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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky plans to provide state employees with paid time off so they can bond with a new child or deal with a serious medical situation, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.

The added benefit will give state executive branch workers up to six weeks of paid leave, available in three intervals during an employee’s career, the governor said. New hires will immediately become eligible for six weeks of paid time off, he said. Another six weeks of paid leave will be offered two more times: once employees reach 10 years of service and again at 20 years.

The goal is to make state government an increasingly appealing place to work.

“It is the right thing to do for our employees,” Beshear said at a news conference. “We care about our employees and we’re going to keep fighting for you.”

The amount of paid leave would not accumulate from one interval to the next under the plan, Beshear’s administration said in a release.

The paid leave offering will be made through a regulatory change, and the new benefit could become available as soon as next summer, the Democratic governor said. It builds on an existing benefits package that allows executive branch workers to take annual, sick or compensatory leave, the Personnel Cabinet said.

Under the added benefit, six weeks of paid leave would be available to eligible workers facing a serious health condition or welcoming a new child through birth, adoption or foster care, Beshear said.

“No one needs that more than a new mom or a patient who just got some not-so-great news,” Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said during the announcement.

Coleman has been in both situations since taking office. She gave birth to a daughter early in her first term. Just days after starting her second term, Coleman underwent a double mastectomy in late 2023.

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