Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee calls for 12 weeks paid leave for state employees who are new parents, caregivers

Gov. Bill Lee says Tennessee will soon offer its state employees three months of paid leave for new parents and caregivers of sick relatives, in what could make the conservative state the first in the nation to enact such a wide-ranging policy.

Lee made the announcement of his new executive order Tuesday flanked by Republican legislators at a news conference at the Capitol.

"I'm a very pro-family advocate," Lee said afterward. "It's not a partisan decision. It's an investment in people decision."

His order will cover more than 38,000 executive branch employees starting March 1, though Republicans in the General Assembly will also file legislation this session to extend the policy to roughly 3,100 other state workers. Public university employees are not part of the executive order or proposed legislation, according to Lee's office.

While at least nine other states and the federal government now have policies offering state employees paid parental leave, Lee's office says Tennessee will be the only state providing 12 weeks of paid time off across the entire spectrum of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which also includes leave for other issues.

That federal act, which only guarantees unpaid time off for companies with more than 50 employees, includes the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child; caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious medical condition; an employee's own serious medical condition; and an urgent situation arising out of a family member facing military deployment.

Currently, Tennessee allows state employees to take up to 16 weeks unpaid leave and does not offer paid maternity leave, though new mothers are allowed to use sick time.

'Cost-effective' plan not expected to have major fiscal impact

Lee described the initiative as "one of the most cost-effective investments in the families of our state employees in recent history," and said the move will help attract and retain top talent in state government.

He expects the change to serve as a model for other states to follow.

Although both Lee and House Majority William Lamberth, R-Portland, said there is not expected to be any budget appropriations associated with the change, both conceded there could be a "minimal impact." They do not anticipate the state hiring temporary workers as a result.

The state already budgets for each employee's entire salary and benefits each year. Employees currently taking leave under FMLA do not receive pay, and the portion of their salary withheld is given back to their respective agencies as savings.

Department of Human Resources Commissioner Juan Williams said roughly $900,000 is reverted back to state departments each year from salary not paid out during employee leave.

In a statement, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said he supports Lee's "desire" and "idea" to allow families to spend more time with newborns, though he cited the legislature's fiscal review committee among the groups that would need to play a role in crafting a bill applying to additional state employees.

Tennessee's updated policy will not impose any new requirements on local governments or private businesses, the governor's office said.

Democrats in the legislature have previously tried to pass bills accomplishing a similar policy change for employees in both the public and private sector, including legislation introduced last year by Sen. Sara Kyle of Memphis and Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville.

The bill failed in a House subcommittee in March.

"If paid family leave is the right thing to do for thousands of state employees, it’s even better that we do it for the millions of private sector workers in Tennessee who deserve the same opportunity to bond with a new child and care for their sick relatives without going broke," Kyle, who has been calling since 2015 for paid leave for Tennesseans, said in a statement Tuesday.

Lee said from his time running a private company, he learned that when he invested in employees' well-being, "those investments have a high payback."

Upon taking office Lee stepped away from Lee Company, the 1,200-employee HVAC, plumbing and electrical business he ran. He said the company did not have the family leave policy the state is adopting.

Elizabeth Gedmark, vice president of A Better Balance, a national legal advocacy organization with a Nashville office that has advocated for paid family and medical leave in Tennessee, called Lee's "groundbreaking" plan a "great first step."

Gedmark said the organization would continue to work with Johnson on pushing a plan that would apply to all citizens in the state.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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