As of January 1, Mississippi’s State Employees Paid Parental Leave Act is in effect! This momentous win means that more than 32,000 state government employees in Mississippi now have the right to paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of their child. A Better Balance provided essential support on the ground out of our Southern Office by offering technical assistance to partners, advising on strategy, and attending community events to raise awareness and garner support.
Now, Mississippi state government employees–including university employees–who are the primary caregiver of a child will be able to take six weeks of paid parental leave after the birth or adoption of their child. This bill passed the legislature with bipartisan support, and saw support from a plethora of voices, including the Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch. Supportive workplace policies like paid parental leave have demonstrated benefits for employers such as increase in retention and recruitment of qualified employees, and supported positive health outcomes for all members of the family, especially maternal health and infant brain development. This new policy will make Mississippi a more supportive state for working families as mothers and fathers are struggling to balance the joys of parenthood with maintaining their paycheck.
As we’ve seen over the years in our Southern office, incremental steps to advance paid parental leave for public sector employees are critical stepping stones to ensuring that paid leave can be a reality for all workers. We will continue our work to expand paid family and medical leave for all workers in Mississippi as about 954,000 workers (79%) do not have access to paid family leave through their employer. We congratulate our longtime partners at the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, who’ve led the Mississippi Women’s Economic Security Initiative, and are dedicated to continuing to advance the economic security of families in Mississippi.
You can find more information on this new law here.