Slashdot Mirror
American Express Will Give All Parents 20 Weeks Of Paid Leave (cnn.com)
Starting in January, the financial services giant will expand its paid parental leave policy for mothers and fathers to 20 weeks at full pay, plus another six to eight weeks for women who give birth and require medical leave. Full-time and part-time employees who have worked at Amex for at least a year are eligible. CNN adds: That's a big shift from the company's current policy of offering six weeks of paid leave for the primary parent plus another six to eight weeks for birth mothers who require medical leave. Secondary caregivers, meanwhile, have gotten just two weeks. Under the new policy, parents will also have access to a 24-hour lactation consultant. And mothers who go on business trips will be able to ship their breast milk home for free.
I'm a parent, I don't work for American Express... will they give me 20 weeks?
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
get to pick up the slack with no extra PTO or a larger salary? I understand the need to help parents, and i don't dispute it. I get that maybe parents needsome time out for a new birth or to leave early or come in late or take time off now and again to deal with older kids, but 20 weeks at full pay? doesn't that put a huge burden on those who dont have kids to pick up the slack?
Blue balls.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
They must not be impressed with your work today.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Unfortunately, population growth isn't happening in the industrialized world, but rather in the developing world. So unless you want to start letting in a lot of immigrants over the coming decades, you're going to have to accept that people in the West need to have children as well.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Only in America.
I guess that this policy is far too wimpy and liberal for the USA. IF you don't like it, sue it to death!
Other countries are implementing policies like this. No lawsuits there!
Some are even making it transferrable between parents.
The USA is becoming more socially unequal by the day. This policy would help the lower paid more than the bosses (who can afford nannies).
You really are going to the dogs.
this is america, it's going to happen. discrimination against those who don't want or can't have children. the latter being a medical condition that surely someone will consider an ada-covered disability... and they just might find a judge to agree with them.
Read TFA:
And employees who wish to have a child will receive up to $35,000 for adoption or surrogacy for up to two children. Those undergoing infertility treatments, meanwhile, will receive up to a lifetime maximum of $35,000 to help defray costs.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
..you're only now 19 weeks behind Statutory Maternity Pay in the UK.
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
Random comments...
Workers with families may actually be beneficial to companies. Why? Speaking as a parent in a single-income household, I would think they are less prone to job-hunting/switching frequently. It'd be interesting to see statistics on employee turnover rate for single vs. married vs. married-with-kids (or vs. single-with-kids, whatever). My income is very important to me, because I have three other people to provide for (plus associated "life" activities). It's stressful to not have a job; it's more stressful when you have a spouse and kids to provide for and, well, not starve, get into debt, lose your house, that sort of thing.
That said ... heh, 20 weeks is a lot, that's like 5 months. I'm happy with 2-4 weeks of paternal leave, but it's not a huge deal if a company didn't give paternal leave. I think it's great, because IMO, it's a statement of the importance of family and the importance of fathers in family life. I mean, I wouldn't complain about 20 weeks! But I can see how someone might think 20 weeks for a *father* is a lot.
Also, that said, 20 weeks for a mother is *not* that much. Even the official pediatric recommendation is to breastfeed, exclusively, if you can, for at least 6 months. It's really, really, really hard to exclusively breastfeed while working if you have any milk supply issues at all... because pumping just doesn't work the same. Sure, maybe companies should take that into account when working out pay, or maybe some of that should be without pay, or whatever, but unless we want to say to women that having kids is unimportant, or that making them healthy is unimportant, then time off for those critical months in a baby's development is a big deal to me. As a father. ;)
Seems unfair and discriminatory against them, in that they don't get this 20 week PAID BENEFIT...?
Not to mention, that often those childless folks will be just exact folks that have to work extra hours and pick up the slack for those new parents taking time off to care for the result of fucking without protection.
So, not only do the childless not get the free 20 weeks paid leave/vacation, they also will likely have to work EXTRA to cover for the breeders, and since they are probably salary, that will not come with any overtime.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Well, depends, I guess, on your definition of "middle of nowhere".
IMHO, unless you consider anywhere outside of LA, NYC, SF and other hugely $$$$ places to live, middle of nowhere....there are plenty of places with reasonable cost of living in the US. And you can still live in a decent place, in a safe neighborhood, where children still play outside, and get by on a single income family. Yes, I am talking about a 'real job', not a burger flipper, but I believe that's what we're all discussing here.
No, you won't have the latest toys, not the newest car....and you won't be going out that much, but hey, that's what my parents did. Mom stayed at home with me till I was in about 2nd grade and then gradually began working again, up to full time by the time I was old enough to come home from grade school and stay on my own will they got home from work. No problems.
