Mayor Spencer and Director Unnerstall Announce Changes to City’s Family and Medical Leave Policy
In a move to align with other cities and governments, Mayor Cara Spencer and Provisional Personnel Director John Unnerstall have announced changes to the City of St. Louis’ family and medical leave (FML) policy. These changes, effective immediately, will require City staff to first use accrued medical leave, sick leave, vacation leave, and compensatory time before taking paid family and medical leave.
The City’s paid family and medical leave benefit, which was passed by city ordinance in 2022, provides six weeks of paid leave for specific medical situations. However, an exception has been made for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child, allowing City employees to take paid leave before exhausting other forms of leave. The policy also no longer allows for intermittent use of paid family leave.
In addition to these changes, the City has also implemented a separate leave policy to address the unique circumstances related to military leave. The unpaid family and medical leave provisions of the policy remain unchanged.
“I appreciate Director Unnerstall’s work on this important policy revision,” said Mayor Spencer. “By bringing our policy in line with industry best practices, we are striking the right balance between delivering high-quality services and providing important benefits that can support, attract, and retain City staff. Even with these changes, our benefits remain above industry standards.”
The Mayor’s Office and the Department of Personnel have worked closely with department directors to determine the best path forward for both City employees and residents. The ordinance requiring paid family and medical leave for City employees was passed in 2022 with the goal of improving talent attraction and retention. It was implemented through the Department of Personnel’s Administrative Regulation 133. Today’s changes are a revision of that regulation and do not require a new ordinance.
