Starting Oct. 1, North Carolina state workers and teachers get 12 weeks of paid parental leave, moms and dads alike. It passed unanimously.

North Carolina's largest overhaul of its state human resources system in more than 60 years takes effect Oct. 1, NCLocal reports, citing the state Office of State Human Resources. The Public Workforce Modernization Act passed the General Assembly with unanimous, bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Josh Stein. The headline change: paid parental leave for state employees rises to 12 weeks for both mothers and fathers, up from eight weeks for mothers and four for fathers. It also covers public schools, community colleges and the University of North Carolina system, and the State Employees Association of North Carolina says that makes North Carolina the first state in the South to offer 12 fully paid weeks to both parents in the public sector. "Everybody's thrilled over the parental leave. I mean, that's just huge," said Suzanne Beasley, the association's government relations director. The law also writes bereavement leave into statute for all state employees, so no one has to burn vacation days after a death in the family. It cuts the temporary-to-permanent hiring window from six months to three, creates apprenticeships and fellowships that can lead to permanent jobs, allows lateral transfers within an agency and gives hiring preference to spouses of active-duty service members. "Highly qualified applicants are burdened by our process and they wait too long to hear after applying," said State Human Resources Director Staci Meyer. Why it matters at home: if you work for the state, a public school, a community college or the UNC system and a baby is due around Oct. 1, ask your HR office now which policy covers you, and get the answer in writing.