Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that Kentucky will soon provide state employees with paid leave to bond with a new child or address serious medical issues.
Under the plan, executive branch employees will receive up to six weeks of paid leave, available three times during their careers, Beshear said. New hires will be eligible immediately, with additional six-week periods offered at 10 and 20 years of service.
The benefit aims to make state government jobs more attractive and retain employees.
“It is the right thing to do for our employees,” Beshear told reporters at a news conference. “We care about our employees.”
The benefit will be introduced through a regulatory change and could take effect as early as next summer, the governor said. Approximately 30,500 executive branch employees are expected to qualify, according to the state Personnel Cabinet. The paid leave will not accumulate across intervals.
The leave will cover employees dealing with a serious health condition or welcoming a new child through birth, adoption, or foster care. The new policy builds on existing options for annual, sick, or compensatory leave.
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, who has faced both scenarios as a new mother and cancer survivor, spoke to the policy’s significance.
“No one needs that more than a new mom or a patient who just got some not-so-great news,” Coleman said.
Republican state Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe commended the policy as a “pro-family and pro-workforce step forward.”
“I believe in the benefits of paid family leave and fully support implementing this benefit for our commonwealth’s employees,” she said in a statement. “Kentucky has lagged in this area for far too long.”
The initiative aligns with Beshear’s broader efforts to support state workers, including health insurance coverage starting on employees’ first day and a series of pay increases totaling a 20 percent hike by the next fiscal year.
