On Monday, September 21st, the Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a major expansion of its paid parental leave policy for city government employees, pending the Mayor’s signature. Atlanta has long been a leader on paid parental leave, becoming one of the first Southern cities to provide this critical benefit to its employees back in 2015. However, as a growing number of municipalities across the South have enacted stronger paid leave policies in recent years, Atlanta was at risk of falling behind its peers.
The updated policy will take effect on January 1st, 2027, and doubles the amount of paid leave available for new birth, adoptive, and foster parents, from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. Both parents are eligible to take the full 12 weeks. Other improvements include allowing covered employees to take the paid leave in smaller increments of time, rather than requiring it to be taken all at once, making these benefits more workable for new parents who need to take leave intermittently. In addition, the policy reaffirms that employees can use their paid sick days to care for a baby who is hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), thus conserving their parental leave for when the child returns home.
We played a leading role in advocating for this expansion, in partnership with Georgia-based organizations. By expanding its paid parental leave policy, Atlanta is demonstrating a continued commitment to the health and economic well-being of its employees. Providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave to both new mothers and fathers will make the city more competitive in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest employees, all while supporting growing families. We urge private sector employers in the Atlanta area to follow the city’s lead and expand their paid leave policies in order to reap the many business benefits, including improved employee productivity and morale, as well as reduced turnover.