As of October 2024, 36 states and also Washington D.C. have adopted paid parental leave policies for state employees. Nearly all have adopted their state employee leave policies ranging from six (6) to twelve (12) weeks per event (birth, adoption, foster placement). Kentucky is not one of these states.
On December 12, 2024, Governor Beshear announced a state employee leave policy allowing up to six (6) weeks that can be used once every ten (10) years that could support parental leave and also other medical necessities or emergencies (e.g. when an individual suffers a stroke/heart attack, is in a bad accident, faces urgent caregiving demands of a family member, etc.). Currently, neither paid leave option being proposed is available to Kentucky’s public servants.
Regarding the paid parental leave option in particular, as these regulations have been filed, Kentucky would be the only state in the nation with a restrictive once-per-10-years limitation.
These regulations establishing a paid parental leave and medical necessity leave benefit for Kentucky state employees will be up for review soon and the state is accepting comments to decide if any changes are needed before they go into effect. In order for this leave to be flexible enough to accommodate both emergency or medical necessities AND realistic parental leave needs, simple adjustments to the regulation must be addressed quickly. Your input on this matter is important, and makes a difference in how the regulations will be received by the legislature when it time they be reviewed for approval.
You can read the non-emergency regulations here:
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- Classified (merit) employees: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/101/002/102/REG/
- Non-classified (non-merit) employees: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/101/003/015/REG/
- Classified (merit) employees: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/101/002/102/REG/
Public comment period timeline:
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- Public hearing facilitated by the Personnel Cabinet: March 21, 2025 (*written requests to participate are required 5 days prior to the hearing)
- Written comments due: March 31, 2025
- It is early in the process so at this time, the regulations are not yet assigned to a specific upcoming meeting of the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee (ARRS) — but — watch for updates soon!
- Please note: By completing this survey, your comments will ultimately be shared with state policymakers from both the executive branch and legislative branch.
The bottom-line: every Kentuckian, including state employees and their babies, deserve to have their basic, health-related social needs met!
