It is not intended as and does not constitute legal advice. However, many companies are finding there are enormous benefits in offering either full or partially paid leave for new parents, such as: When creating your specific benefit plan for expanded parental leave, be sure to let your employees know about it. To be eligible for these benefits: To sum up paternity policies, just remember that your company’s location and size are the two most important factors on determining what you need to do as an employer. If you’d like to be even more thorough, have every employee sign and date a copy of the policy and document this in their personnel files (electronic or paper is fine). These states are as follows: *Please note that whichever law, state or federal, provides more leave/ more favor to the employee is the ruling law for creating your policy. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. An eligible employee is defined as one who has been in your employment for a minimum of one year and works a regular workweek (defined as 24 hours by the act). Pregnancy Leave Act The Illinois Pregnancy Leave Act (IPLA) … These days, many states have reframed maternity leave laws as parental leave, which includes paternity leave for fathers. If there is a way to train or coach the employee to success, or place on probation with coaching and training, this could be a better path. Make sure to touch base after a predetermined amount of time to ensure this is a good arrangement. Small businesses can survive while solving the challenges of paid parental leave, and as happens when the ball gets rolling, thrive. There's growing debate (and growing support) in the U.S. around paid parental leave. Here are a range of options for customizing a paternity leave policy for your company if you are interested in creating one. You get a centralized online system that both you and your employees can access, helping you track leave requests without the hassle of paper forms. Our website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg made national headlines when he took two months off after his child was born, and Netflix did the same when it announced "unlimited" parental leave during the first year after the birth or adoption of a child. Facebook 1. During her more than 15 years of communications and writing experience, Allison has worked with a variety of clients, from small-business owners to Fortune 500 companies. It's a complicated issue, and the truth is there are many small business owners who want to be able to provide paid parental leave… Would your second in command really want to continue working for you? Here we will explain paternity policies from soup to nuts so that you can create a paternity leave policy that works for your small business and is legally sound. New mothers and fathers who work for the public are eligible for ten weeks (50 workdays) of compensated time off per twelve-month period. You may need to hire an attorney to answer that question. Compcare underwrites or administers HMO or POS policies; WCIC underwrites or administers Well Priority HMO or POS policies. What is he hoping for? The best answers often include products and services. Employers need 50+ employees to be required for this law. By offering expanded parental leave benefits, you may find it’s actually a win-win situation for everyone, and this especially holds true for new dads and moms. How long does the average maternity leave last in Illinois? Christy specializes in full-spectrum talent management, organizational change, and implementing HR systems. Small businesses have a lot of regulations and red tape to deal with. Note that federal law now protects same-sex marriages. In Kentucky: Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, Inc. Unpaid parental leave must be taken in one continuous block of time. Entrepreneur, Creator, and Business Consultant, Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. Paid paternity leave wasn’t far behind, increasing from 12 to 29 percent in that time. You’re offering a benefit that improves employee retention and lowers stress by giving them time off to bond with their new child. Plus, many remain employed when covered under FMLA (see below). All rights reserved. We recommend that you make sure your attorney reviews your policy before you distribute it to employees. Kansas does not have a law that covers private employers for paternity policy. Encourage them to discuss and use the benefit, and give them a chance to voice any concerns they may have. Baby bonding time for infant, adoptive, or foster child; Care of infant born prematurely; Paternity leave for fathers . Don’t forget to check out Zoho People, an intuitive tool that can help you manage holidays and time off requests. We would recommend waiting for your employee to come to you in order to be prudent. The primary reason is that the time off is unpaid and most families bringing a new baby home cannot afford both new parents to take that much time off work, let alone one parent. Think of how your other employees might view your action and the situation. This is primarily an issue if you are an employer who needs to provide FMLA. Promote a continued commitment by keeping parental needs in mind, and take some time to research the innovative parental leave benefits other companies have implemented to see what might work for you and your employees. Other countries around the world require a significant amount of paid paternity leave for new fathers. While these alternatives are safer as they do not involve debt accumulation, it can prove challenging to make them pay off. The paid time off begins at birth or the placement of an adopted child. Hopefully, he will then be your best advocate in rolling it out to the company! LinkedIn Try it out for free. When you do the math of recruiting for a new employee, training someone with years of knowledge, and company culture, a paid paternity policy can actually make financial sense for your small business. At smaller companies folks are still figuring out what works for them. However, only 12% of workers at businesses with 1-99 employees have access to the benefit. 48, par. Because the law covers roughly half of the population, your answer could be twelve weeks, or whatever your employer decides. Also, if both the husband and the wife work for your business, you’re only required to offer a combined 12 weeks of leave between the two of them according to FMLA. The information contained herein should not be relied upon or used as a substitute for consultation with legal, accounting, tax and/or other professional advisers. Provide an option for the employee to work from home. Focus on creating a plan with the whole family in mind, refer to leave as “parental leave” and be sure that the fathers-to-be feel this plan was created as much for them as for the new mothers. Like California, Rhode Island and New Jersey workers pay into a state insurance fund. California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island have paid family leave laws in effect. Meanwhile, the number of weeks that unpaid job and health insurance protections last is unclear. Click a "Log in" button below to connect instantly and comment. This law covers fathers. However, if you are going to provide leave for one, it is highly advisable to provide it for both in order not to have a discriminatory practice. You’ve probably heard about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by now. In Wisconsin: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin (BCBSWI), underwrites or administers PPO and indemnity policies and underwrites the out of network benefits in POS policies offered by Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation (Compcare) or Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Corporation (WCIC). Set aside a portion of the cash to make the first two monthly payments, which could come due while you are still away from the job. She has an M.S. Also, the employer must reinstate the woman to her original job or an equivalent position with the same seniority, retirement, fringe benefits, and other applicable service credits. The state also has a separate temporary disability fund where eligible employees may collect the same benefits available for a temporary disability for up to six weeks in order to bond with a new child, which covers fathers. Employers that provide paid parental leave following the birth of a child must make the same amount of leave available to adoptive parents. Employers with at least six employees must give eligible employees up to eight weeks off for the birth or adoption of a child. Employees simply submit a leave request, and you can approve or deny it with just a few clicks.