During a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Nan Whaley announced that Dayton will be the first major city in the state to offer paid parental leave to its male and female employees.
“We know that when we do these kind of policies studies show that it helps with attraction and retention of quality employees," Whaley said. "We’re proud of our workforce and proud of the work it's doing but we want to make sure that we're paying attention to both their work and family life.”
Eligible employees can now take a maximum of six weeks of continuous leave following the birth or adoption of a minor child. Officials say parental leave would begin on the “exact date” an employee’ child is born or on the day an employee gains custody of an adopted child. The employee would have to provide supporting documentation.
Innovation Ohio's Keary McCarthy helped the city with this latest policy development.
McCarthy says Dayton’s new policy reflects that of many Fortune 500 Company CEO’s have realized, “that establishing a paid parental leave policy is good for women, families, employers and local communities.”
The head of Ohio Innovation listed several major companies that have instituted parental leave policies this year, including Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Netflix, Adobe, and Microsoft.