Important Status Update: Paid Leave in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Justin Harkins, Esq., jharkins@tuckerlaw.com          
Margaret Grimm, Esq., mgrimm@tuckerlaw.com      
Albert Lee, Esq., alee@tuckerlaw.com          

On October 20, 2026, the Allegheny County Council passed a proposed amendment to Article XXIV of the Allegheny County Health Department Rules and Regulations (“the Amendment”), which governs the County’s existing paid work leave requirements. The Amendment, which was signed on October 22, 2026, by the County Executive, Sara Innamorato, will expand these leave requirements by:

(1) establishing a paid parental leave mandate for covered employers in Allegheny County;

(2) increasing the rate at which employees accrue paid sick time; and

(3) expanding the amount of sick leave available to employees.

We have prepared the following Frequently Asked Questions[1] to help employers understand the paid parental leave and paid sick leave provisions of the Amendment.

FAQs – Paid Parental Leave

Q: So is this now a law that employers in Allegheny County have to follow immediately?

A: The Amendment has been signed by the County Executive signs it, but as noted in the following FAQs, court challenges are expected (which may stay the law from going into effect).Additionally, the parental leave requirements apply to employers with 15 or more employees and those employers will have approximately a year to come into compliance.

Q: Will the Amendment be challenged in court?

A: It seems highly likely that the business community will challenge the Amendment. The parental leave portion of the Amendment has faced criticism from businesses, who are particularly concerned over the financial burden of providing the benefit. Such a challenge will almost certainly seek to stay this Amendment from taking effect while the litigation is pending.

The central issue likely will be whether Allegheny County has the legal authority to impose a paid parental leave mandate on employers under Pennsylvania law[2].

Q: Which employers are covered?

A: The Amendment would apply to most employers operating within the geographical boundaries of Allegheny County who: (1) have employees who have worked in Allegheny County for at least 80 hours in a year; and (2) employ 15 or more employees.

Businesses with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from the paid parental leave portion of the Amendment. The Amendment also exempts certain government employers, including the federal government and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Q: Which employees of a covered employer are eligible for paid parental leave?

A: Both full-time and part-time employees may be eligible for paid parental leave. A full-time employee is eligible for paid parental leave if he/she has been employed with a covered employer for at least 180 continuous days. Part-time employees also may be eligible if they have been employed with a covered employer for at least 180 days and have worked at least 625 hours during that 180-day time period.

Q: When does the paid parental leave portion of the Amendment take effect?

A: The paid parental leave portion of the Amendment contemplates taking effect no sooner than 360 days after enactment (October 22, 2026), giving employers roughly one year to implement the paid parental leave requirements.

Specifically, the paid parental leave portion of the Amendment’s effective date is at least 180 days after it is signed by the County Executive. Employers then must implement the paid parental leave requirements no later than 180 days from the effective date. So, if the effective date is exactly 180 days after enactment, that would give employers 360 days to come into compliance. However, as the Amendment is written, the effective date could be more than 180 days after enactment, in which case the employers’ compliance timeline will be lengthened.

Q: How much paid parental leave are employers required to provide under the Amendment?

A: Eligible employees will be entitled to receive up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for a qualifying event.

Q: What events qualify for paid parental leave?

A: Qualifying events include:

• The birth of a child;
• Stillbirth or fetal death;
• The adoption of a child; and
• Legal placement of a child, including qualifying foster-care placement.

Q: How long can the benefits last after a qualifying event?

A: The paid parental leave benefits apply during the first 12 months following a qualifying event. The Amendment does not specify whether the benefits must end at the 12-month mark or whether they merely must have begun by the 12-month mark and then can persist past 12 months. We believe the most natural reading of the Amendment is that the benefits required by the Amendment do not persist past 12 months from the qualifying event, regardless of when they were begun, but this will be something we monitor going forward.

Q: How much will an employee be paid while on parental leave?

