San Francisco Supervisor Danny Sauter wants new parents to get their full pay a lot sooner. He is pushing a proposal to cut the waiting period for the city’s fully paid parental leave benefit from 180 days to 90 days, allowing workers who have been on the job for a shorter time to qualify for supplemental pay during bonding leave. Sauter plans to introduce the bill at the Board of Supervisors’ regular meeting on Tuesday as part of a broader package he has branded the STROLLER Act. He says the change is aimed squarely at workers in high-turnover, low-wage industries who are currently shut out by the city’s six-month rule.
As reported by The San Francisco Standard, Sauter, who told the outlet that the birth of his first child in March 2025 vaulted parental leave to the top of his agenda, has already secured co-sponsors, including Supervisors Shamann Walton, Bilal Mahmood, Myrna Melgar, Chyanne Chen, and Stephen Sherrill. The measure is the paid leave plank of Sauter’s STROLLER Act, a package that also seeks to boost diaper changing access, shore up supports for nursing parents at work and make public transit less of a headache for anyone wrangling a stroller.
How the city's law works
Under San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance, covered employees must have at least 180 days of service with a covered employer to qualify. The law requires those employers to supplement California Paid Family Leave so that eligible workers receive full pay during bonding leave. According to the city's official guidance, the ordinance was adopted in 2016, and its rules detail how supplemental pay is calculated and administered. The policy was designed to top up state benefits so parents do not lose income while taking time to bond with a new child.
Research on who benefits
A 2020 study co-authored by public health researchers at Portland State University found that San Francisco’s expansion of paid parental leave coincided with an increase in fathers taking leave, but that low-income workers were still the least likely to use the benefit, according to the study. Advocates point to that research to argue that lowering the tenure threshold could open the door for more parents in retail, food service, and other high-turnover sectors, where workers are more likely to switch jobs while they are planning or growing their families.
What comes next
Supporters say the proposed change would knock down a very clear barrier between many parents and fully paid bonding leave. Business groups, on the other hand, are already signaling concerns about added costs as the city continues to stack new workplace rules on employers. David Harrison, director of public policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, told The San Francisco Standard that the chamber did not yet have an official stance. For now, Sauter’s proposal still needs to be formally introduced, sent to committee and win enough votes at the Board of Supervisors before any changes to the ordinance can actually take effect.
