Paid parental leave policies have become increasingly popular and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken note. The EEOC’s recent $1.1 million settlement with Estée Lauder Companies sends a clear message to employers offering paid parental leave – make sure dads and moms benefit equally from the policy.
In the case at hand, the EEOC alleged Estée Lauder unlawfully discriminated against over 200 male employees by:
- Offering new fathers less paid leave to bond with a newborn, or with a newly adopted or fostered child, than to new mothers, and
- Denying new fathers return-to-work benefits provided to new mothers (e.g., temporary modified work schedules).
The lawsuit came to a close with a settlement that was announced on July 17, 2018. Estée Lauder agreed not only to pay $1.1 million to the class of male employees, but also to give the same 20 weeks of paid parental leave for child bonding and the same six-week flexibility period upon returning to work. Under the policy, biological mothers become eligible for parental leave benefits after medical leave due to childbirth.
Thomas Rethage, Philadelphia District Office Senior Trial Attorney, commented, “Parental leave policies should not reflect presumptions or stereotypes about gender roles. When it comes to paid leave for bonding with a new child or flexibility in returning to work from that leave, mothers and fathers should be treated equally.”