Paid parental leave for Fed workers could spur wider changes

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government’s 2.1 million employees will get paid parental leave for the first time as part of legislation passed by Congress.

It’s a galvanizing moment in the growing movement to bring the benefit to all U.S. workers. Under the bill, federal employees will get 12 weeks of paid leave for mothers and fathers of newborns, newly adopted children or foster children.

President Donald Trump says he will sign it into law. The new policy aligns the federal government with many of the country’s most powerful companies, which have been leading the charge in aggressively expanding parental leave benefits.