Syracuse, N.Y. - Beginning next month non-Union Employees working for the City of Syracuse will be able to take 12-weeks of paid time off for parental leave.
Mayor Ben Walsh called the new policy the first step in improving parental leave benefits for all city workers.
“Because we have more flexible work rules with non-represented workers which allow for an individual’s responsibilities to be reassigned to colleagues for a short period, we can start the benefit with this group of employees without having to increase costs,” Mayor Walsh said in a statement. “More and more businesses and governments are addressing paid parental leave, and the city must compete for talent in the open market. Paid parental leave helps staff manage a healthy work-life balance and provides organizations with an additional, attractive tool for retention.”
The leave can be taken anytime within one year the employee experiences a new birth, adoption, or foster placement. About 160 city employees will be eligible for the new benefit when it begins Saturday.