If you’ve been on LinkedIn in the last few weeks, you might have noticed lots of companies very publicly sharing their family leave policies and practices for supporting working parents. Why? It’s all part of #ShowUsYourLeave, a movement launched by theSkimm to amplify conversation around parenthood and how far behind the U.S. in offering uniform, fair policies, and to encourage private companies, business, and CEOs to take action..
The U.S. remains one of just 11 countries in the world that does not offer paid family leave at a national level. In Japan and Norway, for example, new parents are entitled to more than 52 weeks of compensated time off. Even in the private sector, only about a quarter of U.S. workers have access to it.
In 1993 The Family and Medical Leave Act granted 12 weeks of unpaid leave for eligible employees. Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Additionally, time taken off work due to pregnancy complications can be counted against the 12 weeks of family and medical leave. This criteria leaves many employees with little choice - either saving up vacation days and/or sick days or being left without any leave at all.
It is time for a change. Families in the US deserve better.
Here is a look at just a few (of the many) posts we’ve seen from companies in our feed.
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We at Outschool are proud to join theSkimm’s call to action to transparently share not only our family leave policy, but also our benefits. Here are some of the benefits we offer to help our teammates balance their family and work lives:
It is important to note that while parental leave is a cornerstone in the parenting journey there are other components that go into supporting working parents and families such as fertility benefits, adoption support, childcare, wellness and mental health benefits and education based benefits such as Outschool. If you are interested in adding education based benefits to your family leave policy request a demo today.
How does your company support working parents? #showusyourleave in the comments section below.
