Obama Backs Paid Leave for Federal Employees

On Monday, I reported that new OPM Director John Berry plans to put some teeth into his agency's proposals by marching lock-step with OMB Director Peter Orszag, who has considerably more leverage over how various departments and agencies allocate resources. (For example: Making increasing use of pots of money that an agency loses unless the funds are put against workforce training.)

With that in mind, OMB's issuance of a Statement of Administration Policy (link to PDF) in support of paid parental leave for federal employees has to be seen as some early evidence of Berry's ability to drive action in the EOP. Quoth OMB:

The Administration supports the goal of H.R. 626, which would provide Federal employees with access to paid leave upon the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child.

Being able to spend time at home with a new child is a critical part of building a strong family. The initial bonding between parents and their new child is essential to healthy child development and providing a firm foundation for the child's success in life.

Measures that support these relationships strengthen our families, our communities, and our nation. The Federal government should reflect its commitment to these core values by helping Federal employees to care for their families as well as serve the public. Providing paid parental leave has been successfully employed by a number of private-sector employers, and can help to make job opportunities accessible to more workers.

The Administration is currently reviewing existing Federal leave policies to determine the extent of their gaps and limitations. The Administration looks forward to working with Congress to refine the details of this legislation to make sure it meets the needs of Federal agencies and employees, as well as their families.

Ed O'Keefe rightly notes that the President's backing isn't entirely unexpected, and candidate Obama was fairly methodical in his outreach to federal employees. But it's not always the case that intentions and promises equate to action, and minor actions like this are a fairly reliable indication of whether certain issues are being successfully kept on a busy young Administration's radar screen.