FAYETTEVILLE -- Justices of the peace are questioning whether to give Washington County employees a new benefit that will allow eight weeks of paid parental leave.
"I want people to keep an open mind," Justice of the Peace Daniel Balls said. "It benefits the regular working public, and it benefits the county also."
Meeting Coming Thursday
The Washington County Quorum Court will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at the courthouse in the Quorum Courtroom. Items under consideration include the parental leave policy and the budget. The millage rate also must be set Thursday.
Source: Staff Report
Parental Leave Fast Facts
Under the proposal, Washington County will provide up to eight weeks paid parental leave to an eligible employee serving as a primary care giver following the birth or adoption of a child.
• If both parents are Washington County employees, only one parent will qualify for Paid Parental Leave benefits.
• Employees must be employed for a minimum of one year before being eligible.
• Birth and adoption will be treated equally.
• The proposal is being submitted as an emergency ordinance for the purpose of implementing immediately and not preventing anyone that will qualify within the next 30 days from receiving benefits.
Source: Washington County Human Resources; Washington County Ordinance
Balls, who sponsored the ordinance, is a Democrat who represents north-central Fayetteville.
The legislation goes on its third and final reading Thursday during a regular Quorum Court meeting.
Proponents say the policy will attract and keep quality employees who will then improve county services. The measure is not expected to be costly, according to an email from Human Resources Director Lindsi Huffaker to justices of the peace Sept. 13.
About 18 county employees took off for birth or adoption in 2015, which had an actual weekly productivity cost of $12,615, Huffaker wrote. The annual benefit value projected for the eight weeks of paid parental leave is roughly $110,000, according to the email.
Huffaker did not return a phone message left at her office Tuesday afternoon.
The county's cost already is budgeted within the full-time salaries, so it is not an increase to the overall budget, Huffaker said in her email to justices of the peace. The Quorum Court doesn't need to raise taxes or increase the budget to offer this benefit for employees, Balls said.
Comptroller Ashley Farber agreed that the cost to the county would be slight but said it could affect the county's carryover money, according to figures released Monday. The carryover is expected to be about $12.3 million for this year.
Other costs may include hiring a temporary worker, but Farber said departments have the money in their budgets already. No additional personnel were hired to cover birth or adoption leaves last year or the year before, Huffaker wrote to justices of the peace.
Opponents point out that the measure provides benefits to county employees that people who don't work in government rarely see. Few companies in Arkansas offer such a benefit, said Randy Zook, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer.
"It would make [Washington County] way out in front of businesses -- way ahead of everybody," Zook said.
Only three states -- California, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- guarantee paid family and medical leave, according to the website of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a Denver-based bipartisan organization. New York will have paid leave effective Jan. 1, 2018.
The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville offers 12 weeks of unpaid family leave, a spokesman said. A spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. declined to say what the company's policy is.
No Arkansas city offers paid leave similar to what Washington County is considering, according to a chart by the National Partnership for Women & Families, a Washington-based nonprofit founded as the Women's Legal Defense Fund. The chart was updated last month.
"Our main concern is: We are Americans, we are independent, we can take care of ourselves," said Justice of the Peace Sharon Lloyd, a Republican who represents southwestern Springdale.
Lloyd said taxpayers would fund the benefit for employees who already have benefits and who were already approved for a minimum 5 percent pay raise next year. She said because the policy would only affect about 3 percent of the county's roughly 570 employees, it's not equal treatment.
Employees can save up their sick days and vacation days to cover unpaid leave for adoption or childbirth, Lloyd said.
"This is not heartless," Lloyd said. "This is being responsible with taxpayer money."
Balls said that nationally, the idea of offering paid parental leave is taking root. Many large tech companies offer the benefit, as does at least one nonprofit organization, Balls said.
President-elect Donald Trump also has said he supports paid maternal leave policies.
"The Trump plan will guarantee six weeks of paid maternity leave by amending the existing unemployment insurance that companies are required to carry," according to a statement on Trump's campaign website. "The benefit would apply only when employers don't offer paid maternity leave, and would be paid for by offsetting reductions in the program so that taxes are not raised."
Balls sees his proposal as a way to boost employee morale and help the county compete in a market with low unemployment and quality jobs, he said. Counties across the state are worried about recruitment and retention of quality employees, said Scott Perkins, spokesman for the Association of Arkansas Counties, in an email Tuesday.
"Each county and job market are different, however, recruitment and retention are always a concern for any organization but especially the public sector," Perkins said.
"We would be a leader in the state to do this," Balls said. "I don't think just because nobody else is doing it -- that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't do it. We are trying to do something different that's outside the box."
Metro on 11/16/2016