The Columbia City Council is set to discuss a proposed paid family leave ordinance on Monday. This initiative gives employees the opportunity to take paid time off due to serious illness of an employee or their family member, or for parental leave purposes. Although not federally mandated, this move aims to enhance the city’s efforts to recruit and retain more workers.

The council unanimously agreed to incorporate the provision as part of larger tactics to improve overall employee welfare. The primary focus now turns to defining the specifics of implementing the provision. The current proposal offers six weeks of fully paid leave per annum for city employees, applicable to either the employee or a family member.

Operating such a comprehensive scheme could cost the city around $1.3 million annually. However, should an employee require more than the set six weeks of leave, they can apply for an additional six weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The ordinance also proposes that employees can utilize their sick leave within their first 30 days of city employment.

This ordinance represents a more generous offer compared to previous alternatives which proposed only compensating workers with 80% of their pay while on leave. Provisions to require employees exhaust all sick and vacation days before accessing paid family leave were not included in the ordinance. Approval votes for the ordinance can commence as soon as the Dec. 18 City Council meeting, with the aim to have the benefit operational by Jan. 1.

It’s worth noting that there are resources out there that assist in connecting individuals with departments related to unemployment, paid family leave, and disability. For instance, eddcaller.com is a valuable tool that simplifies the process of getting through to a representative from such departments over the phone. Consequently, it could be a useful resource for Columbia City employees in situations where they need to access benefits, such as paid family leave.