Once effective, the law provides for 12 weeks of paid parent leave for the birth, stillbirth (fetal death) or legal permanent placement of a child for adoption or foster care.

On October 22, 2026, Allegheny County Council signed Article XXIV, Paid Sick and Parental Leave, into law. This marks the first county-level paid parental leave law in the country and is in addition to paid sick leave benefits that Allegheny County employers also are required to provide. 

The law creates a paid parental leave requirement, expands paid sick leave eligibility and accruals, and, critically, provides that employers must provide designated paid sick leave and designated paid parental leave “[n]otwithstanding whether an employer maintains a paid leave policy, including a paid time off policy, that provides paid sick leave in the amount sufficient to satisfy the accrual requirements of this Section and that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as paid sick leave under this Article.” The law is expected to become effective in October 2027.

Key Differences Between Paid Sick Leave and Paid Parental Leave 

	Paid Sick Leave	Paid Parental Leave
Covered employers	Employers of any size	Employers of 15 or more employees
Eligible employees	Employees who perform work within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County for at least 80 hours a year. Accordingly, a remote employee who spends only 80 hours in Allegheny County may be eligible for paid sick leave.   *Independent contractors, state and federal employees, any member of a “construction labor union” covered by a collective bargaining agreement, “temporary employees” and “seasonal employees” are not eligible.	Employees who: (i) perform work within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County for at least 80 hours a year; and (ii) have been employed with an employer at least 180 continuous days. Part-time employees are eligible, provided they meet the above criteria and worked at least 625 hours during that period of time. Accordingly, a remote employee who spends only 80 hours in Allegheny County and who meets the other criteria may be eligible for paid parental leave.   *Independent contractors, state and federal employees, any member of a “construction labor union” covered by a collective bargaining agreement, “temporary employees” and “seasonal employees” are not eligible.
Amount of leave	A maximum of 48 hours for employers of fewer than 15 employees, or 72 hours for employers of 15 or more employees.	A maximum of 12 weeks per year.
Accrual	Accrues at a rate of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked within the geographical boundaries of Allegheny County unless the employer provides a faster accrual rate.	No accrual. Eligible employees are entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks of paid parental leave for a qualifying event.
Purpose of leave	An employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; an employee’s need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; an employee’s need for preventive medical care; Care of a family member[1] with a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; care of a family member who needs preventive medical care; or Closure of the employee’s place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency or an employee’s need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or care for a family member when it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a healthcare provider that the family member’s presence in the community would jeopardize the health of others because of the family member’s exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not the family member has actually contracted the communicable disease.	In the case of a live birth, adoption or legal permanent placement, parental leave may be used to care for, bond with and support the physical and emotional well-being of the employee's child and, where applicable, the employee’s physical and emotional well-being, during the first 12 months following the qualifying event. In the case of a stillbirth (fetal death), parental leave may be used by either parent to address the physical and behavioral health effects arising from the stillbirth, including recovery from childbirth where applicable.
Rate of pay	Compensated at the same base rate of pay and with the same benefits, including healthcare benefits, as an employee would have earned at the time of their use of the paid sick time.	Compensated at the same base rate of pay and with the same benefits as an employee would have earned at the time of the scheduled use of paid parental leave, subject to the maximum weekly paid parental benefit of $4,200 per week.
Carryover	Unless paid sick leave is frontloaded, employees may carry over accrued, unused sick leave to the next calendar year subject to the 48- and 72-hour caps.	Eligible employees are permitted to take 12 weeks of paid parental leave per year. The employer may elect to use a calendar year or a rolling 12-month period, and such period must be communicated to all employees.

 

New Paid Parental Leave

Once effective, the law provides for 12 weeks of paid parent leave for the birth, stillbirth (fetal death) or legal permanent placement of a child for adoption or foster care. In the case of a live birth, adoption or legal permanent placement, parental leave may be used to care for, bond with and support the physical and emotional well-being of the employee's child and, where applicable, the employee’s physical and emotional well-being during the first 12 months following the qualifying event. In the case of a stillbirth, parental leave may be used by either parent to address the physical and behavioral health effects arising from the stillbirth, including recovery from childbirth where applicable.

