HB1006

House Bill 1006 mandates that certain employers in Arkansas provide twelve weeks of paid maternity leave to eligible employees. A 'covered employer' is defined as an entity with fifty or more employees. The mandate specifically applies to employers who provide coverage for abortions or travel expenses related to abortion services for their employees. To be eligible, an employee must be a birth mother, work full-time, have been employed for at least twelve months, and be enrolled in the employer's health benefit plan. The bill specifies that the leave must be compensated at 100% of the employee's salary or a twelve-week average weekly pay, beginning immediately after the birth of the child. It also allows employers to fulfill this requirement by combining paid maternity leave with existing paid leave benefits.