Navy Gives New Dads 10 Days Paid Leave
For Active Duty Married Sailors
November 24, 2008
Virginian-Pilot
In an effort to build loyalty and make the Navy more family- friendly, the service is now
granting paid paternity leave to new fathers - with some exceptions.
The provision, part of the 2009 Defense Authorization Act, makes active-duty Sailors eligible
for 10 days of administrative leave after their wives give birth. Unmarried Sailors do not qualify
for the benefit.
Previously, Sailors had to use personal leave time.
Stephanie Miller, deputy director of the Navy's Task Force Life/ Work, said the service
pushed for the legislation for multiple reasons. One is parity - Navy women get 42 days of leave
after delivering a baby, and adoptive parents are allotted 21 days.
It also recognizes that a growing number of women deliver babies by Caesarean section, which
requires more recovery time than a vaginal delivery. "This gives dads an opportunity to share the
weight," Miller said.
One of the biggest reasons for the change is to keep the Navy competitive in recruiting and
retaining talented people.
"Even though it's a fast-growing benefit, there's not a ton of companies who offer it,"
Miller said.
The administrative leave won't immediately help expectant fathers who are deployed on ships
or serving in war zones. It wasn't designed to get those Sailors home for a child's birth, Miller
said. But they would be able to use it later, as long as it's taken within a year of their child's
birth. Commanding officers must approve the leave.
The provision went into effect in mid-October, so Sailors who used personal leave for a
child's birth over the past month can get it back.
Lt. Cmdr. Norm Macgregor is already planning his paternity leave. His wife is due Dec. 18.
Macgregor took about six days of personal leave when his son was born in July 2006. He would
have taken more but had to return to work to participate in a military exercise.
Macgregor, assigned to Fleet Forces Command at Norfolk Naval Station, has already submitted
the required paperwork. His boss - a father of four - joked about the 40 days of leave he would
have gotten under the policy.
The new policy eases his worries about having enough time off, he said. "With new babies, you
never know if they're going to be sick, or if they'll need more time in the hospital."
Miller said the new policy doesn't have a direct cost, outside of a small reduction in
productivity. She said roughly 18,000 babies are born to Navy fathers annually.
"It doesn't cost us to give this leave," she said. "We felt the benefits far outweighed what
the opportunity cost was."
The legislation authorizes the secretary of each military branch to implement paternity
leave. Miller said she thinks the Navy is the first to do so across the ranks.
Article available at:
http://www.military.com/news/article/navy-gives-new-dads-10-days-paid-leave.html
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