South Carolina Expands Paid Parental Leave for State Workers, but Most Families Will Still Be Left Behind
- CUBNSC
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Sen. Darrell Jackson’s legislation heads to Governor McMaster after years of legislative negotiations, recognizing stillbirth and broadening leave benefits for hundreds of public employees.
By Javar Juarez | CUBNSC | June 25, 2026
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers have approved what could become the state’s most significant expansion of paid parental leave since first establishing the benefit four years ago, sending legislation sponsored by State Sen. Darrell Jackson to Governor Henry McMaster for his signature.
If signed into law, the measure would broaden paid parental leave eligibility for hundreds of additional state employees, double paid leave for non-birthing parents from two weeks to four, and, for the first time in South Carolina law, recognize stillbirth as a qualifying event deserving paid parental leave.
The legislation represents another incremental victory for state employees, but it also underscores a larger reality. Nearly every South Carolinian working outside the state government will remain without guaranteed paid family leave.
For Jackson, a Richland County Democrat who has served in the Senate since 1992, the bill reflects years of legislative work inside a Republican-controlled General Assembly where expanding employee benefits has often faced fiscal skepticism.
“When we invest in parents during one of the most important moments in their lives, we strengthen families, improve employee retention, and make state government a better place to work,” Jackson said following the bill’s final passage.
The measure now awaits action from Governor McMaster. If approved, it will take effect October 1.
More Than an Employee Benefit
The legislation amends South Carolina’s Paid Parental Leave Act, originally enacted in 2022 after years of debate over whether state government should provide paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child.
The newest expansion makes three significant changes.
First, it broadens eligibility beyond traditional full-time state employees by covering workers employed in positions eligible to earn annual leave, including many temporary, grant-funded, time-limited and part-time employees who previously fell outside the law’s protections.
Second, it increases paid leave for non-birthing parents from two weeks to four weeks while maintaining six weeks of paid leave for birthing parents.
Third, and perhaps most notably, it recognizes stillbirth as a qualifying event for paid parental leave.
While the first two provisions expand benefits administratively, the third changes how South Carolina law acknowledges one of the most devastating experiences a family can endure.
A Gap in the Law Finally Closed
Among the bill’s most consequential provisions is one that changes only a few lines of statutory language but carries profound significance for grieving families.
Until now, South Carolina’s paid parental leave law recognized the birth of a biological child, adoption, and foster care placement as qualifying events. Stillbirth was not explicitly included.
That omission left uncertainty for parents who endured one of life’s greatest tragedies. While some state agencies interpreted the existing law to include stillbirth, the protection was not clearly written into statute, leaving room for inconsistent application across state government.
The issue drew statewide attention in March when South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson publicly urged lawmakers to clarify the law after issuing a legal opinion that the Legislature intended stillbirth to qualify under the existing Paid Parental Leave Act. In a statement supporting House Bill 4611, Wilson said, “A stillbirth IS the birth of a child. Parents who endure this traumatic tragedy deserve the time, support, and benefits guaranteed under the law.”
The General Assembly ultimately chose to remove any ambiguity.
Under the legislation, stillbirth, as defined in Section 44-63-55 of the South Carolina Code, is expressly recognized as a qualifying event for paid parental leave. Rather than leaving the issue to agency interpretation, lawmakers placed the protection directly into state law.
Years in the Making
Although the legislation reached the Governor’s desk this week, its path began years earlier.
The General Assembly first established paid parental leave in 2022, granting six weeks of paid leave to birthing parents and two weeks to non-birthing parents employed by the state.
Efforts to expand those benefits quickly followed.
Several companion bills were introduced during the 2025–2026 legislative session addressing different aspects of the program. Some focused on increasing leave for fathers and adoptive parents. Others expanded eligibility or addressed stillbirth protections.
Rather than advancing separately, those proposals ultimately converged into a single legislative package.
Jackson served as one of the Senate’s principal advocates throughout that process.
His role reflects a legislative career spanning more than three decades, during which he has frequently worked across party lines to secure incremental policy changes in a chamber where Democrats hold a minority of seats.
Who Benefits?
According to the South Carolina Division of State Human Resources, 958 state employees used paid parental leave during 2024.
The new legislation will likely increase that number by extending eligibility to additional categories of employees who previously earned annual leave but were excluded from the benefit.
Supporters argue the expansion will improve recruitment and employee retention while making state government more competitive in attracting workers.
Those arguments mirror trends nationwide, where employers increasingly view paid family leave as an investment in workforce stability rather than simply an employee expense.
The Larger Question
While the legislation marks meaningful progress for public employees, it also highlights the limited reach of South Carolina’s broader family leave policies.
The bill applies only to state government employees.
Private-sector workers—who make up the overwhelming majority of South Carolina’s workforce—remain dependent on individual employer policies.
Federal law provides many workers with job protection through the Family and Medical Leave Act, but it does not guarantee paid leave.
For many South Carolinians, taking time to care for a newborn, welcome an adopted child or recover from pregnancy loss still means sacrificing weeks of income.
That disparity falls particularly hard on lower-income workers employed in retail, hospitality, manufacturing, logistics, health care support and other industries where employer-paid family leave remains uncommon.
The legislation expands protections where lawmakers have direct authority while leaving untouched the broader question of whether paid family leave should extend beyond government employment.
The legislation now heads to Governor Henry McMaster, who can sign the bill into law, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto it. If enacted, the changes would take effect October 1, 2026.
Beyond This Bill
The legislation demonstrates that bipartisan agreement remains possible on policies centered around family stability, workforce retention and basic human dignity.
Its recognition of stillbirth acknowledges a reality that many grieving families have long argued should never have required legislative debate.
At the same time, the measure serves as a reminder that South Carolina’s paid family leave system remains limited almost exclusively to public employees.
For Senator Darrell Jackson, the bill would add another chapter to a legislative career built on gradual policy gains.
For the families who qualify, it offers additional time during life’s most consequential moments.
For everyone else, the conversation about paid family leave in South Carolina is far from over.
Javar Juarez is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Urban Broadcast Network (CUBN), State President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute of South Carolina (APRI-SC), and Senior Director of the Broad River Business Alliance (BRBA). Columbia Urban Broadcast Network | CUBNSC.COM | Member, South Carolina Press Association.
Comments