12/17/22, 2:23 AM Coral Gables introduces paid parental leave for employees | Miami Herald

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CORAL GABLES

Paid parental leave now available for Coral

Gables employees

By Lance Dixon

ldixon@miamiherald.com

UPDATED JUNE 20, 2017 6:38 PM

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Coral Gables City Hall LANCE DIXON ldixon@miamiherald.com

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12/17/22, 2:23 AM Coral Gables introduces paid parental leave for employees | Miami Herald

Employees who’ve worked for the city of Coral Gables for at least a year are now
eligible for paid parental leave, giving them access to the same benefits provided in
a few other South Florida municipalities.

The city commission approved the new law at the June 13 meeting and it will be
available to full-time employees, regardless of gender, who have worked in the
Gables for at least a year. Employees will be able to take six weeks of leave during
the first three months after their child is born, adopted or placed with them through
foster care.

Coral Gables joins Miami-Dade County and the cities of Doral and Miami Beach in
providing paid parental leave for employees.

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“If we want to have the best talent, if we want to recruit the best talent, if we want to
maintain the best talent, we need to be better on this front,” said Commissioner
Michael Mena, who sponsored the ordinance.

The leave has to be taken in a six-week block. Employees will receive their base
salary for the first two weeks, 75 percent of their salary in the next two weeks and
50 percent of their salary in the final two weeks.

The new law does not keep employees from taking any other accrued sick leave or
vacation time.

Mena said that he sees the six weeks as a baseline and hopes the city will consider
expanding the maximum amount of leave in the future.

“If this goes well and we decide later that we want to add more time, we can and we
should consider that,” Mena said.

Finance director Diana Gomez estimated that providing the paid leave will cost the
city about $65,000 and at the high end could cost about $200,000.

This post has been updated.

Lance Dixon: 305-376-3708, @LDixon_3

This story was originally published June 20, 2017 12:25 PM.

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