Mississippi
Paid parental leave passes Mississippi House. Read details
Bill sees widespread support in Legislature
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Gov. Tate Reeves gives his State of the State address at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
Mississippi’s government employees are one step closer to having eight weeks of paid parental leave, which is currently not offered.
On Thursday afternoon, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed House Bill 1063 with 114 votes.
The bill would give state employees who have worked for the government for at least one year eight full weeks of paid parental leave once their child is born. It also offers leave for parents adopting someone under the age of 18. Parents who are considered secondary caregivers would receive two weeks of paid leave.
The bill would not specifically apply to schoolteachers but would allow school districts to adopt their own similar policy.
House Speaker Jason White, R-West, later called the bill a win for Mississippi.
“As a pro-life state, Mississippi is in a critical position to meet the needs for healthier outcomes for parents and children and to support families in our state’s workplace,” White said in a press release issued Thursday after the vote. “With our fellow southern states offering some form of parental leave, and Mississippi currently offering no paid parental leave to their state employees, we too can reflect our commitment to the wellbeing of families, as well as utilize this benefit as an employee recruitment and retention tool.”
White in his statement also said the bill, if it were to pass, sets a health example for the state’s private sector to offer similar benefits to their employees.
The legislation was authored by Rep. Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi, who among a large bi-partisan contingent of lawmakers in both the Senate and House have been calling for the idea.
In 2024, Attorney General Lynn Fitch asked lawmakers to pass parental leave to keep the state competitive in hiring practices and made the idea one of her legislative priorities for 2025. There was also a hearing to discuss the benefits of paid parental leave.
Others such as Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, have also said it’s time to offer state employees a parental leave option, and Sen. Jeremy England, R-Ocean Springs, has filed a bill to give state employees parental leave in the Senate.
“As a parent myself, I understand that those first several weeks after giving birth, they’re very joyful weeks, but they’re also very trying weeks, and you have to learn how to do a lot of things, especially with your first child, and I think that it’s a good idea for us to offer that,” England said.
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.