Companies still fail to address paid paternal leave
While companies in the United States have made significant progress in offering mothers paid parental leave, new fathers do not necessarily receive the same benefits as mothers from their employers.
Most fathers are allowed to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave after the birth of a child, due to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if they have been working at the company for at least a year. But, whether or not these fathers get paid is left up to the employer.
There have been certain companies in the United States who have started taking a progressive stance when it comes to parental leave for fathers. According to an article in The Washington Post article titled “Why Dads Don’t Take Paternity Leave,” large companies such as Yahoo Inc. and Bank of America offer 12 weeks of paid leave to fathers, and others have made similar progresses on offering paid paternity leave.
However, these are just exceptions in the United States. According to The Washington Post, in a study conducted by the Families and Work Institute, it was revealed that despite certain major companies making an effort to offer paid paternity leave, overall, only about 14 percent of employers in the United States offer paid leave for fathers. The United States is one of the few highly developed countries that do not require employers to offer paid parental leave for fathers, unlike other developed countries such as Sweden and Canada, where employers are required to offer all employees paid parental leave.
All businesses have their own requirements when it comes to paid parental leave for fathers.
According to Tyler Keener, the principal of WHS, WHS does not have a general policy when it comes to parental leave.
“Generally, there is not a specific role one way or the other, it kind of depends on individual situations for the employee, “ Keener said.
Keener states that extended leave for any reasons, including paternity leave, are decided based on the circumstances of the employee, whether it is for medical or family reasons.
WCS does have to follow the laws outlined by the FMLA and the district also has its own contract when it comes to extended leave.
