1. (a)

   1. (1) An eligible employee who is female shall be entitled to eight weeks of parental leave in connection with the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of her child which occurs on or after July 1, 2025.
   2. (2) An eligible employee who is male shall be entitled to two weeks of parental leave in connection with the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of his child which occurs on or after July 1, 2025.
   3. (3) An eligible employee shall be entitled to eight weeks of parental leave in connection with the placement of a child with the eligible employee for adoption which occurs on or after July 1, 2025, provided the child is three years of age or younger at the time that he or she is placed with the eligible employee. In the event that parents who jointly adopt a child are both eligible employees, one parent shall be entitled to eight weeks of parental leave in connection with the adoption and one parent shall be entitled to two weeks of parental leave in connection with the adoption. The State of Alabama Personnel Department, the State Board of Education, and the Alabama Community College System shall jointly adopt rules to implement this subdivision.

2. (b) An eligible employee may not take parental leave under this section unless he or she has completed the requirements of subdivision (1) and paragraph(2)a. prior to taking parental leave.

   1. (1) The eligible employee shall provide the applicable employing agency a written plan regarding his or her intended use of the parental leave and any other leave he or she intends to take in connection with the qualifying event.

   2. (2)

      1. a. The eligible employee shall agree in writing with the applicable employing agency not to separate from employment for a period of at least eight weeks following the conclusion of any leave taken in connection with the qualifying event.
      2. b. The requirement of paragraph a. may be waived by the applicable employing agency in circumstances where the eligible employee is unable to return to work, such as a serious health condition of the employee or of an immediate family member.
      3. c. If the eligible employee fails to comply with the return-to-work agreement required by this subdivision, the applicable employing agency may recover from the eligible employee, by offset or otherwise, an amount equal to the eligible employee’s hourly rate of pay multiplied by the number of hours the eligible employee failed to work in compliance with the return-to-work agreement.
   3. (3) In the event of an emergency that prevents an eligible employee from completing the requirements of subdivision (1) and paragraph (2)a. prior to taking parental leave, the eligible employee shall complete these requirements as soon as practicable after the emergency has ended.

3. (c) An eligible employee may use any parental leave to which he or she is entitled under this chapter intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule, subject to the following limitations:

   1. (1) The parental leave shall be used within 365 days of the qualifying event or within 365 days of the eligible employee taking parental leave for a qualifying event, whichever occurs sooner. An eligible employee may only use parental leave in connection with one qualifying event during a 365-day period, even if more than one qualifying event occurs.
   2. (2) The eligible employee shall maintain a continuing parental role with any child whose birth or adoption was a qualifying event.
   3. (3) Parental leave taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for bonding purposes shall be agreed to by the applicable employing agency prior to the start of the leave.
4. (d) Parental leave taken under this section shall run concurrently with leave taken under Section 25-1-61 and under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, codified as 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq.
5. (e) Upon the expiration of an eligible employee’s parental leave, the eligible employee shall be restored to the position that he or she held at the time of the qualifying event or to an equivalent position with equivalent seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment, including any fringe benefits and service credits, that the eligible employee received or was entitled to prior to the commencement of his or her parental leave. A local education agency employee, as provided in Section 36-6A-1(3)b., shall be restored to the grade taught prior to taking parental leave unless otherwise agreed to by the employee. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent an eligible employee from receiving any cost-of-living salary increase provided generally to eligible employees or any merit increase to which the eligible employee would have been entitled had he or she not taken parental leave.

(Act 2025-81, §2.)