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Villa Park trustees weigh trimming parental leave after one-year review
Summary
Village HR and department chiefs told the board that an eight-week paid parental-leave policy led to significant overtime and replacement costs in public-safety departments; staff recommended tweaks (shorter use window, potentially 5–6 weeks) and continued monitoring before any repeal or major change.
Village staff presented a one-year review of the parental-leave policy adopted July 23, 2025, and trustees debated narrowing the benefit for staffing-sensitive departments.
Human Resources Manager Jacqui Pierce told the board the policy produced clear direct costs — "overtime pay, with fire was between $20,000 and $25,000. With police, it was about $56,000 and then there was also that replacement pay of $8,000" — and called out hard-to-measure indirect impacts such as employee burnout and productivity loss. Pierce said staff favors refining how the benefit is used (for example, shortening the window in which leave must be taken) and continuing to monitor trends for another year.
Police Chief Kubish said the police department is understaffed and suggested reducing the period to about four to five weeks, while Fire Chief Stapleton urged a shorter parental leave for public-safety roles because of long hiring timelines: "I need people in the seats and you know, we're short staffed," Stapleton said, recommending a four-week option for his department. Trustees asked whether tailoring benefits for unionized public-safety employees would require negotiation; Village counsel answered that giving different benefits to a bargaining unit without negotiation is not permissible and that a uniformly applied policy avoids reopening contracts.
Trustees discussed options including separate treatment for union versus nonunion staff, requiring leave to be taken promptly after birth, and instituting monitoring for burnout and overtime impacts. No motion was made to rescind the policy; the discussion closed with staff asked to return with refinement recommendations and further data collection.
The board did not take formal action on the policy at the meeting; it remains in place pending further staff recommendations and potential contract discussions with unions.