A: An eligible employee must receive the same base rate of pay and the same benefits that the employee would have received while working, up to a maximum of $4,200 per week. While the Amendment does not specify whether that amount includes both pay and benefits, the most natural reading of the Amendment suggests that $4,200 is the maximum “paid parental benefit,” which would include both pay and employee benefits.

Part-time employees also receive their same base rate of pay. The amount of paid parental leave for a part-time employee is calculated based on the employee’s average weekly hours worked during the six months preceding the date of the employee’s request for parental leave benefits. The paid parental leave benefit is calculated by multiplying the employee’s average weekly hours worked during the preceding six months by the employee’s current rate of pay. For example, if an employee averaged 25 hours per week in the preceding six months at a rate of $50 per hour, that employee would be entitled to $1,250 per week in paid parental leave, plus the benefits the employee also received. The maximum $4,200 weekly benefit amount also applies to part-time employees.

Q: Will health insurance and other benefits continue?

A: Yes. An employer is required to maintain any benefits the employee had prior to taking parental leave as if the employee had continued working continuously from the date parental leave commenced until the date leave ceases.

Q: How does an employee request leave?

A: If the employee knows of the need for leave at least 30 days in advance, the employee is required to notify the employer in writing of the need to schedule leave at least 30 days prior to taking leave. The Amendment requires the employee to make a reasonable effort to schedule any parental leave in a way that does not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations.

The Amendment is less clear about the notice requirements if the employee cannot provide 30 days’ advance notice. In that case, the Amendment requires the employee to notify the employer “as soon as practicable, including if the need arises immediately before or after the employee has reported for work.” Unlike with the 30-day advance notice, this circumstance does not specify that the notice must be in writing.

Q: What documentation is required to support a claim for paid parental leave?

In addition to any written notice obligation, an employee also must provide documentation to support the claim for paid parental leave benefits, including but not limited to:

• The child’s birth certificate;
• Documentation that confirms the adoption or anticipated adoption and the date of adoption or anticipated adoption;
• Documentation that confirms the legal permanent placement or anticipated legal permanent placement and the date of the legal permanent placement or anticipated legal permanent placement;
• A court order reflecting the child’s date or birth and employee as that child’s parent; or
• Documentation confirming still birth or fetal death.

Q: How quickly must an employer act on a request for parental leave?

A: An employer must make an eligibility determination within 10 days after receiving a complete request and the necessary supporting documentation.

Q: Does the employer have any notice requirements?

A: Yes. Employers must provide written notice of the paid parental leave availability and requirements when employees are hired and every year thereafter.

Employers also must provide an employee with a written acknowledgment when an employee requests leave. The written acknowledgment must include:

• An explanation of the employee’s rights to benefits;
• The approved duration of leave and amount of benefits payable, including application of the weekly maximum benefit where applicable;
• Job protection while on leave and continuation of benefits;
• Prohibition of employer discrimination and retaliation for requesting or using paid parental leave; and
• The employee’s ability to file a claim with the Agency or file a civil action alleging violation of the County’s Paid Sick and Parental Leave act (referred to in the Amendment as “Article XXIV”).

Additionally, beginning on the one-year anniversary of the Amendment’s effective date, every employer will be required to certify to a County agency that the employer complied with the terms of the Amendment during the preceding year. Employers then will have to file the same certification every year thereafter. The “agency” receiving this certification has not yet been designated but, according to the Amendment, it will be designated no later than the effective date.

Q: How does paid parental leave interact with FMLA?

A: When an employee’s leave also qualifies under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”), paid parental leave under the paid parental leave amendment must run concurrently with FMLA. Put another way, the paid parental leave amendment does not provide an additional 12 weeks of leave on top of FMLA for the same qualifying event. Rather, if the employee qualifies for both paid parental leave and FMLA, those two leave periods will run at the same time.

Q: Does the paid parental leave apply to both parents?

A: Yes. Married or domestic partners employed by the same employer are both eligible for paid parental leave benefits, even when the leave runs concurrently. The Amendment does not specifically address the issue of employees choosing to stagger their leave periods if they work for the same employer. For example, if two parents work for the same employer, could one parent choose to take 12 weeks of parental leave immediately upon the birth of a child and then the second parent take 12 weeks of parental leave when the first parent returns to work? The Amendment suggests that would be permissible, assuming both parents qualify for leave and all leave is completed within 12 months of the child’s birth.