We cooked at home most all meals, nothing wrong with that, forced us to eat a bit healthier, AND, I was taught from a young age how to cook myself.
Sure, being a parent is tough, it takes sacrifice both personally and fiscally, But this isn't a new thing...parents have been doing this forever till now.
Don't have them, unless you are willing to make those sacrifices. I never wanted to be tied down with the little fiscal boat anchors, so I chose not to have any...I like my time and my disposable income. A choice you make. I could NOT have both, and I chose my path and am happy with it.
If you choose to have kids....you need to take what goes with it and if you have to move to an area with a lower cost of living, then be prepared to do that. Don't expect others to take up the slack for you.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
People without newborn babies are not a race, gender, religion, or any other class of person subject to discrimination. We have all been people without newborns. People with newborns will, in a very short time, be people without newborns.
If you are an AMEX employee, and you want to take 20weeks of paid leave, you need only find a willing partner and have a baby. (I understand that the first part might be very difficult for you.)
I'll bet you'd complain that sick days are unfair to healthy people!
Required reading for internet skeptics
But, what about those that do NOT want to have kids?
Seems unfair and discriminatory against them, in that they don't get this 20 week PAID BENEFIT...?
Well, if they'd stop slacking and do their proper duty to their country and have kids, everybody would be happy. If the nation is to prosper, it needs more population and particularly from well off people who will raise their kids to also be well off. Even ancient Rome had incentives to get people to have kids. Now this is a company, and not a country, but since IIRC the US is the only industrialized country to not have mandatory leave for havign children, I expect that American Express is just doing this to unify policies across all their operations and keep their American employees from getting pissed about not getting what employees in other countries get.
But, what about those that do NOT want to have kids? Seems unfair and discriminatory against them, in that they don't get this 20 week PAID BENEFIT...?
Yeah, I'm sick of this kind of discrimination! It's everywhere! Why should I be forced to pay for public schools if I don't have kids?!? Why are there tax credits and deductions only available to parents!?! Why are babies allowed to scream on aircraft but I'm not allowed to??? Discrimination! Discrimination! Discrimination!
How is this discrimination? there is a benefit that you decide not to use, period. It's available to everyone who wants to use it and they will even cover all the expenses to be able to use it y you have trouble doing it naturally (adoption, insemination, surrogacy, etc.)
By your same logic any benefit is discrimination, I don't want to save in a 401k, so I should get the matching money anyway. I don't like the food that is given for free and I decide not to eat it and should get money instead. I don't go to the gym, so that paid gym benefit is discriminatory.
I can't believe the weird logic people get to use to complain about everything.
It is not fair that one set of people are offered this PAID BENEFIT, and other are not.
All those childless AMEX employees are offered that same paid benefit. All they need do is have a child. That's what it's for.
.that is discrimination
You're kidding right? Everyone is being offered the same benefit. No one is being excluded. That's not discrimination by any stretch of the imagination.
its hard to believe that everyone wouldn't see and jump on this too.
They don't see the discrimination because it doesn't exist. Again, everyone is being offered that same benefit. No one is being excluded.
I'm pretty much settled that I DO NOT WANT kids.
First, let me say Thank You. I couldn't be happier with your decision.
Moving on, just because you don't want to participate in a particular benefit, does not mean that you're being excluded. If a coworker brings in a plate of cookies, and you decline to take one, you don't get to complain that Alice and Bob each got a cookie, but you didn't. If you don't want it, then no one should have it, right?
What I'm seeing here is a disturbingly childlike selfishness. You're absolutely terrified that someone, somewhere, got a bigger cookie than you.
Still, even though you don't want to participate, that benefit is still being offered to you (assuming you're an AMEX employee). You can take your 20 weeks just as soon as you find a willing partner who ultimately delivers.
Required reading for internet skeptics
I choose not to have kids, they choose to have them. Why should their lifestyle decision be more important than mine?
Because their decision actually is more important than yours. They're producing the next generation who you will want to care for you when you're needing medical care in your 70s.
You don't want to contribute to the next generation? Fine, no one is asking you to. However society has always catered for and helped those who produce the next generation because you and your generation will one day stop being a contributing member of society and you and your generation needs to be replaced by another contributing member of society.
Selfishly proclaiming that society should end with you is (like I said) selfish, but also stupid - no one really buys your arguments because most (everyone?) knows that the current population will one day be non-productive. People who have kids ensure that there will be a new population of productive people. You aren't ensuring shit.
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
In civilized countries payed leave is a parental right by law and not dependent from goodwill of employer.
Nope, I think you mistook me for someone else.