PITTSBURGH, PA (April 26, 2019) The board of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is set to approve two employee-friendly measures already adopted by Mayor William Peduto and Pittsburgh City Council.
Today the board will vote on a paid safe leave policy, in which employees victimized by domestic abuse may take days off from work to privately address the matter while not having to fear losing their jobs.
Mayor Peduto signed an Executive Order on safe leave for City of Pittsburgh employees last year and urged other public and private sector employers to join him.
“The cost of domestic violence for employers is the loss of productivity. Employees plagued by violence at home are often distracted and sometimes ill at work. This policy will allow employees in these situations to try and take steps to improve the situation without fearing the loss of their job,” a board statement says.
The PWSA board is also set to adopt a paid parental leave policy similar to the one City Council approved and the Mayor signed in 2015, in which new mothers and fathers are allowed up to six weeks of paid leave after the birth, adoption or fostering of a child.
The policy, says the board resolution, “will help PWSA recruit and retain the best possible workforce and will have a positive effect on employee productivity, employee performance and employee morale.”
“We’re grateful to the City of Pittsburgh for leading the way and our Board of Directors for adopting these progressive employment policies. The changes will help protect the well-being of our employees, help retain talent and attract the best and the brightest to join our team,” said PWSA Executive Director Robert A. Weimar.
