Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Board of Health has unanimously approved seeking public comment on a proposal to expand Allegheny County’s Paid Sick Leave rules and to adopt paid parental leave obligations for employers.

The public comment period will remain open for at least 30 days, to June 12. A public hearing is scheduled for June 2, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.

Proposed Paid Parental Leave

Currently, Pennsylvania does not provide any statewide paid parental leave. Allegheny County’s Board of Health proposes amending the Allegheny County Health Department’s Rules and Regulations to require employers to provide all employees working in Allegheny County with up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave after the birth, adoption, or legal placement of a child, regardless of the size of their employer. As proposed, parental leave can be taken anytime within 18 months of the qualifying event.

To be eligible for parental leave under the proposed amendment, an employee must have been employed for more than 30 days prior to the leave.

Under the proposal, parents would be eligible to take the parental leave, even if both spouses or domestic partners take it concurrently with the same employer. During their leave, employees would be entitled to receive their regular pay and benefits from their employer. The leave would be concurrent to leave taken under other leave laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Proposed Expansion to Existing Sick Leave

The proposed amendment would also expand the County’s existing paid sick leave law. If passed, employers with up to 25 employees (who were not previously covered) would be covered by the paid sick leave law. The accrual rate would increase for the newly covered employers as well as those previously covered.

If passed, employees would be able to earn one hour of leave per 30 hours worked, which is an increase from the previous rate of one hour of leave per 35 hours worked. In addition, the rules related to carrying over unused leave would change. An employee would be permitted to carry over unused time as follows:

The proposed amendment leaves certain things unchanged. For example, the amendment would cover employees, not independent contractors, seasonal workers, and other similar categories. Moreover, an employer subject to a collective bargaining agreement that provides sufficient sick leave that can be used under the same terms would not be required to provide additional sick leave.

Next Steps

Employers may consider providing feedback on the proposal. After the comment period, the Allegheny County Council will vote on the final rule. If the final rule is approved, then it will go into effect 180 days after the county executive signs it.

If you have questions or would like assistance submitting comments, please reach out to the Jackson Lewis attorney with whom you regularly work or any member of our Leave and Accommodation team.