SB199 Alabama 2025 Session

Updated Feb 23, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Vivian Davis FiguresSenator
Democrat
Session: 2025 Regular Session
Title: State employees; paid parental leave authorized, parameters for eligibility established
Summary: SB199 creates a paid parental leave program for eligible Alabama state employees and local education agency employees, covering birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, and adoption of a child three years old or younger.
What This Bill Does
It provides eight weeks of paid parental leave for eligible female employees and two weeks for eligible male employees after birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage; eight weeks of leave for adoption (with joint adoptions split as eight weeks for one parent and two weeks for the other). The leave is paid at 100% of base pay, runs concurrently with FMLA, can be used intermittently with agency approval, and must be used within 365 days of the qualifying event. Employees must return to work after the leave and will be restored to their original or equivalent position with the same benefits; health insurance contributions continue during leave, and unused leave does not carry over or count toward retirement benefits.

Who It Affects
State employees across defined eligible categories (e.g., legislative, judicial, administrative, classified, unclassified, and exempt staff) who have at least 12 consecutive months of service and experience a qualifying birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, or adoption.
Local education agency employees (including charter schools and Alabama Community College System employees and their institutions) who have at least 12 consecutive months of service and experience a qualifying birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, or adoption.

Key Provisions
Establishes the Alabama Public Employee Paid Parental Leave Act of 2025 and adds Chapter 6A to Title 36 to govern eligible employees, qualifying events, and leave duration.
Defines the leave amounts by event and gender (8 weeks for female birth/stillbirth/miscarriage; 2 weeks for male birth; 8 weeks for adoption; joint adoption may divide 8 weeks and 2 weeks between parents) and requires rules from the relevant state agencies to implement and administer the program.
Leaves are fully paid (100% base pay), may be used intermittently with agency approval, run concurrently with FMLA, do not require using other paid leave, and must be used within 365 days of the event or start of leave; employees must sign a return-to-work agreement and cannot permanently leave employment for at least eight weeks after leave unless waived by the agency.
Requires ongoing health benefits coverage by the employer during leave and continuation of the employee’s share of health costs; requires annual reporting on leave usage to the Governor and Legislature; grants restoration rights to the same or equivalent position with the same benefits after leave.
Amends Section 36-26-35.2 to allow donation of accrued and unused leave to another state employee for catastrophic or family leave, with caps (e.g., up to 480 hours per career, up to two weeks for adoption-related donations) and approval processes.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Labor & Employment