University of Minnesota Employees Seek Paternal Leave Equity

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - University of Minnesota employees are pushing to make the institution's parental leave policy more inclusive.

University policy gives women who give birth six weeks of paid paternal leave, while fathers and adoptive parents receive two weeks.

The University Professional and Administrative Senate passed a resolution in the spring calling for six weeks of paid leave for all parents.

The Minnesota Daily reports that the resolution was created in part as a response to concerns about providing sufficient pay to adoptive parents.

Ian Ringgenberg is the professional and administrative senate's chair-elect. He's spent the semester encouraging others to adopt the resolution. He plans to present it to the Social Concerns Committee in early December.

The resolution will likely be presented to the University Senate in the spring.