren’t many limitations on what we can do to make
improvements in local government,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “It is important
for parents to be engaged in a child’s early life. I am thankful that
Councilors Wu and McCarthy are supportive of this initiative, to grant parents
who devote their lives to public service the hard-earned support they deserve.
My office is proud to support and introduce policies that advance both men and
women in the workplace and all aspects of city life. It is my hope that
businesses will consider taking the same action steps to ensure families are
thriving and healthy.”
"As
a new working mom, I am especially proud to partner with Mayor Walsh and my
colleagues to ensure that Boston continues to lead on access to economic
opportunity for working families,” said Councilor Wu. “This ordinance will help
alleviate some pressure on working parents who have to make tough choices every
day to do the best they can for their families. Access to paid parental leave
will be good for the City, for parents, and most of all, for kids."
"As
a father of two, the bonding period between parents and a newborn is so
important, and so is the bonding and support needed to strengthen the parents'
relationship during a happy but stressful time,” said Councilor MCCarthy. “This
is the right ordinance for Boston and its families."
Once
adopted, the policy will help eligible City of Boston employees overcome a
glaring deficiency in American family leave policies. Presently, the United
States joins the countries of Oman and Papa New Guinea as three nations that
lack a paid parental leave policy.
Approximately
178 countries offer a form of maternity leave, with over 50 countries offering
leave to fathers, as well.
Previous
parental leave policies, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and
Massachusetts Parental Leave Act, have focused on protecting parents' jobs
during unpaid leave. The lack of income during periods of parental leave is a
factor in the wage gap experienced by many women, and forces employees to
return to work sooner than their
particular
family may really need with their newborn or newly adopted child.
Mayor
Walsh is proud to work with the Councilors to adopt a Paid Parental Leave
policy that features some of these specifics:
·
Up to 6 weeks of Paid
Parental Leave to be taken by day or week any time during the first year after
the birth or adoption of the child or children.
·
Applies to all exempt
employees, both male and female, who have worked for the City for a minimum of
one year, including same-sex couples, and employees covered by collective
bargaining agreements whose agreements explicitly provide for this benefit.
·
Applies for each instance
of eligible employees' birth of newborns,adoption, surrogacy or other methods,
and stillbirths.
·
Pay shall be structured as
follows: 100-percent for the first 2 weeks; 75-percent for weeks 3 and 4; and
50-percent for weeks 5 and 6.
·
This new Paid Parental
Leave cannot be added to periods of unpaid, job-protected leave and, therefore,
runs concurrently.
As a
State Representative, Mayor Walsh was the lead sponsor of the legislation that
goes into effect on April 7, 2015 to update the former Massachusetts Maternity
Leave Act of 1972, renaming it the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act and
codifying that it would be available for men, women, as well as male same-sex
couples for the first time. Mayor Walsh is proud to work with Councilors Wu and
McCarthy to build on that progress with this Paid Parental Leave policy.
紐英崙三益公所三月廿日晚在喜臨門大酒樓席開近三十桌，慶祝羊年新春，介紹三名新任主席，江輝輝，黎曉玲，何焯光，祝福宗親，僑社羊年如意吉祥。
當晚儀式簡單隆重，以宗親暢聚，欣賞歌舞，彼此寒暄，敘舊為主，安排的表演節目中，擅拉二胡的宗親何濤，與其夫婿，嗩吶大師郭雅志的攜手演奏，堪稱當晚最為亮點。其他的表演節目包括昆士小學學生表演，小順和姊姊跳舞，黎雯，廉艷分別各獻唱兩曲，亞洲小姐獻唱等。至德三德公所主席曹品慈在卡拉OK環節中，也一展歌喉。
三益公所是由江、黎、何三姓組成的姓氏公所，2009年在大波士頓成立。儘管歷史還短，但資深宗親不少，當年成立時就有十名顧問，今年在三月廿一日晚點名邀請出列和三名新主席合影的顧問，也是十人，但在潮州同鄉會名譽顧問江文雄，
醫師黎英斯，廚房詩人黎家活，昆士小學校長何少華，以及黎雯，何朗，何漢民，何穗光之外，中華耆英會營養主任江浩平，何南兩人為新顧問。