Missouri's Transportation director announced Thursday that MoDOT "will implement a parental leave policy in accordance with Monday's announcement by Gov. Eric Greitens."
The governor's executive order covers state employees in most executive branch departments, providing six weeks of paid parental leave for "primary caregivers" and three weeks for "secondary caregivers" following the birth or adoption of a child.
Those terms haven't been defined yet, Office of Administration spokeswoman Ryan Burns told the News Tribune Thursday.
"The departments will be making those determinations in the coming days," she said, "as they decide how to best implement this executive order for their employees."
MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna said in a news release: "I appreciate this action by the governor. We are pleased and proud to follow his lead. Our policy will be retroactive to March 13, to mirror the rest of the state's executive branch agencies."
Shortly after Greitens' Monday announcement, state Rep. Jay Barnes thanked him in a Facebook post.
"For the past two years, I've sponsored bills to require this - now they're not necessary," Barnes, R-Jefferson City, wrote.
State Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, said, "I'm encouraged that Gov. Greitens is supportive of our state workforce and is willing to consider innovative ideas to benefit our state employees."
And Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, added, "In a year in which we do not have the budgetary leeway to give state employee pay increases, it is nice to see the governor offer a benefit that has not previously been offered to state workers - but is often offered in the private sector."
Greitens noted in his order it doesn't cover employees of independent commissions - like the Highways and Transportation Commission that supervises MoDOT - or other elected officials who set policies for their offices.
However, the order encourages Missouri's other elected state officials and the others not covered by the policy "to adopt comparable policies for their employees."
Barnes told the News Tribune that might be a reason for him to keep pursuing a change in state law.
"Not every state employee is covered yet," he explained.
Some would argue a law is needed because a governor's executive order can be replaced with another executive order - either by the same governor or by a successor.
"This is not an area where I see retraction as a great threat," Barnes said.
Fitzwater said: "This is good policy that I believe most everyone can get on board with. I believe it would be tough for a future governor of either party to rescind the policy."
State Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, said Thursday: "I understand the governor's executive order is intended to help make state government more attractive to current and future employees, and this is a noble intent. Since learning about the governor's order Monday afternoon, the Senate has been working to try and understand the real and potential implications for state employees and on the budget."
This session, Barnes is sponsoring House Bill 325, which would grant "10 consecutive work days of paid parental leave for the birth of a child of the employee or because of the finalization of an adoption by the employee of a child who is under two years of age."
But it also would require the employee "to use all or any portion of any accrued vacation leave, accrued sick leave, or other type of accrued leave before being allowed to use the paid leave."
Greitens' order is more generous, saying the paid parental leave is "not to be counted against annual leave or sick leave, which shall continue to accrue during the period of parental leave."
Likewise, the governor ordered holidays not be counted against against parental leave.
"The state can afford this pro-family benefit," Barnes said.
Burns said OA estimates the governor's plan will cost the state about $1.1 million, "which the departments should be able to manage within their existing budgets."
But, Bernskoetter said: "While this benefit may make employment with the state of Missouri more appealing to some, I am concerned about the fiscal impact of this decision, and I wish we would do something for all state employees."
Kehoe said: "I believe we need a formal plan and structure, endorsed by both the executive and legislative branches, in place to boost state employee pay in both the near- and long-term, not the catch-as-catch-can approach of the past. As is the case with most executive orders, there are budgetary and operational ripple effects that must first be understood and then addressed."
Although the new order affects only parents - not all state employees - none of the Mid-Missouri lawmakers expect backlash from those who aren't covered.