FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2023

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO Furthering his commitment to attract and retain a first-class City workforce, Mayor Todd Gloria today signed a package of resolutions, championed by City Councilmember Raul Campillo, that dramatically expand parental leave benefits for City employees.

San Diegans deserve a high-quality workforce that gets things done, and to make sure were attracting and retaining the most effective employees, we must offer competitive benefits, Mayor Todd Gloria said. Thats why I am proud to sign into law a dramatic expansion of paid parental leave for City workers. I applaud Councilmember Raul Campillo for bringing this sensible proposal forward and successfully getting it through the legislative process.

Our Citys current benefits for expecting parents have been woefully insufficient and complicated to navigate, Councilmember Raul Campillo added. My parental benefits package started a long overdue conversation, and I appreciate Mayor Gloria and my Council colleagues in joining me to take action and address an issue that punished our current workforce and dissuaded qualified applicants from coming to work for the City. By doubling our paid parental leave and by making it easier to access pregnancy disability benefits, parents who work for the City will have much more time to raise their newborns without the worry of being hurried back to work.

Prior to Councilmember Campillo releasing his parental benefits package in October, the City offered only four weeks of leave for parents. In addition, a person had to show they were disabled by the pregnancy for 30 days before receiving long-term disability pay. Updates to parental benefits that the City Council approved include:\

• doubling the amount of parental leave provided to employees from 160 hours (four weeks) to 320 hours (eight weeks);
• eliminating the 30-day waiting period for disability benefits for pregnant employees and employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition to ensure employees can access benefits immediately upon need; and
• changing the eligibility requirement to access these benefits from a one-year minimum employment requirement to 30 days of employment, ensuring the City is not discriminating against employees who become pregnant or are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition childbirth who have worked for the City for less than a year.

###