The Biden White House declined to speak on the matter officially. Instead, an official noted anonymously that political appointees “do not enjoy the promise of federal employment after the end of the government in which they choose to serve.” The official blamed the fact that the Trump administration dragged on a quick and orderly transition as the reason why some of his staff were taken aback by the end of the benefits.
“We understand that some Trump nominees, including a handful currently on maternity leave, sent last-minute requests to remain on the government payroll,” said the official. “Since these requests were received so close to Induction Day … there was no way to implement an exception to the rule in a way that is fair to all outgoing nominees, including many who resigned as expected without making claims for extraordinary benefits. . ”
The official added that “the nominees have been informed that they have options, including COBRA and the Affordable Care Act.”
For Ambrosini and others, these options were not enough to navigate an already difficult situation. Former Trump officials face a difficult escalation to find a job in Washington DC, where the federal government is run by Democrats. Looking for a job when you are at home taking care of a child is almost impossible.
“With a newborn baby, it’s not like I can just go into the job market and say ‘hey, I’m ready to work’,” said Ambrosini. “It is difficult. No one will be willing to hire me this second because I am still at home with the baby, so it is difficult.”
Ambrosini, who was deputy director of communications for the Department of Commerce and a former Trump employee at the White House, said she obtained approval to take maternity leave from early January to late March. But she was told the day before the baby’s birth, on December 17, that her leave would end on January 20, when the inauguration would take place. After some deliberation, she decided to use her sick leave to cover her vacation during the first three weeks of January before taking office.
Two married former Trump Homeland Security employees said they had a similar experience. They sent POLITICO emails showing an agency official telling them that, as political nominees, their parental leave benefits would be be treated in the same way as career employees. Her baby was born on December 18. Late at night on January 5, the father received an email from the HR office saying that they were wrong and that the benefit would end on January 20.
“It’s one thing if you have a family, if you have a family member who works for the government,” he said. “But we were both employed by the government, so we are missing out on our health care opportunities and our income, so it is very scary to have a premature baby at home and not know if you will have an income or health insurance.”
The former DHS employee and his wife wrote a letter on January 13 to the Biden DHS agency review team, pleading for the full benefit. “[T]The remaining 9 to 10 weeks offered to federal employees are essential to our family and our livelihood, as we work to raise a strong and healthy baby boy under unique and unforeseen complications in our birth plan, ”they wrote.
But the DHS Presidential Transition Office told the couple in an e-mail on January 18 that the benefits would not be transferred to the next government. “This is not what you expected to hear, but I think I also knew that this was the most likely outcome,” said the email. “I am sorry to be the bearer of this news and I am sorry to have no other news.”
The couple refused to officially declare themselves out of fear of political consequences if they were made public and how it could negatively affect future job opportunities.
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It was just in December 2019, Congress passed the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, a law advocated by Ivanka Trump, which granted federal government employees up to 12 weeks paid leave for the birth of a new child. The law, which came into force last October, required employees to agree to work at least another twelve weeks after receiving the benefit, although there are doubts as to whether this requirement can be waived.
Either way, it was a major breakthrough in the status quo. Previously, federal employees had no paid leave and often needed to use unused vacations and sick leave after the birth of a child or simply waive payment.
Still, Parental leave policy experts say the cases of these Trump employees show the gaps that still exist in the social safety net. As political appointees, they should be aware that all benefits could end on January 20, when the government they potentially served will come to an end. Experts also said the Biden government has no legal obligation to grant leave to Trump’s employees.
But the new governments do not immediately expel all political nominees from the previous one. And some experts said it would set a good precedent for Biden’s team to accommodate those on maternity leave as a means of reinforcing the importance of the policy.
“Paid parental leave is really very important for maternal health, for the child’s well-being, for family connectivity, and I can’t imagine being in the shoes of these new parents and not having the finances,” said Adrienne Schweer, a fellow. of the Bipartisan Policy Center that leads its Paid Family Leave Task Force. “Extending it to some people for a few months can be a good thing. There are precedents for unique circumstances, and I would love to see a good example set to ensure that as many people as possible can take paid maternity leave. “
As with virtually all jobs, when a job ends, most benefits also end (although former Trump employees have been kept on government health insurance for the usual 31-day grace period). And with Biden’s inauguration, Trump officials who asked for their parental leave to be fully respected were asking for, which in fact is, special accommodation. The Biden government would need to keep these individuals – all nominated politicians – in the federal government, but not working, until their parental leave ended.
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Biden has long been an advocate for the benefits of parental leave. After the 2019 law was passed, it tweeted: “It was time for federal employees to receive paid parental leave. It is past time for every American to have 12 weeks paid leave to meet their own health needs or care for any of their loved ones. ”
Trump, on the other hand, was a somewhat heterodox adopter of the cause. Republicans have long opposed federal demands around these benefits, and even when they started embracing reform, it was through decidedly conservative lenses. A prominent proposal by the Republican Party called for people to withdraw from their Social Security to pay maternity leave.
Trump officials who received maternity leave benefits argued that since it became law, it was now a right – a right that needed to be respected regardless of whether the presidency changes hands.
A former senior Trump employee said he coordinated with his HR team at his agency and was told that the requirement to do 12 weeks of work after the end of parental leave was unnecessary due to the mitigating circumstances of a new administration. He also contacted the Personnel Management Office and was instructed to date his letter of resignation on the last day of his paternity leave.
His wife had a daughter in early December. He took three weeks of paternity leave before having to go back to work to deal with the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riot. He says he lost nine weeks of leave, which is equivalent to between $ 20,000 and $ 30,000.
“This is not a right that I asked for, but I feel that after four years, it has been won,” he said.
When some of Trump Political appointees found that their full license would not be granted, they took the issue to the Biden transition team. But after initially believing that the new government would keep those on leave actually employed, the opposite was soon said. The former senior Trump official said he now regrets his decision to stay until the end of the government.
“I could have left earlier, but I didn’t because I was told ‘hey, you have paternity leave coming’, and if I knew you weren’t going to be able to use your paternity leave and you are really going to work a lot when you have a new baby and then get fired, I probably would have made a different decision, ”he said.
The former employee refused to register for fear that it would affect his prospects of getting a job with a salary to support a family of five.
“It makes you look desperate for work and a story about me wanting money is not going to work well when I’m dealing with the people I’m talking to,” he said. “I am trying to convince everyone that I am in a perfectly good situation.”