Rep. Bice Introduces Bill to Protect Military Parents from Career Impact Due to Parental Leave

Oklahoma City, OK. – Last week, Congresswoman Bice and Congresswoman Houlahan introduced the Protecting Military Parental Leave Evaluations Act to establish clear policies across all branches of the military to exempt servicemembers from performance evaluations during periods of parental leave. It also adds more flexibility by allowing servicemembers two years to use leave without a waiver. As it stands, parental leave policies vary across the different branches of the military, and there is no universal framework for how long-term parental leave should be treated in evaluations. Servicemembers are only allowed one year to use the leave without a waiver. This bill seeks to standardize those policies, ensuring that no one is at a disadvantage from using their parental leave. The two-year period gives servicemembers and their units the flexibility to decide when to use the leave.   

Congresswoman Bice issued the following statement: 

"We must continue to commit to upholding the high standards required of our military, but we cannot forget our commitment to supporting military families. This legislation ensures that servicemembers who take parental leave are not unfairly penalized for prioritizing their families. This is a win for parents and for our national defense."  

Background: 

Over the past few years, the U.S. military has made significant progress in expanding parental leave options, providing up to 12 weeks of paid leave for primary and secondary caregivers. However, the lack of a consistent policy across the services regarding performance evaluations during periods of parental leave has raised concerns among military parents and advocates for military families. Additionally, DoD policy requires that parental leave must be taken within the first year, only providing exceptions that benefit the military. The extra year to use the leave allows servicemembers to make decisions about the timing of leave based on key factors, permanent change of station orders, promotion timing, and family circumstances.