California Bill Would Allow State Employees to Bring Babies to Work
Lawmakers in California will decide on Wednesday the fate of a bill that would allow for state employees to bring their babies to work with them. The proposed law would impact parents of children ages six weeks through six months.
The bill, AB 372, is modeled after other programs already in effect in the private sector, and does not call for the office to provide childcare of any kind, but leaves the responsibility with the parent. If it passes, Voepel said it would be ultimately up to the office manager’s discretion to implement. Agencies interested in the program would also have to apply to ensure the environment was safe for an infant.
“It’s so important for young families to bond with their infant,” Randy Voepel, the Republican state assemblymen who sponsored the bill, told KCRA.
He added that rising costs of childcare make legislation or programs like the one he’s proposing necessary.
“This has no requirement for money,” Voepel told the news outlet. “You just bring your baby to work. You bring your bassinet. That’s it, piece of cake.”