Nearly four years after Multnomah County became the first government in Oregon to offer paid family leave for all employees, a team of researchers Tuesday briefed the Board of County Commissioners on the progress of the County’s policy.
In 2015, Multnomah County approved a resolution providing six weeks of paid parental leave for all regular, probationary and limited duration employees following the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child.
“We know that the United States is the last industrialized country that actually doesn’t even provide paid parental leave,” Human Resources Director Travis Graves told the Board of Commissioners Tuesday. “I think Oregon and Multnomah County saying, ‘We see that gap,’ is kind of amazing.”
Paid parental leave allows workers to care for their new child without risking financial hardship. It’s linked to lower child mortality, longer breastfeeding, improved parental mental health, and stronger parent-child relationships. Paid parental leave has also shown to improve employee retention and gender equality in the workforce.
Tuesday’s briefing provided the results of an evaluation on the implementation of the paid parental leave policy. The evaluation was performed by researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University School of Public Health. The team used surveys, focus groups, and years of data to examine the policy’s impact on employees.
Dr. Dawn Richardson, an assistant professor for the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, said the County’s paid parental policy can pave the way for similar policies at the national level. “Multnomah County is on the cutting edge of paid leave adoption, so the lessons we learn here can inform paid leave adoption nationally in ways that are going to have tremendous impact for families," Dr. Richardson said.
Paid parental leave widely popular, but employees say it can be improved
Employees reported improved health and well being because of paid parental leave and expressed enthusiasm about the policy. The researchers also found that supervisor support is critical and more needs to be done to ensure all departments equally support the policy.
“I feel valued by the County, that they value their employees enough to implement a policy like this,” one focus group participant said. “I feel like it is a great policy. I am happy that the County values their employees enough to put that in place.”
Those surveyed also suggested improvements to the policy, including additional weeks of paid parental leave, more flexible work schedules, access to low-cost childcare, and broader workplace lactation support.
Based on their findings, the research group encouraged the County to better train supervisors to support employees taking paid parental leave. Other suggestions included additional family-friendly policies such as paid leave for care of non-child dependents.
“As our population is aging this is going to be more and more of an issue. Caregiving responsibilities do extend so far beyond just having new kids,” Commissioner Sharon Meieran said. “There’s so much that goes into that. It’s so important to think about this and those next steps.”
County Commissioners share their own experiences with paid parental leave
While many of the current Commissioners were elected after the policy went into effect, each shared her own experience with paid leave and underscored why it’s so valuable.
As an emergency room physician, Commissioner Meieran said she needed to take unpaid parental leave during residency. She wasn’t lucky enough to belong to a workplace that invested in paid parental leave.
“This really does resonate with me personally because I had both of my kids during residency which is kind of a horrible time in general, but a little more difficult when you have two kids,” Commissioner Meieran said.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Susheela Jayapal said her previous employer offered four months of parental leave. She said she knows firsthand how important it is to be able to focus on caring for a newborn child.
“Like all of us on the Board, I have personal experience with these issues. I was lucky enough to work for an employer who had a generous policy,” Commissioner Susheela Jayapal said. “These are things that we understand rationally, and from personal experience, as well.”
Oregon lawmakers are considering options for a statewide parental leave program during this legislative session. One bill would require employers and employees to pay into a pool. Under that proposal, the County would need to pay millions of dollars above what it’s currently investing in paid parental leave.
“It was immediately understood by all of us who have been through this personally,” Chair Deborah Kafoury said of the County’s paid parental leave policy. “ We look forward to following the state legislation closely to make sure it doesn’t harm our policy, but is actually additive.”