Tag: Maternity Leave

Doubling Paternity Leave to Support Women in the Workplace

Women in the workforce know about the “motherhood penalty,” or the negative career impact that results from becoming a mom, even if they don’t know it by that name. Those who receive the penalty experience reduced compensation and opportunities for career advancement. There are plenty of statistics that support this. One recent survey found that […]

Examining the Effects of the Wage Gap on Women in the Workplace 

Research indicates that after having children, the wage gap between men and women expands substantially. This is largely due to more mothers opting for part-time jobs like child care or other family responsibilities over higher-paying full-time roles. Unfortunately, this perpetuates a cycle of gender inequality in the workplace, hindering female workers from achieving their potential […]

breastfeeding

Supporting New Parent Employees Beyond Paid Leave

Paid maternity and paternity leave has been a long-debated topic in the United States, as it is one of the last remaining developed countries without formal legislation in place guaranteeing working parents paid time off to care for their new babies. As more and more companies today look to support new parents in the workplace […]

family

Employee Focus: How to Help Employees Return from Parental Leave

Employees returning from parental leave, whether that’s maternity/paternity leave or Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, often have a unique set of needs to ease their transition back into working full-time. This is important for employers to be cognizant of, not the least of which is to reduce the incidence of employees leaving the […]

Momentum in Maternity: What’s to Come in 2019

In the employee benefits space, we’ve seen a significant shift in recent years. Emphasis has moved away from flashy, unorthodox benefits toward practical ones that make it easier for people to stay engaged at work, while still having a life outside. That trend is sure to stick around, but the changing demographics and priorities of […]

‘Royal’ additions: handling HR issues that arise due to marriage and childbirth

I admit that, like many Americans, I am fascinated with the lives of the British royal family. That is especially true with respect to Charles and Di’s two young princes. I enjoy hearing news about Prince Williams’ adorable family, and I was excited to hear about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent engagement. In fact, […]

Maternity, paternity leave and ‘sensitive situation’ bring up FMLA questions

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be a headache for HR since the law applies to so many situations. Recently, questions regarding the timing of maternity and paternity leave as well as the need for FMLA paperwork for an employee’s “sensitive situation” were put to a group of attorneys well-versed in employment law. […]

Executives on Maternity Leave: Return Not Guaranteed by FMLA

Newly appointed Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer — who some pundits have called “the most powerful pregnant woman in America” — is an exceptional employee in more ways than one. Even if she had worked the prerequisite 12 months (or 1,250-plus hours) at Yahoo to qualify for FMLA leave, Mayer would not be guaranteed a return […]

Census Bureau: Most First-Time Working Mothers Receive Paid Leave

Employers are increasingly likely to provide paid leave to working mothers, new Census data suggests. The U.S. Census Bureau report,  released in early November, doesn’t look directly at employer policies. Rather, it analyzes trends in women’s work experience before their first child, identifies their maternity leave arrangements before and after the birth and examines how rapidly […]

Adopt a Formal Flextime Policy

Employment law attorney Robert P. Tinnin, Jr., answers an HR practitioner’s question about improving a flextime program that has become unmanageable.