New law mandating employers to provide unpaid time off to parents for their children’s education
On August 5th, 2009, employers with 50 or more employees must provide up to 18 hours of unpaid leave for parents to attend parent-teacher meetings and other school-related events. The bill, Parental Involvement in K-12 Education Act, was signed into law by Gov. Ritter on June 1st of this year. Parents must be allowed to take up to 6 hours of leave each month, and a maximum of 18 hours in a year. The parent must “make a reasonable attempt to schedule academic activities… outside of regular work hours” and schools “shall make their best efforts to accommodate the schedules of employees”. The parent must give notice to the employer no later than one week in advance of the needed time off.