Commissioners Implement Paid Family Leave Policy For County Employees

A policy long wanted by employees at Bucks County government will now be arriving. 

During the commissioners meeting at the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown Borough on Wednesday, the commissioners – two Democrats and one Republican – approved a measure to implement a human resources policy which will give county employees paid family leave. 

The move, which has been in talks since November of last year, according to past reporting, will grant employees who need it up to eight weeks of paid family leave.

The paid leave will be for full-time employees with as least a full year of service for a birth, adoption, or placement of a foster child.

“This is something that I believe is certainly overdue,” said Commissioner Bob Harvie, a Democrat. “It is something that we as a nation, we know that we are behind on.” 

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, fourteen states including Washington D.C. have some form of mandatory paid family leave. Bucks County’s policy only deals with county employees.

Other counties in Pennsylvania, including Montgomery County, already have paid family leave for its government workers. 

“We care about those first months of a family,” said Harvie. 

County officials said they hope the new policy will incentivize “new recruits to join our workforce and our existing employees to stay in public service.”

Officials also mentioned that parents on leave will get the same amount of compensation as if they were at work. Employee pay for the year is already budgeted at the start of the fiscal year.

According to a study from the Center for Law and Social Policy, estimated employees in Pennsylvania lost more than $2 billion in wages from unpaid or partially paid family and medical leave in 2023. 

The commissioners meeting included other highlights on the agenda besides the paid policy. 

The meeting itself talked about America 250, with the anniversary being in a few days from the meeting and with Bucks County having a large impact on the creation of the United States. 

Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican, spoke about how big of an impact Bucks County had during the formation of the country.

“Bucks County played a significant, amazing part in making this happen,” DiGirolamo said.

Also, during the meeting, the commissioners made a proclamation that other counties in the state and around the country have made. An America 250 proclamation to continue to support the constitution.