Healey Institutes Paid Parental Leave Policy In AG's Office

State Attorney General Maura Healey is offering all employees in her office six weeks of paid parental leave, she announced Tuesday.

The paid leave will be available to all new parents, including those who adopt or participate in foster care, she said.

Currently, new parents in her office — like all American workers — receive 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Those who want paid time off have to use accrued vacation or sick time.

"It’s not everything we need to do, but it’s a step in the right direction," Healey said of her move in prepared remarks to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning.

Her office is also reviewing the salaries of all 525 staffers for pay disparities.

In addition, Healey called for a comprehensive approach to combat pay disparity across Massachusetts. She said she's advocating for an increase in pay transparency, a crackdown on deliberate discrimination and a fix to a state equal pay law "that’s been ineffective for too long."

Her push follows similar national efforts. As The Boston Globe notes, "the United States is often cited in surveys as the only industrialized nation that does not mandate any paid time off for new parents."

Healey's call for paid parental leave follows Boston City Council approval for the same for some city workers.

During her remarks, Healey also spoke of other priorities for her office, such as combating opiate abuse and high health care and energy costs.