Q: How is the paid parental leave benefit paid for?

A: Employers are responsible for funding the benefit themselves, either through self-funding or private insurance. The Amendment does not fund the paid parental leave benefit through payroll taxes or government assistance.

Q: What happens if an employer does not comply?

A: The Amendment provides for a penalty of $100 per day, per violation. Legal action also can be sought by eligible employees. Note that the Amendment provides for an award of attorney fees and costs to any employee who prevails in a lawsuit to enforce paid parental benefits.

FAQs – Sick Leave

Allegheny County already has sick leave requirements in place under Article XXIV, and the Amendment does not overhaul these sick leave requirements. Instead, it proposes targeted changes to the existing requirements, including faster accrual rates and an increase in the amount of sick time employees may accrue and use. The Amendment would align Allegheny County’s sick leave requirements with those currently in effect under Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Days Act.

The FAQs below focus on the amendments to the existing ordinance and highlights key potential changes employers should understand.

Q: What are the current accrual rates and hours of sick time under Article XXIV?

A: An employer with 26 or more employees must provide sick leave to employees at a rate of 1 hour of sick time accrued per every 35 hours worked for the employer within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County. An employee’s paid sick leave caps out at 40 hours per year under the Paid Sick Leave (PSLA), although employers can permit a higher (but not lower) cap if they wish.

Q: Will accrual rates and hours of sick time change under the sick leave portion of the Amendment?

A: Yes. The sick leave portion of the Amendment will apply to employers of all sizes and will implement faster accrual rates and increased hours of sick time.

An employer with fewer than 15 employees must provide sick time to employees at a rate of 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked for the employer within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County. Paid sick time will cap at 48 hours earned per year, unless the employer designates a higher amount.

An employer with 15 or more employees must provide sick time to employees at a rate of 1 hour of sick time per every 30 hours worked for the employer within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County. Paid sick time will cap at 72 hours earned per year, unless the employer designates a higher amount.

Q: When does the paid sick leave portion of the Amendment take effect?

A: The paid sick leave portion of the Amendment takes effect at the same time as the paid parental leave portion of the Amendment.

Specifically, employers must implement the paid sick leave and parental leave requirements no later than 180 days from the effective date of the Amendment.

[1] This information is provided for information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Additionally, these FAQs are based upon the best information available at the time of this writing and are therefore subject to change.

[2] The history of the Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Days Act, which faced a similar challenge over a decade ago, may be instructive.

In August 2015, the Pittsburgh City Council passed the Paid Sick Days Act, and the mayor signed it into law. Originally scheduled to take effect on January 11, 2016, the Act was challenged by a trade organization and several local businesses, which argued that Pittsburgh lacked the authority to regulate employers because of the “business exclusion” in the Pennsylvania Home Rule Charter. That provision generally limits the City’s ability to impose duties or requirements on businesses unless state law expressly authorizes them. The City defended the law under Pennsylvania’s Disease Prevention and Control Law, arguing that paid sick leave was a necessary public health measure rather than an employment requirement or regulation. The public health rationale was relatively direct: employees who can afford to stay home when sick are less likely to spread infectious diseases to coworkers, customers, and the broader community. In 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Act, accepting the City’s authority to enact the measure under the relevant state law. Pa. Restaurant & Lodging Ass’n v. City of Pittsburgh, 653 Pa. 596 (2019).

For Allegheny County, the legal question may be similar: whether paid parental leave is a legitimate public health measure within the County’s authority or an employment benefit requirement that exceeds that authority.

The County is relying on the Pennsylvania Local Health Administration law and is framing paid parental leave as a public health initiative intended to improve maternal and infant health. Whether the public health argument is as strong as it was under the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act remains to be seen. And, of course, the parental leave Amendment may be challenged under a different theory.