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Ordinances committee asks legislative council to draft parental paid-leave ordinance after presentation on costs and options
Summary
After a presentation from Director Jose Gouveia about estimated costs and voluntary-benefit options, the ordinances committee voted to ask legislative counsel to draft an ordinance providing paid parental leave (6 weeks at full pay plus 6 weeks at 75% pay, usable within the first year) for city employees and to return the draft for committee and a
The Committee on Ordinances voted Sept. 29, 2025, to ask the city's legislative counsel to draft a parental paid-leave ordinance after receiving updated cost estimates and benefits information from Director Jose Gouveia.
Director Gouveia presented utilization figures and cost estimates to the committee. He told members that if every full-time employee used one week of paid leave the cost would be roughly $1.4 million; doubling that to two weeks would roughly double the cost. Using actual recent utilization rates for parental leaves, Gouveia estimated a focused parental-leave benefit would cost substantially less: he cited a range of roughly $360,000 to $450,000 for a parental-leave program sized to recent use, and he said the city has recorded about eight maternity leaves so far this year and more than 14 paternity leaves year-to-date.
"There are three things to keep in mind," Gouveia said: affordability, fairness across different types of leave (for example, critical illnesses), and legal requirements. He recommended expanding employee education about voluntary short- and long-term disability benefits through open-enrollment outreach while the administration explores carrier options and cost-sharing models.
Why it matters: Committee members said a targeted parental paid-leave program could help retain employees and attract talent. Councilors debated scope and timing and the practical limits of imposing benefits that might conflict with collective bargaining agreements.
Ordinance details the committee requested Committee members agreed on motion language that asked legislative counsel to draft an ordinance providing paid parental leave structured as: - Up to six weeks of full pay, followed by - Up to six additional weeks at 75 percent pay, - Leave to be used within 12 months of a child's birth or legal adoption.
Council President Shane Burgo and others noted that some terms may be subject to collective-bargaining limits and asked the solicitor to advise on whether the ordinance can apply uniformly to all city employee groups or only to nonbargaining employees.
Solicitor David Garatowski told the committee the draft ordinance should specify the scope (which employee groups it covers), timing (when leave must be taken relative to birth or adoption), and documentary proof required. He said collective bargaining can affect benefits for represented employees and advised the committee that some benefits may need to be negotiated with unions.
Vote and next steps A motion directing legislative counsel to draft the parental-leave ordinance (as described above) was made and seconded; the committee adopted the draft-direction by voice vote and instructed Garatowski to prepare ordinance language for committee review and eventual referral to the full council and to the planning for budgetary consideration.
Ending Committee members said they expect additional detail and legal review in a draft ordinance and asked the administration to continue cost modeling and outreach to benefit carriers in advance of open enrollment and the next council meeting.
