Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn Announces Paid Family Leave for City Employees

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn announces The City of Tampa will begin providing paid parental leave to full-time workers.

The new parental leave policy will provide primary caregivers with eight (8) weeks and secondary caregivers with two (2) weeks of paid leave after the birth of a new child or placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care. Full-time employees who have completed their first year with the City of Tampa will be eligible for the new benefit beginning on February 12, 2017.

Access to paid leave after the birth of a new child has been shown to offer a wide range of health benefits for mothers and children. Providing paid parental leave will improve the City’s ability to recruit and retain talent, decrease worker turnover, and boost productivity. In addition, paid parental leave increases the likelihood that employees return to work and keep progressing in their careers in the City of Tampa.

“Attracting and retaining the most talented workforce does not solely lie in downtown amenities and adding jobs, it also requires providing a twenty-first century workforce for twenty-first century families,” said Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “The progress we make on this front will directly impact our competiveness in attracting and retaining the best employees we can. Creating an environment in the City of Tampa that values the contributions of everyone and recognizes the need to balance work and family can only insure to the benefit of the people serve.” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced today The City of Tampa will begin providing paid parental leave to full-time workers.

The new parental leave policy will provide primary caregivers with eight (8) weeks and secondary caregivers with two (2) weeks of paid leave after the birth of a new child or placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care. Full-time employees who have completed their first year with the City of Tampa will be eligible for the new benefit beginning on February 12, 2017.

Access to paid leave after the birth of a new child has been shown to offer a wide range of health benefits for mothers and children. Providing paid parental leave will improve the City’s ability to recruit and retain talent, decrease worker turnover, and boost productivity. In addition, paid parental leave increases the likelihood that employees return to work and keep progressing in their careers in the City of Tampa.

“Attracting and retaining the most talented workforce does not solely lie in downtown amenities and adding jobs, it also requires providing a twenty-first century workforce for twenty-first century families,” said Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “The progress we make on this front will directly impact our competiveness in attracting and retaining the best employees we can. Creating an environment in the City of Tampa that values the contributions of everyone and recognizes the need to balance work and family can only insure to the benefit of the people serve.”