Governor Mike Braun signs Executive Order to strengthen parental leave, childbirth recovery leave for State Employees

Today, ahead of International Women’s Day this Saturday, Governor Mike Braun signed an executive order to strengthen paid parental leave for state employees. The executive order also provides paid childbirth leave for women recovering from giving birth, as well as paid leave for those grieving from the tragedy of losing a baby. 

“Strong families are the cornerstone of strong communities, and it’s so important for a family to have quality time to care for their newest member. I believe employers should do everything they can to accommodate the needs of new parents, and today I’m setting an example by strengthening our state’s policies for paid parental leave (including adoption), childbirth recovery leave, and paid leave for those facing the tragedy of losing a baby. These new paid parental leave policies will benefit women recovering from childbirth, their spouses, and the newborns whose health and development will be improved by more time with their parents in those first critical weeks. Indiana supports strong families!” - Governor Mike Braun

Under this new executive order from Governor Braun: 

All employed women who give birth are eligible for six weeks of paid childbirth recovery leave and up to eight weeks of paid childbirth leave for employees who deliver via C-section. This leave policy also applies to employees who experience the tragedy of losing a baby in utero at 20 weeks or beyond. 

All full-time state employees may receive up to 150 hours of paid parental leave (75 hours for part-time employees) following the birth or adoption of a child, regardless of how long they have been employed with the state. 

Replacing the previous policy, Governor Braun’s parental leave policies will now apply no matter how long the employee has worked for the state. Suppose an employee who has worked for the state for fewer than 6 months takes parental/childbirth/or stillbirth leave. In that case, the employee must agree to complete at least one year of consecutive employment following his or her return to work as a condition for taking leave.