11/28/09: The federal government could save an estimated $50 million in recruitment and retention costs by putting in place a paid parental leave benefit, according to new research by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). The report, and its conclusion, was presented this week at a Capitol Hill briefing co-hosted by NTEU.

“NTEU has long believed that commonsense benefits which assist employees in balancing competing work and home responsibilities help agencies hold on to talented workers,” said NTEU National President Colleen Kelley. “This report shows that is true, with an added benefit of saving the government money.”

The IWPR report calculates that an additional 2,650 employees would remain with the government each year, if this benefit were in place. That would save $50 million in recruitment and retention costs, according to the report.

“Research shows a strong connection between offering paid parental leave and the retention of top employees, a fact driving more and more employers to offer this key benefit,” said Kevin Miller, Senior Research Associate for IWPR and one of the authors of the report.

NTEU is strongly supporting pending legislation that would provide four weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees who have, adopt or foster a child. The bill, H.R. 626, passed the House of Representatives in June. A companion measure introduced by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) is pending in the Senate.

A large number of private-sector employers, including many Fortune 100 companies, offer paid parental leave. “The federal government is woefully behind in offering this benefit,” President Kelley said, “and it will not be long before the government loses the competition for bright young employees who demand balance in their lives.”

The lack of paid parental leave can also impose significant financial hardship on federal employees who have not been able to build up reserves of sick and annual leave. Those employees often cannot afford to take the 12 unpaid weeks of leave allowed under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Federal workers taking a minimal amount of leave per year—two weeks of paid vacation and three sick days—would need more than four years to accrue 12 weeks of paid leave they could use under FMLA, according to the report.

President Kelley has previously testified about the stark choice confronting many federal employees with a new child who are forced to choose between a paycheck and caring for the newest member of the family.

“This is a heart-breaking choice that new parents should not be forced to make,” Kelley said. “It is past time for the federal government to provide this benefit and I believe the research conducted by the IWPR shows, in no uncertain terms, that this legislation will help recruit new employees and provide an economic benefit. This is a win-win situation.”