Parents working in state government and public schools will be able to take up to six weeks of paid parental leave under a new Georgia law.

Beginning July 1, eligible government employees will have the opportunity to take up to 240 hours of paid parental leave within a year of the birth of their child, or within a year after adoption or taking in a minor through foster care.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 1010 Wednesday, which doubles the length of paid leave from three to six weeks that is available to state government and public school employees.

Nonprofit organizations 9to5 Georgia and the GA Coalition for Paid Leave applauded Republican House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones and Sen. Brian Strickland, a McDonough Republican, for championing legislation that expands a 2021 law that gave state employees up to three weeks off to care for their new child.

The nonprofit advocates for parental leave stressed on Wednesday that they remain committed to expanding paid private sector family leave that is unavailable to 78% of Georgians. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, two-thirds of Georgia residents are prevented from taking unpaid leave due to eligibility restrictions and financial constraints.

GPB