Taking Leave Seriously: Allegheny County Significantly Expands Employers’ Paid Leave Obligations

Key Takeaways

• Allegheny County adopted an ordinance requiring employers with 15 or more employees to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected parental leave at their base rate of pay, capped at $4,200 per week.
• The ordinance also expands the county's existing paid sick leave requirements, increasing annual leave to 72 hours for employers with 15 or more employees and 48 hours for smaller employers.
• Employers must implement the new leave benefits by Oct. 17, 2027, and should use the implementation period to review and update their leave policies and practices.

On Oct. 22, 2026, Allegheny County amended Article XXIV of the Allegheny County Health Department Rules and Regulations to require paid parental leave and expand the county's existing paid sick leave requirements (the Ordinance).

When Do Employers Need to Comply?

The Ordinance takes effect 180 days after enactment, or on April 20, 2027. Employers then have an additional 180 days, until Oct. 17, 2027, to implement the new requirements.

Covered Employers and Employees

The Ordinance applies to employers that employ 15 or more persons for a salary, wage, commission or other compensation. Employees generally must work at least 80 hours in Allegheny County during a 12-month period to be covered. Independent contractors, temporary and seasonal employees, federal and Pennsylvania state employees, and certain construction employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, however, are excluded from the Ordinance.

Paid Parental Leave

Eligible employees may receive up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for a qualifying event. Full-time employees must have worked for the employer for at least 180 continuous days before leave begins, while part-time employees must have worked for the employer for at least 180 days and 625 hours during that period.

Qualifying events include:

• The birth of a child
• A stillbirth or fetal death
• The adoption of a child
• The legal permanent placement, including a qualifying foster-care placement, of a child

For a live birth, adoption or permanent placement, employees may use the leave during the 12 months following the qualifying event.

During leave, employees are entitled to their base rate of pay, up to $4,200 per week, as well as continuation of established employment benefits, including medical, dental and vision coverage. For part-time employees, the benefit is based on their average weekly hours during the six months preceding the leave request. Employers may provide the paid parental leave benefit through private insurance, but they remain responsible for any difference between the insurance benefit and the amount required by the Ordinance.

Interaction with Other Leave

Paid parental leave must run concurrently with leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when an employee qualifies for both. Accordingly, employees will not receive an additional 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the same qualifying event after using FMLA leave. The eligibility requirements differ, however, and an employee may qualify for paid parental leave under the Ordinance after 180 days of employment before satisfying the FMLA's 12-month service requirement.

If spouses or domestic partners work for the same employer, each eligible employee is entitled to the full paid parental leave benefit even if their leaves overlap.

Notice and Job Protection

Employees must provide employers with 30 days' written notice when the need for leave is foreseeable or as soon as practicable when advance notice is not possible. Employers may require reasonable documentation supporting the qualifying event and must provide a written eligibility determination within 10 business days after receiving the claim and required documentation.

Paid parental leave is job-protected leave, and employees generally must be restored to the same or a comparable position with equivalent seniority, status, benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment upon returning from leave. The Ordinance also prohibits interference with or retaliation for an employee's exercise of protected rights. Covered employers must provide employees with written notice of their rights upon hire and every year thereafter, and beginning one year after the Ordinance's effective date, annually certify their compliance to the county.

Expanded Sick Leave Requirements

The Ordinance also expands Allegheny County's existing paid sick leave requirements.

• Employers with 15 or more employees: Eligible employees generally accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 72 hours per year.
• Employers with fewer than 15 employees: The amended paid sick leave provisions contemplate the same accrual rate, subject to a 48-hour annual limit. However, because the Ordinance's amended definition of employer covers entities employing at least 15 people and therefore makes the mandate with respect to smaller employers inherently contradictory, it is unclear whether this requirement can be applied to smaller employers. Further county guidance may clarify the issue.

The changes extend paid sick leave requirements to smaller employers and increase the amount of paid sick leave available to employees of larger employers.

Penalties and Enforcement

The Ordinance prohibits employers from interfering with or retaliating against employees for exercising protected rights. Employers that violate the Ordinance may be subject to a penalty of $100 per day per violation, as well as civil actions brought by employees. Prevailing employees may recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

Next Steps for Employers

• Employers should use the Ordinance's implementation period to review existing parental leave, paid sick leave, paid time off and FMLA policies, and to make any necessary changes.
• Employers should pay particular attention to the Ordinance's eligibility requirements and coordination with other available leaves, as well as the expanded paid sick leave requirements.

Allegheny County's expanded leave requirements are likely to have significant operational implications for employers, making a thorough understanding of their obligations essential. The BakerHostetler Labor and Employment Practice Group is available to help employers navigate these requirements.