EDITORIAL/Helping New Parents: Arkansas governor signs legislation extending maternity leave for state workers

Balancing work and family life can be tough, especially for those with a newly born or adopted child.

Things just got a bit easier for new parents who work for the state of Arkansas.

On Monday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation extending maternity leave for state employees from four to 12 weeks. It also applies to those with a new foster child under the age of one.

And the extra days at home won't cost taxpayers, as the time off come from the catastrophic leave pool --hours donated by state employees to help fellow workers in times of need. According to Sanders, there's about 1.5 billion -- yes, billion -- donated hours in the pool so no chance of it running out any time soon.

"We know how important it is for parents to have time to bond with their kids, to spend those initial first few weeks at home while still being able to maintain their employment," Sanders said at the signing ceremony in Little Rock, adding, "We're really excited about this legislation."

So are we. We think it's a fine thing for Arkansas state employees. Kudos to the Legislature, the governor and the many generous state workers whose donated hours made this possible.

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