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(The Center Square) – A battleground issue for Pennsylvania’s 2027-28 legislative session was staked out in Allegheny County Thursday as County Executive Sara Innamorato signed what was billed as the nation’s first county-level mandate that employers provide leave for new parents.
While the next session’s first votes will not be taken until January, at least four current Democratic state lawmakers were with Innamorato on Thursday as she signed into county law amendments to its “Paid Sick and Parental Leave” policy. It will require that employers with 15 or more workers in the county provide up to 12 weeks paid leave to new parents.
“We are showing that we take seriously the work of protecting workers and their families at one of the most economically and medically vulnerable times in their lives,” said Innamorato, a former state lawmaker.
As she spoke, the 2025-26 session of the Legislature had effectively ended, with no substantive action expected on its few meeting days between the Nov. 3 election and the Nov. 30 session end.
But the taking of such an action in the state’s second-largest county immediately raised the concept of “what about the other counties.” That, in turn, triggered polar-opposite reactions among sitting lawmakers who anticipate being in Harrisburg in January.
“I was very excited,” said Democratic state Sen. Carolyn Comitta of Chester County, whose seat is not up for election this year. “I would hope it would be a pilot for other counties.”
Allegheny County Democratic Rep. Dan Frankel, the House Health Committee chairman who is unopposed in the election, said his home county’s action “helps send a message that we should follow up on this when we return to session.” He noted the House passed a “Family and Medical Leave Act” in March that garnered nearly all Democratic and a handful of Republican votes, but the bill died in the Senate.
A Republican from Allegheny County, Rep Jeremy Shaffer, lamented the county action.
He described it as “a heavy-handed approach that will crush small businesses.” Shaffer said it would be best to let the state create its own plan via bipartisan negotiations.
Another Republican, Rep. Scott Barger of Blair County, said any sort of mandatory paid leave requirement raises the possibility of unintended consequences.
“I am not against it, I am against the idea of mandating it,” he said. “If that becomes the norm for all businesses operating in Pennsylvania, I am not sure that is sustainable.”
Innamorato served as a state representative from Allegheny for four and one-half years ending in mid-2023, when she resigned after winning the Democratic primary for county executive. A progressive, she has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
She was a driving force behind the new parental leave regulation, which was approved by the county council in an 11-4 vote earlier in the week. With her at the Thursday signing were Democratic state Reps. Aerion Abney and La’Tasha Mayes, as well as Sens. Jay Costa – the top Democrat in the Senate – and Nick Pisciottano.
"Paid leave is not a luxury. Paid leave is not radical,” Innamorato said. “It should be a floor. It’s how we make sure a healthy start for a child doesn’t depend on a parent’s tax bracket or an employer’s generosity. And it’s good for all of us: stronger families, healthier babies, workers who stay in the workforce, and employers who keep their people.”
Among the dissenters on county council was Suzanne Filiaggi, a Republican. In an interview, she said she voted against it because of its complexity and the lack of a funding mechanism.
The county, she said, has 34,000 employers with 15 or more workers, and 4,000 of those are in the 15-40 total employee range. That group, she said, typically does not have sophisticated Human Resources Department that are used to handling sensitive health documents.
“It is going to cause a business to either think twice about growing, or even to stay in business anymore,” Filiaggi said.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry opposed the policy, as did the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association.
A PRLA spokesperson, Ben Fileccia, said that even though the Allegheny policy had changes made to it, the end product “would still place significant financial and operational burdens on hospitality employers, particularly small businesses.”