Every new parent who works for Rep. Alexandria Ocascio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is allotted 3 months of paid parental leave, according to a new policy she implemented on Friday.
I’d like to share another “unusual” (but shouldn’t be) part of my office policy w/ you all: Parental Leave!
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
Three members of our small team are expectant or new parents in the first 6 mos of my term.
In my office, *every* new parent receives 3 mos paid leave - including dads.
Details: "Paid parental leave applies to ALL new parents, period. Moms, dads, parents; biological or adopted," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a lengthy tweet on Friday. "If you've got a new child, you get 12 weeks to spend adjusting your family to this huge transition." She further emphasized the intrinsic equality intended in her new policy, writing: "Equal pay at work is about SO much more than the salary you offer. If you give dads less paid parental leave than moms, you're contributing to the pay gap."
The backdrop: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) presently demands that public agencies provide employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave, however each individual member of congress can decide how much paid time-off they will offer.
- This isn't the first progressive policy Ocascio-Cortez has put into action for her staff. She pledged that her staffers would earn a "living wage," with no one making less than $52,000 annual salary. The freshmen representative also pays her interns $15 per hour and provides benefits, per USA Today.
