SC state employees now get 6 weeks’ paid family leave. Will lawmakers try for 12?
Two Richland County lawmakers who successfully this year pushed for paid family leave for state employees say they want the benefit extended to 12 weeks and will push for a new law when they return in January.
Democrats state Sen. Darrell Jackson and Rep. Beth Bernstein who stood alongside Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and state Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, Thursday at a ceremonial bill signing for the six-week paid family leave law, said the benefit needs to go further.
“I’ve heard our state described as perhaps one of, if not the most pro-life state in the country,” Jackson said. “I would challenge us to be pro-quality life, total life. One way to do this is to celebrate what we’re doing today and to add the other six weeks so the quality of life in South Carolina could match our rhetoric.”
Earlier this week, Jackson told The State newspaper that South Carolina should mirror the federal government, pointing to its 12 weeks of paid family leave, legislation signed by former President Donald Trump.
Jackson and Bernstein said they plan to file legislation later this year, ahead of the 2023 session which starts in January to expand the benefit to 12 weeks. Both legislators said the need is greater now that the Legislature is considering further restrictions on abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
When Jackson and Bernstein, who represent a county with more than 20,000 state employees, first introduced the legislation, they pushed for a 12-week paid family leave. It passed the House with 12 weeks, but was cut to six in the Senate to ensure it passed.
The state’s six-week paid family leave policy, which takes effect Oct. 1, gives the mother six weeks paid time off after the birth of a child. A state employee who is a co-parent can get two weeks of paid family leave after the birth of a child.
A state employee who adopts a child and is the primary caregiver will get six weeks of paid leave. If they are the secondary caregiver, they get two weeks of paid time off.
State employees who have a foster child placed into their care are eligible for two weeks of paid time off.
Teachers were not included in this bill because they are employees of school districts and not the state.
McMaster, who signed the bill in May, said Thursday that 12 weeks of paid leave is a good idea, but stopped short of promising he would sign a bill if it made it to his desk.
“We’ll see what the other priorities are. It’s a good idea, I like it. There are always imperatives we have to deal with, there’s always the question of money,” McMaster said. “This policy is good for families and it’s good for competition and we want to get the very best people we can, serving our people in the state government. This helps us compete with private businesses and private industry, but more importantly it’s for the families.”
Proponents of the legislation, like Bernstein, said Thursday that paid family leave will help better outcomes for children by allowing for well visits and needed vaccinations.
She added that better care early in childhood would reduce infant mortality and the occurrence of childhood illness, in turn reducing the time parents need to take away from work.
“Positive, consistent relationships during a child’s early years yield confident individuals who are better equipped for success in school and in life, paving the way for a higher quality workforce and strong economic growth,” Bernstein said. “Paid leave contributes to reduced turnover and higher employee loyalty.”
