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SB2136 • 2026

Mississippi Paid Family and Medical Leave Act; enact.

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT; TO PROVIDE SIX WEEKS OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE TO EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AS LONG AS THE EMPLOYEE IS THE PRIMARY CAREGIVER OF A CHILD; TO PROVIDE TWO WEEKS OF PAID MEDICAL LEAVE TO EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO DEFINE THE TERMS "EMPLOYER," "PAID MEDICAL LEAVE," AND "SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION"; TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Children Healthcare Labor
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Blackmon
Last action
2026-02-03
Official status
Dead
Effective date
July 1, 20

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass, so it does not have an effective date or further details on implementation procedures.

Mississippi Paid Family and Medical Leave Act

This bill proposes to enact the Mississippi Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, providing six weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers after a child's birth or adoption and two weeks of paid medical leave.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates the Mississippi Paid Family and Medical Leave Act to provide benefits for eligible employees.
  • Gives eligible employees six weeks of paid parental leave if they are the primary caregiver after a child's birth or adoption.
  • Provides eligible employees with two weeks of paid medical leave for personal health issues, family member’s serious health conditions, or military care needs.
  • Defines key terms such as 'employer,' 'paid medical leave,' and 'serious health condition.'

Who It Names or Affects

  • Employees in Mississippi who meet eligibility requirements set by the bill.

Terms To Know

Eligible employee
A person employed for at least twelve months on a full-time basis and is the primary caregiver of a child for parental leave.
Employer
Defined under federal law as someone who employs 50 or more employees for 20 workweeks in the current or previous calendar year.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was referred to committee where it died.
  • Details on how leave is accrued, carried over, or used for retirement are not specified.
  • Specific procedures for requesting and approving paid parental leave are left to the State Personnel Board.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-03 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/03 (S) Died In Committee

  2. 2026-01-13 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    01/13 (S) Referred To Judiciary, Division A

Official Summary Text

Mississippi Paid Family and Medical Leave Act; enact.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
S. B. No. 2136 *SS08/R362* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackmon

SENATE BILL NO. 2136

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT; TO 2
PROVIDE SIX WEEKS OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE TO EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE 3
OF MISSISSIPPI AS LONG AS THE EMPLOYEE IS THE PRIMARY CAREGIVER OF 4
A CHILD; TO PROVIDE TWO WEEKS OF PAID MEDICAL LEAVE TO EMPLOYEES 5
IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO DEFINE THE TERMS "EMPLOYER," "PAID 6
MEDICAL LEAVE," AND "SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION"; TO CONFORM; AND 7
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Section 25-3-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 10
amended as follows: 11
25-3-105. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited 12
as the "Mississippi * * * Paid * * * Family and Medical Leave 13
Act." 14
(2) As used in this section, the following terms shall be 15
defined as provided in this subsection: 16
(a) "Eligible employee" means a person * * * 17
employed * * * in the State of Mississippi * * * for a minimum of 18
twelve (12) consecutive months in a position for which he or she 19
is compensated on a full-time permanent basis by an employer and, 20
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for the purposes of paid parental leave, who is the primary 21
caregiver of a child. 22
(b) "Employer" has the meaning assigned under 29 U.S.C 23
§ 2611(4). 24
(c) "Paid medical leave" means the compensated absence 25
from work provided to an eligible employee for any of the 26
following qualifying events: 27
(i) A personal serious health condition; 28
(ii) The serious health condition of a family 29
member or dependent; and 30
(iii) The care of an injured member of the 31
military or national guard. For purposes of this section, a 32
member of the military or national guard includes any person 33
within the definitions of Section 33–1–1. 34
( * * *d) "Paid parental leave" means the compensated 35
absence from work provided to an eligible employee for any of the 36
following qualifying events: 37
(i) The birth of the employee's biological child; 38
or 39
(ii) Legal adoption of a child under eighteen (18) 40
years of age. 41
( * * *e) "Primary caregiver" means the parent who has 42
the primary responsibility for the care of a child following the 43
birth or adoption of a child. 44
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(f) "Serious health condition" has the meaning assigned 45
under 29 U.S.C § 2611(11). 46
(3) An eligible employee who is the primary caregiver of a 47
child shall be entitled to receive six (6) weeks (two hundred 48
forty (240) hours) of paid parental leave compensated at one 49
hundred percent (100%) of the employee's regular salary, to be 50
used to care for the child after the birth or adoption of the 51
child. 52
(4) The paid parental leave provided under this section must 53
be taken within twelve (12) weeks of the birth or adoption of the 54
child. Paid parental leave may be taken only once in a period of 55
twelve (12) months. 56
(5) An eligible employee shall be entitled to receive two 57
(2) weeks (eighty (80) hours) of paid parental leave compensated 58
at one hundred percent (100%) of the employee's regular salary, to 59
be used for a paid medical leave qualifying event. 60
( * * *6) The paid parental or medical leave provided under 61
this section shall be in addition to other leave benefits 62
available to state employees by state or federal law and shall not 63
be counted against accrued personal leave or major medical leave 64
under Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95. The paid parental or medical 65
leave shall run concurrently with any leave provided to an 66
eligible employee under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act 67
(FMLA) where applicable. Legal state and federal holidays shall 68
not be counted against the paid parental or medical leave. The 69
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paid parental or medical leave shall not be accrued or carried 70
over or used for retirement purposes and is not payable upon 71
separation from state service. 72
( * * *7) An eligible employee requesting the paid parental 73
leave under this section shall give notice at least thirty (30) 74
calendar days before the anticipated leave start date, where 75
foreseeable, to the employee's supervisor and human resources 76
manager and shall follow the employer's usual procedures for 77
notification and documentation. If advance notice of thirty (30) 78
days is not possible due to exigent circumstances, the employee 79
shall notify the employee's supervisor and human resources manager 80
at the earliest available opportunity and shall follow the 81
employer's usual procedures in doing so. For state employees, the 82
use of paid parental leave may be restricted due to public safety 83
concerns, at the discretion of the employee's agency head. 84
( * * *8) (a) On July 1, 2026, and every July 1 after, each 85
state agency, department or institution shall submit to the State 86
Personnel Board a report on the use of the paid parental leave 87
provided under this section by the eligible employees of the 88
agency, department or institution for the preceding fiscal year. 89
(b) On July 1, 2027, and every July 1 after, each state 90
agency, department or institution shall submit to the State 91
Personnel Board a report on the use of the paid medical leave 92
provided under this section by the eligible employees of the 93
agency, department or institution for the preceding fiscal year. 94
S. B. No. 2136 *SS08/R362* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: Mississippi Paid Family and Medical Leave
Act; enact.
( * * *9) The State Personnel Board shall develop and 95
implement policies and procedures necessary to administer the 96
provisions of this section, including, but not limited to: 97
(a) Establishing processes for leave requests for and 98
approvals of taking paid parental leave; 99
(b) Defining documentation requirements to substantiate 100
eligibility for paid parental leave; and 101
(c) Ensuring compliance with applicable state and 102
federal laws. 103
* * * 104
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 105
and after July 1, 2026. 106