PITTSBURGH —
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato is set to sign a bill into law mandating 12 weeks of paid parental leave for employees at companies with at least 15 workers.
Matt Smith, chief growth officer for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, voiced concerns about the policy’s impact on attracting businesses to the region.
“We have concerns about the implementation. We think that it’s going to put Allegheny County at a competitive disadvantage relative to other markets when we go out and talk to businesses trying to get those businesses to move into the region,” Smith said. “We’ll continue to make the argument against this policy. We think that it’s something from a structure standpoint is out of whack with how other states have done it.”
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Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 also explored how the new law could affect school districts, speaking with Annie Briscoe, region advocacy coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Education Association Western Region, who supports the proposal.
“Now, as being a reality, I think it’s going to shift the conversation for a lot of people who thought maybe they couldn’t afford to have kids, maybe they couldn’t afford to live in Pittsburgh. We know a lot of people who come to school here for our wonderful universities and then go elsewhere to either start a job or raise a family,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe also addressed concerns from parents about teacher shortages or extended absences.
“I think whenever they have teachers who are in the classroom who have had the opportunity to focus on their own recovery, their own mental health, their own physical health after the delivery of their child or the adoption of their child, or in the event of a stillborn baby, then those students will be much better off,” she said.
The new law will take effect within one year.