Last month, Liberty Mutual announced their intention on modernizing the workplace for their employees through improving their bereavement policy. The company is expanding and enhancing its parental, short-term disability, and bereavement leave policies. Employees with at least one year of work tenure who become new parents can take up to eight weeks of paid leave at 100% pay. A new parent includes birth mothers, fathers and adoptive parents. In addition, employees taking advantage of the company’s short-term disability benefit can receive up to 8 weeks of 100% wage replacement during their absence from work regardless of tenure. For a mother giving birth, this means a total of up to 16 weeks of paid leave. Separately, following the death of a spouse, domestic partner or child, bereavement leave will be expanded to 20 fully paid days.
The new normal for future organizations across the gender spectrum is at least five months of paid leave for new parents across the gender spectrum. Starting with organizations in the tech sector, particularly Silicon Valley giants including Netflix, Microsoft, and Amazon announcing improved policies
How do some of the top company’s handle parental leave?
Etsy now offers 6 months paid parental leave (regardless of gender or by birth or adoption)
Netflix announced year-long paid parental leave for its salaried employees. (Its hourly workers, controversially, get a less generous 16 weeks.)
Spotify announced all employees worldwide would be eligible for six months of fully paid leave.
Adobe offers 26 weeks paid parental leave
eBay offers 24 weeks paid parental leave
Twitter 20 weeks paid parental leave
Microsoft 20 weeks paid parental leave
Google give 20 weeks paid parental leave
Currently, the U.S. remains the only developed country around the world with no laws guaranteeing paid parental leave of any type. The companies listed above are helping in the fight for changing federal policies.
The Family and Medical Leave Act mandates 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, but only to full-time workers at companies with over 50 employees. Only 12% of American workers are offered paid leave through their employers, leaving many Americans hanging out to dry when it comes to being able to afford to take care of their families.
