Jessica Eilerman is the Small Business Liaison for the City of St. Petersburg. She is also a new mother to son Vincent Gabriel and just got back from maternity leave two weeks ago.

“To be able to develop not just that relationship but to be able to see him on that day to day basis, to see him growing from morning to night was amazing,” Eilerman said.  “Something I’ll never get back.  So I cherish it so much.”

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Eilerman thanked her boss Mayor Rick Kriseman for his new parental leave policy that kicked in this year. It allows both mothers and fathers who work for the city to take six weeks paid time off to care for their newborns.

It’s something the Obama administration has been pushing at the national level as well. U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez was at the news conference, making it one of the stops on his “Lead on Leave” tour in Florida.

“Whether it’s C1 Bank, whether it’s the Rays, whether it’s Costco, whether it’s Southwest Airlines, they understand that when you take care of your workers, it’s good for your workers,” Perez said. “It’s good for your business, it’s good for your bottom line.”

Something Eilerman knows firsthand.

“Having that support financially and to know your pay check is coming in, really helps you separate yourself from that worry,” she said.  “And focus on your child and your healing.”

Following the news conference, Perez sat down with Tampa Bay Rays President Brian Auld, C1 Financial President and CEO Trevor Burgess for a round table discussion on paid leave with local workers and advocates.