This story has been updated, to reflect the results of the Allegheny County Board of Health’s Vote on Monday Sept. 28

Pennsylvania Democrats are rallying around Allegheny County as it prepares for a key vote on a paid family leave policy that would be the first of its kind in the country.

“We shouldn't have to be here, county by county, municipality by municipality, or state by state, ensuring that our families are well taken care of, that babies are able to thrive, that our parents are able to not just choose between a life-threatening situation or a paycheck,” U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12) said last week. “Families are right to start asking, why are they continuously being told that they have to make do with less while everything around them gets more expensive?”

The Allegheny County health department is slated to vote today on a bill that would require 12 weeks of paid parental leave for everyone employed at companies with 15 or more employees within the county. If it passes, the bill would go before Allegheny County Council for a vote, and then to County Executive Sara Innamorato for her signature. 

Allegheny County would be the first county in the country to have its own paid family leave policy. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C. have passed paid family leave laws, but Pennsylvania still does not have its own.  

Lee and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17) rallied with Innamorato and other Democrats at the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank in Pittsburgh last week to encourage passage of the bill. 

It was Innamorato who proposed amending the county’s sick leave policy to add parental leave, a proposal the county health department voted to move forward in May. The proposal has drawn vigorous debate in the months since, and the policy was revised earlier this month to reduce the number of weeks of leave and narrow the businesses included.

“What we did not lose sight of is that this is urgently needed for the public health of infants and families,” Innamorato said in her remarks. “And working parents know they deserve better than scraping by hand to mouth, which is why paid parental leave is so popular.” 

She added that the revised proposal would be more affordable than many initially feared, with local private insurers estimating a $15-per-hour employee would cost $13 a month to cover. 

The original proposal had suggested 18 weeks of leave, and would have applied to all employers in Allegheny County regardless of size. Employees must work six months and 625 hours to be eligible, and the revised bill added a six-month grace period for companies to implement the policy.

Innamorato herself is pregnant with her first child, with her baby due near Thanksgiving. At County Council’s July 14 meeting, an emotional Innamorato publicly disclosed her pregnancy and rejected the idea that the county should wait for the legislature in Harrisburg to act. 

“I will be so disappointed in myself as the first county executive who will give birth in office to not be able to provide parental leave for other families who are struggling every day and just want that time to recover and to bond and to build their family.” Innamorato told the council. “That's what people in Allegheny County deserve. They deserve that attention to family. They deserve that worker protection.”

Innamorato noted that the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which passed in 1993, was first drafted before she was born. It was meant to be a floor, not a ceiling, she said, but the policy that provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave has been largely unchanged since it became law. 

When she was a state representative, Innamorato co-sponsored a 2019 bill to provide paid family leave, but the General Assembly has still not been able to reach agreement on a statewide law. 

“In Allegheny County, we don't have to wait. If we actually take action, we might be able to spur other counties with health departments to do the same, and maybe just maybe get that General Assembly to actually get it across the finish line as well,” she told council. “Let’s not ignore the power that we have here at home.”

A divided state legislature, with Democrats in control of the House and a Republican-controlled Senate, has meant gridlock on numerous issues in Pennsylvania, including paid family leave legislation. 

A bill co-sponsored by Rep. Jennifer O’Mara (D) of Delaware County passed the Pennsylvania House in April. It would require employers to provide 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, victims of violent acts, and individuals facing or recovering from a serious health condition, including illness, injury, and pregnancy. Employers would pay the cost for the leave under the bill, with compensation to be based on Pennsylvania’s average weekly wage. O’Mara’s version of the bill would create a state grant program for employers with under 50 employees.

The bill has so far stalled in the state Senate.

Deluzio, a father of four, said at last week’s event that he and Lee were in agreement that Congress should take action on paid family leave at the federal level. He praised Innamorato and county officials for making revisions to the original proposal after hearing feedback from the community, including small business owners.

“I think that we in this country can afford to say we support families and parents and babies, and policies like this are a big part of it,” Deluzio said. “I would urge the Board of Health and the County Council to make this the law in this county. Do it as quickly as you can. This is something I think puts our county not just a better place for families, but it's something that's attractive to employers who want to come here, to workers who want to come to this region and lay down roots and start families.”

Update: The Allegheny County Board of Health voted unanimously on Monday to pass the paid family leave bill. It goes next to Allegheny County Council for a vote, and then to County Executive Sara Innamorato.
Innamorato, who championed the bill, applauded the council vote Monday. 

“We’ve been waiting for decades for federal or state action, while the rest of the world and much of the country moves forward with protecting families. I’m tired of waiting, and Allegheny County families are tired of waiting,” Innamorato said in a statement. “They deserve better and I eagerly encourage Council to pass this bill and send it to me for my signature.”