Less than two years into implementation, Tennessee is already seeing substantial benefits from its paid parental leave policies for public sector workers, which A Better Balance helped to pass. Enacted in 2023, the laws provide 6 weeks of paid parental leave to approximately 107,000 Tennessee state government employees and public school educators, and the results are impressive.
At a recent budget hearing for the upcoming 2025-2026 fiscal year, the Tennessee Department of Human Resources extolled major improvements in its recruitment and retention efforts. From 2023 to 2024, these efforts resulted in significant progress, including a 22% reduction in turnover and a 25% decrease in retirements. Additionally, recruitment efforts were met with improved applicant engagement metrics–including a 62% increase in applicants uniquely interested in specific state government jobs and a 56% increase in applicant volume.
The Department attributed these successes to broader enhancements in the “total rewards” package for state employees, which included the new paid parental leave policy. This new data from Tennessee reaffirms a growing body of research that shows paid leave policies create a more attractive work environment, leading to higher retention rates and a stronger applicant pool.
The Tennessee Department of Education also shared positive outcomes from their paid parental leave policy. During the 2024 fiscal year, over 1,300 educators across 135 school districts utilized paid parental leave. With increasing awareness and the recent expansion of the policy to cover public charter school employees, the Department expects this number to continue growing.
These promising initial results demonstrate that Tennessee’s paid parental leave policies for public sector employees are fostering a healthy balance between earning a paycheck and caring for a loved one. As 36 states have now enacted paid parental or family leave policies for their government employees, it’s clear that investing in policies that support working families benefits both workers and the state’s bottom line. As usage of the program grows and costs continue to stabilize, the success of Tennessee’s paid parental leave policy offers a compelling case for the broader expansion of paid leave for all workers, both in Tennessee and nationwide.