The law applies to Allegheny County employers with 15 or more employees. Eligible employees must perform work within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County for at least 80 hours a year and have been employed with the employer at least 180 continuous days. Part-time employees are eligible, provided they meet the above criteria and worked at least 625 hours during the 180-day continuous day period. A remote employee who spends only 80 hours in Allegheny County and who meets the other eligibility criteria may be eligible for paid parental leave. Unlike paid sick leave, which accrues based on hours worked in the county, access to and the amount of paid parental leave allotted does not depend on the location where work is performed (provided the employee meets the eligibility criteria).

Eligible employees are required to provide notice to their employer at least 30 days in advance when the need for leave is known to the employee. When the need for leave is unknown, the employee must provide notice to the employer as soon as practicable. The employee must apply for paid parental leave by filing a claim with their employer, including supporting documentation (as specified in the regulation) and provide a written schedule reflecting how parental leave will be utilized along with the anticipated date(s) of leave. The employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule leave in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. Once submitted, employers have 10 business days to determine whether to approve the leave and provide the employee with an acknowledgment that complies with Section 2418 of the regulation. Employees who are denied leave may file a complaint with the agency designated by the Allegheny County manager to enforce this regulation, which is empowered to determine whether the employee is eligible for parental leave.

Parental leave must be paid in the same manner as the employee was compensated prior to taking leave, subject to the maximum weekly paid parental benefit of $4,200, and for the duration of the approved leave. Employers are required to maintain any established benefits the employee had prior to taking parental leave, and may continue to deduct the employee share of the cost of such benefits. Paid parental leave under the law runs concurrently with leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Employees taking paid parental leave are subject to reinstatement to the position held when parental leave commenced, or to a position with equivalent seniority, status, employment benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment.

Because paid parental leave is not an accrued benefit, there should be no payout upon termination, although the ordinance does not expressly say such.

Employers must provide notice to employees of their right to paid parental leave at the time of hire and annually thereafter. Employers must also file an annual certification of compliance with the designated agency.

Employees may bring a private right of action against employers who violate certain provisions of the regulation and, if successful, may recover attorney fees and costs.

Expansion of Existing Paid Sick Leave Requirements

Currently, Allegheny County employers with 26 or more employees are required to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Employers of fewer than 26 employees have no paid sick leave obligations. Effective October 2027, the regulation requires employers of any size to provide paid sick leave. Employers of fewer than 15 employees must provide up to 48 hours of paid sick leave; employers of 15 or more employees must provide up to 72 hours of paid sick leave.

Employees begin to accrue leave at the start of employment, but may not use accrued sick leave until the 90th calendar day following the start of employment. To be eligible, an employee must perform work within the geographic boundaries of Allegheny County for at least 80 hours a year. Accordingly, a remote employee who spends only 80 hours in Allegheny County may be eligible for paid sick leave. However, paid sick leave accrues at the rate of one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked within the geographical boundaries of Allegheny County. Employees who are classified as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act are presumed to work 40 hours per workweek unless their normal workweek is less than 40 hours. Accrued, unused paid sick leave carries over to the following calendar year, up to the 48- or 72-hour cap, unless the employer elects to frontload the full amount of paid sick leave each year. Employees are not entitled to payout of accrued, unused paid sick leave at separation of employment.

Other notable updates to the paid sick leave requirement—which are also applicable to the paid parental leave requirement—include:

Employer Recordkeeping

Employers must retain records documenting hours worked by employees and paid sick and/or paid parental leave taken by employees, for a period of two years, and shall allow the designated agency access to such records.

Employer Confidentiality

Employers may not require disclosure of details relating to an employee’s or an employee’s family member’s medical condition as a condition of providing paid sick or paid parental leave and must maintain the confidentiality of any employee health information obtained.

Penalties

An employer who willfully violates the regulations shall be subject to a penalty up to $100 per day, per violation.

Recommended Actions

Impacted employers must update their paid leave policies and are encouraged to consult with counsel to prepare for compliance before the amendments become effective in October 2027.

For More Information

If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Jonathan A. Segal, Linda B. Hollinshead, Alison C. Morris, any of the attorneys in our Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group, any of the attorneys in our Pittsburgh office or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Notes

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.