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Dayton Becomes First Ohio City With Paid Parental Leave

Mayor Nan Whaley, flanked by Keary McCarthy (right) with Innovation Ohio, expectant mother, Liz Brown (center), and other city officials announces the city's new parental leave policy.
Jerry Kenney
Mayor Nan Whaley, flanked by Keary McCarthy (right) with Innovation Ohio, expectant mother, Liz Brown (center), and other city officials announces the city's new parental leave policy.

During a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Nan Whaley announced that Dayton will be the first major city in the state to offer paid parental leave to its male and female employees.

“We know that when we do these kind of policies studies show that it helps with attraction and retention of quality employees," Whaley said. "We’re proud of our workforce and proud of the work it's doing but we want to make sure that we're paying attention to both their work and family life.”

Eligible employees can now take a maximum of six weeks of continuous leave following the birth or adoption of a minor child. Officials say parental leave would begin on the “exact date” an employee’ child is born or on the day an employee gains custody of an adopted child. The employee would have to provide supporting documentation.

Innovation Ohio's Keary McCarthy helped the city with this latest policy development.

McCarthy says Dayton’s new policy reflects that of many Fortune 500 Company CEO’s have realized, “that establishing a paid parental leave policy is good for women, families, employers and local communities.”

The head of Ohio Innovation listed several major companies that have instituted parental leave policies this year, including Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Netflix, Adobe, and Microsoft.

Copyright 2015 WYSO

Jerry Kenney was introduced to WYSO by a friend and within a year of first tuning in became an avid listener and supporter. He began volunteering at the station in 1991 and began hosting Alpha Rhythms in February of 1992. Jerry joined the WYSO staff in 2007 as a host of All Things Considered and soon transitioned into hosting Morning Edition. In addition to now hosting All Things Considered, Jerry is the host and producer of WYSO Weekend, WYSO's weekly news and arts magazine. He has also produced several radio dramas for WYSO in collaboration with local theater companies. Jerry has won several Ohio AP awards as well as an award from PRINDI for his work with the WYSO news department. Jerry says that the best part of his job is being able to talk to people in the community and share their experiences with WYSO listeners.