The Karnataka government has moved to extend one day of paid menstrual leave per month to its own employees, weeks after mandating the benefit across private-sector establishments.

Last month, the government issued an order stating that one day of paid menstrual leave a month would be available to “women aged 18-52, working in permanent, contractual and outsourced jobs.”

The directive covered women working in industries and establishments registered under the Factories Act, 1948; Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961; Plantation Workers Act, 1951; Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966; and Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.

On December 2, the state issued a fresh order extending the same benefit to its female workforce. The order said that the state would grant “one day of menstrual leave every month to female government employees of the state with immediate effect.”

It added that “menstruating women government employees between the age group 18 and 52 are eligible to avail this leave.”

The order simplifies the process of applying for the leave: “The authority competent to grant casual leave may grant menstrual leave, and no medical certificate is required to avail this leave,” it said.

Departments have been instructed to ensure that “this leave should be entered separately in the leave/attendance book, and should not be combined with any other leave.”

The move comes amid legal scrutiny of the earlier directive that made menstrual leave compulsory in private establishments.

The Bangalore Hotels Association (BHA) recently approached the Karnataka high court, arguing that the state had imposed the requirement on industries without adopting the policy for its own staff.

The association said the order lacked a clear basis and pointed out that the government, “despite being one of the largest employers of women,” had not extended the provision to its workforce.