Four percent of federal employees who responded to the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) said they used parental leave between October 2020—when the benefit was first implemented—and July 2022. Of those who used the benefit, 81 percent said they took advantage of the full 12 weeks of paid leave.
The Government Accountability Office published a report on steps the Office of Personnel Management should take to further raise awareness of the program. One of those recommendations is to make sure OPM updates its website with current and accurate paid parental leave information.
For those who did not use the full benefit, GAO found that employees’ gender, position, agency and cultural barriers impacted their decision.
NTEU was a strong advocate for the passage of paid parental leave and continues to encourage our members to take full advantage of the benefit.
