New parental leave policy providing “huge relief” to expecting city employees

Published: Jan. 23, 2023 at 5:31 PM CST

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Bringing a child in to the world is no easy task and now the City of Birmingham is looking to make that challenge slightly easier on all city employees.

Mayor Randall Woodfin recently announced that the city is adopting a full paid parental leave of 12 weeks for the birth or placement of a child.

We are now hearing from city employees how they feel about the new policy. Paige Ishmael, a senior planner in the city’s transportation department says the announcement was a “huge relief.”

She and her husband have talked a handful of times about how much time to take and when.

Both say they did not want to miss their baby girl’s first weeks. They plan to name the child Alice, after Paige’s grandmother, and the due date is now less than four months away.

Which means Paige will be among the first to take advantage of the new policy.

“I am due in May so this was great timing for me, and it is just great to feel the support of the city financially during that special time which you never get back with your newborn child. So just really looking forward to that time now and have a lot less worries,” said Ishmael.

She also stressed that she hopes more businesses and cities follow Birmingham’s example not just giving leave to mothers, but to all parents.

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