Minneapolis council passes 12-week parental leave policy

Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council approved a change to the city’s paid parental leave policy.

The update boosts paid parental leave from three weeks to 12 weeks for city employees.

The move was something Mayor Jacob Frey had pushed for.

“Some argue this benefit will result in reduced productivity for those additional nine weeks of leave,” Frey said in a statement. “I would argue there is a far bigger loss when an employee goes to work elsewhere because they can’t have a baby when working for the City of Minneapolis. With this policy, we are directly investing in our employees and their families, and I’m proud that the Council has approved this resolution.”

According to the city, the updated policy will retroactively cover city employees who had a qualifying event within 12 weeks of the effective date.