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State employees can now take an additional six to eight weeks of childbirth recovery leave under a new executive order signed by the Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Monday morning.
In addition to the previously allowed four weeks of parental leave, all full- and part-time employees are eligible to receive six weeks of recovery leave for a vaginal delivery and eight weeks for a cesarean section.
A mother who delivers a stillborn or otherwise experiences fetal death after 20 weeks gestation is also eligible to take leave. Under the previous policy, mothers in this situation were not eligible for leave beyond their typical paid time off.
The executive order also strikes the requirement for workers to have been employed for at least six months to receive parental leave. However, those new employees must agree to work for the state for at least one year in return.
Former Gov. Eric Holcomb established the state’s parental leave benefit in 2018, which allows parents to take time off for the birth or adoption of a new child. Full-time employees have up to 150 hours of paid leave while part-time workers have 75.
Joined by First Lady Maureen Braun, Gov. Braun said the previous policy meant mothers had to bank sick time and PTO or take unpaid days off to spend time with their newborns.
“These new paid parental leave policies will benefit women recovering from childbirth, their spouses and the newborns whose health and development will be improved by more time with their parents in those first critical weeks,” he said.
About a dozen states either mandate parental leave or have codified a model for companies to voluntarily contract with private insurers to provide leave. When asked whether he’d support either option, Braun said he’s open to how these benefits evolve over time.
He later said some smaller business owners don’t have as much flexibility for parental leave as the state or larger corporations. He wouldn’t make mandates for those businesses who can least afford it.
Braun said he sees this move as an example for private businesses to follow.
“If you’re practicing what you’re preaching about: making it a good place to move back, raise a family, start a business,” he said, “this is where you get started on that—and maybe it happens more broadly.”
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Credit where credit is due – the state actually spending money to be pro-life.