provide federal workers with 8 weeks paid maternity/paternity leave

Currently, federal workers in the US are not offered any paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child. Employees are expected to use sick leave or take unpaid time. Sick leave accrual is inadequate to cover the amount of time generally taken off in these circumstances (6-8 weeks.) A paid maternity/paternity leave of 8 weeks would remove undue stress to the new parents, and yield a healthier child and more productive worker. As well as receiving more one-on-one care, infants are more likely to be breast-fed, which lowers illness and hospitalization rates for infants and benefits women’s health. Beyond the marked health advantages, paid maternity leave yields economic gains in terms of reduced health care costs, reduced recruitment and retraining and improved long-term earnings for women