The ordinance also includes six weeks paid time off for employees who adopt or have long-term placement of a foster child. It does not apply to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Employees, according to Garcetti.
"We've got to stop continuing to punish women for having children and wanting to be caregivers and taking care of their loved ones,'' Council President Nury Martinez said.
"There is an unsaid assumption that women will work through maternity leave, and we're expected to give birth and get back to work right away and that's just absolutely ridiculous and if we want to be able to promote women in the workplace in the city of L.A., if we want more women leading departments, if we want more women making sure they're driving some of these policies that are fair and equitable than we need to recognize the importance of this policy,'' Martinez said.