Atlanta city employees will soon get 12 weeks of paid time off to bond with a new child, after the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance doubling the city's parental leave benefit for the first time in 11 years. The policy, which takes effect January 1, 2027, applies to births, surrogate births, legal adoptions, and foster placements involving children under 18.
Atlanta City Council Ordinance 26-O-1511 passed Monday, according to WSB-TV, and Rough Draft Atlanta reports the January 1, 2027, effective date and says the measure received unanimous approval. Foster-parent eligibility under the new rules involves the Georgia Division of Family and Children's Services, per WSB-TV's reporting.
Equal Leave for Both Parents, and Flexibility to Split It Up
The overhaul does more than add weeks to the calendar. A city official told Rough Draft Atlanta that the ordinance aims to remove outdated language distinguishing primary and secondary caregivers. Both parents can now receive equal bonding leave, and employees are permitted to take their 12 weeks in flexible, intermittent increments rather than all at once, according to A Better Balance.
The policy also continues to let employees use paid sick leave during a child's NICU hospitalization, preserving parental leave for when the child is discharged, per the same source.
City Council Member Says Time With Family Shouldn't Cost a Paycheck
Atlanta City Councilmember Matt Westmoreland praised the unanimous vote to upgrade the city's benefits, according to WSB-TV. “Parents should be able to be present, bond with their children, and care for their families without having to choose between that time and a paycheck,” Westmoreland told the outlet.
The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia also praised the expanded policy, WSB-TV reports. Margaret Master, the coalition's executive director, connected the leave expansion to maternal health outcomes, noting that paid leave provides time for recovery, postpartum care, bonding, and infant well-being. Her organization served on the city study group that helped shape the policy, working alongside fellow group members throughout the process.
A Decade in the Making
Atlanta first distinguished itself as a Southern leader on this issue back in 2015, when it became one of the first major municipalities in the region to offer six weeks of paid parental leave to city employees; more municipalities later enacted stronger policies, according to A Better Balance. The new ordinance grew out of recommendations from a city study group appointed earlier this year, and drew support from advocacy groups including 9to5 Georgia, GEARS, and the Carter Center’s Roslyn Carter Mental and Health Caregiver Program, Rough Draft Atlanta reports. The conversation about the expansion began in 2024.
How Atlanta Compares to State and Regional Policy
The city's move outpaces recent state-level action in Georgia. State government employees and public school educators saw their paid parental leave double from three weeks to six weeks, or 240 hours, under House Bill 1010, according to A Better Balance. More recently, the state introduced a separate Maternal Birth Leave benefit effective July 1, 2026, offering eligible state employees who give birth up to three weeks, or 120 hours, of paid recovery time immediately after childbirth, on top of parental leave, per the University System of Georgia. Full-time benefits-eligible employees must have six continuous months of employment; the 700-hour route applies to hourly part-time employees who meet the six-month work requirement.
None of these public-sector protections extend to Georgia's private workforce. State law does not require private employers to offer paid family leave, according to Gusto, leaving private-sector employees dependent on individual employer policies or the unpaid, job-protected leave guaranteed under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act for eligible employees at covered employers with 50 or more employees working within a 75-mile radius.
Part of a Broader Southern Shift
WSB-TV reports that the expanded Atlanta policy could serve as an example for other municipalities and employers across Georgia. With the ordinance set to take effect January 1, 2027, Atlanta will double the six-week standard it first set over a decade ago.
