Senate proposes 3 weeks of paternity leave

[CommunityEditor]

In what would be a major leap forward in family-friendly benefits, the Senate Armed Services Committee proposes giving up to 21 days of postnatal leave to fathers.

The paternity leave would be in addition to other earned leave under the proposal approved by the committee as part of its version of the 2009 defense authorization bill.

Parental leave would be limited to a husband whose wife had given birth, which would exclude unmarried couples.

Like all other military leave, time off could be granted only with permission of superiors, who could refuse or set limits on how many days could be taken. Parental leave for a father could not be stored up for later use; it would be authorized to be taken only “in connection with the birth of a child,” although the proposal does not cite a specific timeframe.

Although parental leave for fathers, paid and unpaid, is common in the private sector and for federal, state and local government workers, most service members are limited to using annual leave to take time off after the birth of a child.

The Marine Corps is the only service that has a fixed policy granting up to 10 days of leave for fathers after the birth of a child.

The Air Force has considered paternity leave several times, but leaders rejected it. New fathers can take normal leave. Commanders, at their discretion, can award airmen three- or four-day passes.

The parental leave provision was put in the bill at the urging of the Navy and with the backing of Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

Granting up to 21 days of leave to new fathers is viewed as a matter of fairness, since Congress previously ordered 21 days of extra leave for service members after the adoption of a child.

The provision is not a sure thing. The House version of the defense bill has no similar language. An as-yet-unnamed panel of House and Senate negotiators will decide whether the measure will be included in the final compromise bill later this year.

The Defense Department has not weighed in on the proposal, but defense and service officials generally have been reluctant to endorse extra leave for specific purposes — they opposed the adoption leave enacted in 2006 — because of concerns about the effect on morale.

Some people could be allowed more time off than others, and commanders could be forced to make difficult decisions about which members of their units are most deserving of leave — for example, a single service member with a long-planned trip home or a married service member whose wife is about to give birth.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...dleave_061508/

[CommunityEditor]

Editorial: Allow paternal leave (http://www.militarytimes.com/communi..._leave_062308/)


The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.

A provision of the committee’s version of the 2009 defense authorization bill would allow up to 21 days of postnatal leave for military fathers, on top other accrued military leave.

Today, the Marine Corps is the only service branch with such a policy; the Corps gives Marines up to 10 days off following the birth of a child.

Of course, the mission would still have to come first, and the decision on whether to approve such leave, and for how long, still would be up to commanders.

In a force that’s overwhelmingly young, healthy and male — and produced 85,785 babies last year — this could become a morale issue, especially in a deployment-heavy wartime environment.

In many cases, time off for one person means everyone else has to make up the difference. And if you give every male service member three weeks off, that’s the equivalent of cutting the force by more than 4,000 people.

Yet if you put any stock in the adage that the military enlists the individual but re-enlists the family, such a policy still has merit. It could create stronger bonds, reduce family stress and perhaps give a boost to retention — no small thing in this era of continuous deployments.

But if three full weeks off is too much to accommodate given the current operating tempo, let’s not throw the idea out in its entirety.

Giving new military fathers at least a week or 10 days off for such a life-altering event is the right thing to do. And if the Marines can figure out how to do it, the other services can, too.

[JCRISPEN]

If the Air Force wants to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, then Congress needs to pass this legislation.

[btrflymama]

I feel that the Senate should allow paternity leave to be changed from 10 days to 21 days. There are father's that would love to spend more time at home with their newborn and they cannot. Unfortunately, they denied the proposal. Mother's get 6 weeks after delivery, what's so bad about letting a father have a few extra days???

[PELIGROSO]

It would make since to make it three weeks. My troop adopted a baby and he was given three weeks of adoption non-chargeable leave.

[kojack]

What about compensation for all the troops that pick up the bworl load for the pregnant mommies and daddies? Who does the work with all the people drawing pay and not on the job?

[Warbyrd13]

Originally Posted by kojack

What about compensation for all the troops that pick up the bworl load for the pregnant mommies and daddies? Who does the work with all the people drawing pay and not on the job?

it is no differant when some one takes say 20 days of leave? What about when people have to take emergancy leave? I do not see a problem with this. The birth of someones child is special an it improves the morale of the family if both people can be there with the child. Using that lame excuse of who picks up the slack. Honestly is that the best way to debate this topic?

i have only seen a few people who ever had a problem with a male service member taking leave to be with thier new born child. They were normaly single, lonely and a very bitter person. There is only a few things that happen in life that are truely amazing events. the birth of your child is one of them.