10 Days Non-chargeable Paternity Leave

Paternity Leave

December 1st, 2008

We are evolving!

I remember back before the birth of one of my sons, I was a 2nd Class Petty Officer at the time, I submitted a “Baby leave” request through my chain of command to ensure my presence for the birth of our child.

“Baby leave”, as it was referred to, normally kept the actual dates open and when the time came you would call in and the approved chargeable leave would commence. “Baby leave” was one of those unwritten policies commands normally supported.

The day I ran my request through, my Departmental Senior Chief called me into the Electronics Material Officer (EMO) office to discuss the leave before he would recommend approval. In the office was the EMO and a couple of the Division Chiefs. I stood next to his desk as he looked over the leave chit. After a couple of minutes of silence he raised his head and in a serious tone stated, “You only have to be there when the keel is laid you don’t have to be there when the ship is launched, disapproved”. My heart sank to my feet, I was speechless – I desperately wanted to be with my wife during this time.

Just as I felt the last little bit of blood leave my head laughter filled the room. Senior Chief stood up and shook my hand – told me they were just having fun and the leave was no problem at all. We spent the next few minutes talking about kids and the challenges they can present. It was a wonderful roller coaster ride.

The new paternity leave policy is based on Sec. 532 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 which the President signed into law on 14 October 2008.

SEC. 532. PATERNITY LEAVE FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

(a) Leave Authorized- Section 701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘(j)(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, a married member of the armed forces on active duty whose wife gives birth to a child shall receive 10 days of leave to be used in connection with the birth of the child.
‘(2) Leave under paragraph (1) is in addition to other leave authorized under this section.’.
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and applies only with respect and applies only with respect to children born on or after that date.

The following NAVADMIN describes the new paternity leave policy for the United States Navy.

RAAUZYUW RUEWMCS0000 3312358-UUUU–RUCRNAD.
ZNR UUUUU
R 262358Z NOV 08
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
BT
UNCLAS //N01050//
NAVADMIN 341/08
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/OCT//
SUBJ/PATERNITY LEAVE IMPLEMENTATION// REF/A/DOC/S.3001/14OCT2008//
AMPN/REF A IS THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT (NDAA) 2009.//
RMKS/1. THIS NAVADMIN ANNOUNCES IMPLEMENTATION OF PATERNITY LEAVE AS
AUTHORIZED BY THE FY09 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT.
EFFECTIVE 14 OCTOBER 2008, THE PATERNITY LEAVE POLICY GRANTS TEN DAYS
OF NON-CHARGEABLE LEAVE TO A MARRIED MEMBER OF THE NAVY ON ACTIVE DUTY
WHOSE WIFE GIVES BIRTH TO A CHILD. THIS LEAVE MUST BE TAKEN IN
CONJUNCTION WITH THE BIRTH OF THE CHILD.
2. PATERNITY LEAVE PROVIDES DEDICATED TIME FOR A SAILOR TO ESTABLISH
LONG TERM CHILD CARE ROUTINES AND ADDRESS NEW PARENTING
RESPONSIBILITIES, WHICH HELP CREATE THE HEALTHY NAVY FAMILIES WE RELY
ON TO DEFEND OUR NATION. PATERNITY LEAVE IS ALSO CONSISTENT WITH THE
CHANGING PERSPECTIVE OF WORK/FAMILY NEEDS AMONG CURRENT WORKFORCE
DEMOGRAPHICS. DURING THE 2007/2008 TASK FORCE LIFE/WORK ROADSHOW, OVER
68 PERCENT OF PARENTAL POLICY REVISION REQUESTS WERE RELATED TO THE
NEED FOR PATERNITY LEAVE. CURRENTLY ONLY 13 PERCENT OF U.S. EMPLOYERS
OFFER PAID PATERNITY LEAVE. INCORPORATING THIS PROGRESSIVE POLICY INTO
THE NAVY BENEFITS PACKAGE DEMONSTRATES OUR DEDICATION TO NAVY FAMILIES
AND OUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO BEING A TOP 50 EMPLOYER.
3. SPECIFIC NAVY POLICY WILL BE REFLECTED IN MILPERMAN 1050-430 AS
FOLLOWS:
A. PATERNITY LEAVE MAY BE GRANTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ORDINARY
LEAVE.
B. COMMANDING OFFICERS WILL GRANT LEAVE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS
DEPENDENT ON THE UNIT’S MISSION, SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES,
AND SERVICE MEMBER’S BILLET.
C. PATERNITY LEAVE MUST BE TAKEN WITHIN 365 DAYS OF THE BIRTH OF
THE CHILD. WAIVERS TO THIS POLICY MUST BE SUBMITTED TO OPNAV N130 FOR
APPROVAL, WITH AN EXPLANATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT PREVENTED USE OF
PATERNITY LEAVE.
D. THE FULL TEN DAYS OF PATERNITY LEAVE NEED NOT BE TAKEN IN A
SINGLE BLOCK. HOWEVER, PERIODS OF NON-CHARGEABLE LEAVE MAY NOT BE
TAKEN CONSECUTIVELY IN CONJUNCTION WITH LIBERTY OR SPECIAL LIBERTY.
E. THE 10 DAY ENTITLEMENT REMAINS THE SAME FOR MULTIPLE BIRTHS
(TWIN, TRIPLETS, ETC).
4. MEMBERS WHO HAVE USED EARNED LEAVE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE BIRTH OF
A CHILD ON OR AFTER 14 OCTOBER 2008 SHOULD CONTACT THEIR PERSONNEL
SUPPORT ACTIVITY DETACHMENT TO HAVE UP TO TEN DAYS OF LEAVE REINSTATED.
5. COMMANDS WITH QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS POLICY CHANGE ARE ENCOURAGED
TO CONTACT THEIR LOCAL PSD FOR CLARIFICATION.
6. POINTS OF CONTACT:
- PSD’S WITH QUESTIONS: LT MIKE BOWER, OPNAV N130C, (703) 695-3304 OR
EMAIL MICHAEL.L.BOWER(AT)NAVY.MIL.
- TASK FORCE LIFE/WORK CONCERNS: LT HOPE BRILL, OPNAV 134W, (703)
695-1414 OR EMAIL ELIZABETH.BRILL(AT)NAVY.MIL.
7. RELEASED BY VADM M. E. FERGUSON III, N1.//
BT
#0000
NNNN

As stated, only currently 13% of U.S. employers offer such a benefit – the British armed forces have been offering a paid parental leave program for quite sometime. Does “progressive” mean “catching up”?

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