Bexar County considers paid parental leave policy for employees
Jorge Fernandez started working for the Bexar County Elections Department in September as a technical support specialist. His wife, Ashley, gave birth to their daughter on Oct. 20, and he immediately took off what time he had accrued: about one and a half weeks.
“I used comp time that I had,” he said. “It’s paid time off that I get for overtime. If I work any extra hours, instead of it being overtime pay, they give us paid time off.”
What the county currently doesn’t give is paid parental leave. Without a policy, new parents are left to puzzle out how to secure time off to recover from childbirth and bond with a newborn while keeping their jobs and pay.
But things may be about to change. Commissioner Trish DeBerry (Pct. 3) tasked county staff to create a parental leave policy during a Commissioners Court meeting on Dec. 7 after learning there was none in place.
Read more: https://sanantonioreport.org/bexar-county-considers-paid-parental-leave-policy-for-employees/