Alabama has joined a number of states in the South (including Mississippi last week) that provide paid parental leave for state employees! Now, Alabama is a part of a growing list of states alongside Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee that have enacted paid parental leave policies covering state government employees as well as educators. This new law, which passed with bipartisan support, will positively impact the lives of about 29,000 state employees, around 57,000 public school staff, and over 50,000 public university employees.
Alabama state government employees, K-12 teachers, and employees of community colleges will be eligible for paid parental leave as of July 1, 2025. The law provides eight weeks of leave for mothers and two weeks of leave for fathers for the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of a child, and 8 weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees who adopt a child. This policy is a big step forward for AL families—and we hope to see Alabama continue to build on this momentum and work towards a paid parental leave policy that is gender neutral and available equally to all parents.
The bill was a top priority of Governor Kay Ivey’s study group on Efficiency in State Government, and we are grateful for her Office’s commitment to making these protections a reality. Research has shown that paid parental leave provides financial security for new parents as they recover from childbirth, bond with a new baby, and attend important adoption proceedings. States like Tennessee that have implemented paid parental leave have also seen positive impacts on their recruitment and retention efforts of qualified employees, as parents no longer have to choose between taking care of their children and securing a paycheck.
Still, about 80% of workers in Alabama do not have paid family leave through their employers. The comprehensive state-level paid family and medical leave policies that have been enacted in fourteen states have proven vital to creating healthier and more equitable communities, and we will persist in our efforts to make this a reality for all families in the South.
We congratulate our partners on the ground at the Alabama State Employees Association, Alabama Arise, Women’s Foundation of Alabama, March of Dimes, and American Heart Association Alabama, whom we supported with technical assistance and strategic support. Together, we are building a more equitable future where no one has to choose between sacrificing a job or paycheck, and caring for themselves or a loved one.
