A new policy is in effect in Montgomery County in which employees are now eligible for 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave, writes Lizzy McLellan Ravitch for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Birthing parents may be eligible for an additional four weeks of paid leave to address medical needs, bringing it to a total of 16 weeks.

With the new policy, Montgomery County earns the distinction of having more paid parental leave than any other Pennsylvania county or state government.

“We’re setting the standard for the commonwealth, and we’re doing it in a partisan way,” said Commissioner Neil Makhija, who spearheaded the effort. “I hope other local governments will also take action and do this.”

All three commissioners — Makhija, Thomas DiBello, and chair Jamila Winder — noted that the policy change is part of a larger focus on recruiting and retaining workers in the region.

As parents themselves, they have drawn on their personal experiences as motivation to get the new policy put in place.

“In the grand scheme of things, all you’re thinking about as a new parent, it lightens the load” to have fully paid leave,” said Winder. “It shouldn’t be a time fraught with concerns about how am I going to make ends meet.”

Read more about Montgomery County’s new parental leave policy at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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