§ 11A-80. Declaration of policy.

(1)

Miami-Dade County shall implement paid parental leave for all of its exempt female and male employees and all other employees covered by collective bargaining agreements whose agreements explicitly provide for this benefit for the employee, for the purpose of caring for his or her newborn, newly-adopted, or newly-placed foster child or children. This leave shall apply equally to parents regardless of gender, as well as to same-sex couples, in the event of a natural birth by any method, adoption, surrogacy, stillbirths, or foster care placement in the employee's home. Employees who have worked for Miami-Dade County for a minimum of one year are eligible for the full duration of paid parental leave.

(2)

The paid parental leave shall be up to six weeks long, and may be taken by day or week anytime during the first year after the birth, adoption, or foster care intake of the child or children. The leave period is fixed regardless of the number of children born, adopted by the employee, or placed in the employee's home through foster care. During the leave period, the employee shall be paid 100 percent of his or her base wages for the first two weeks, 75 percent of his or her base wages for the following two weeks, and 50 percent of base wages for the remaining two weeks. Employees shall be eligible to use any accrued leave in order to receive compensation up to 100 percent of base pay during the weeks reimbursed at the rates of 75 percent and 50 percent. This leave shall occur concurrently with, count against, and not be added to periods of unpaid or job protected leave for which the employee may also be eligible, including the federally-mandated 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, and/or any other unpaid leave offered by the County due to childbirth or adoption, including under Chapter 11A, Article V of this Code (Family Leave).

(3)

The number of paid parental leave periods employees may take is unlimited over the duration of their employment with the County, but employees are only eligible for one six-week paid leave per birth or adoption.

(4)

If both parents work for the County, each is entitled to a six-week leave period as described in subsection (2) of this Section, and they may take their parental leave period concurrently, subsequently, or in any other combination they wish.

(5)

The Director of Human Resources for Miami-Dade County shall have full authority to issue policies relative to paid parental leave benefits offered pursuant to this Ordinance for any purpose, including, but not limited to, notification requirements for employees requesting leave, employee eligibility, and documentation requirements for births, adoptions and foster care placements.

(6)

The Miami-Dade County employee leave manual shall include provisions consistent with the requirements of this Article for paid parental leave.

(Ord. No. 16-20, § 1, 2-2-16)