More employers add paid parental leave. Will yours? What some Idaho firms are doing

Gov. Brad Little was following the lead of private industry when he announced an executive order granting state employees in the executive branch eight weeks of paid parental leave. Both private and public employers increasingly are using paid parental leave to attract and retain workers.

Little cited the example of Micron Technology Inc. The Boise memory-chip maker’s senior vice president of human resources, April Arnzen, said at Little’s January announcement that Micron has offered 12 weeks of paid parental leave since late 2017. For birth mothers, that time comes after any short-term disability benefits.

Since its policy change, Micron has seen a 3% increase in retention, and the policy has become a strong recruitment tool for both male and female employees, Arnzen said.

Similarly, Smith+Malek, a law firm with offices in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint, last fall announced 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, whether children are biological, adopted or foster. The company said the policy was specifically intended to attract talent.

“Our parental leave policy has improved the lives of our employees, and we currently have one attorney taking paid leave,” said founding attorney Luke Malek, a former legislator, in an email message. “We are thrilled that the State of Idaho has made this move that will improve the lives of so many Idahoans, and hope that other employers will follow the example set by our governor.”

Idaho Power offers two weeks of paid parental leave for regular and temporary full- and part-time employees regularly scheduled and working 24 hours or more per work week, said Brad Bowlin, communications specialist, in an email.

He noted that parental leave for a mother begins at the end of her six weeks of paid short-term disability benefits. “Short-term disability is paid at 75% of your current salary, so a woman can take six weeks at 75% pay, followed by two weeks of fully paid parental leave,” he said.

Some national companies with an Idaho presence offer paid parental leave. The length of paid time off varies. Among the companies:

▪ Chobani. In 2017, the maker of Greek yogurt began offering six weeks of 100% paid leave to all new birth, adoptive and foster parents, the company said. Chobani operates a yogurt plant in Twin Falls.

▪ Wells Fargo. “Wells Fargo provides up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for a primary caregiver, and up to four weeks for a parent who is not the primary caregiver, to care for a new child following birth or adoption (available after one full year of service),” said Julie Fogerson, the bank’s assistant vice president of Idaho regional communications in Boise, in an email message.

▪ Walmart. “In 2018, Walmart expanded its maternal and parental leave benefits for full-time associates,” said Tiffany Wilson, director of communications, in an email, calling them among the best in the retail industry. Walmart offers women who give birth and take a leave of absence up to 10 weeks of protected paid time away from work at 100% of average weekly pay, and up to six weeks of protected paid time away from work for associates who become parents through a birth, adoption, or foster-care placement, she said.

▪ Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company last year announced a parental leave policy for employees worldwide: Six months of paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child — an increase from its previous offering of roughly 12 weeks. The company made this decision to better support employees’ work-life balance, according to Employee Benefits News.

These policies expand upon time-off requirements set by federal law for large organizations.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, “a mother can use 12 weeks of FMLA leave for the birth of a child, for prenatal care and incapacity related to pregnancy, and for her own serious health condition following the birth of a child,” says the U.S. Department of Labor. “A father can use FMLA leave for the birth of a child and to care for his spouse who is incapacitated (due to pregnancy or child birth).”

Congress is holding hearings on covering more workers with paid time off. President Donald J. Trump has said he supports more paid family leave, though the bill he supports simply allows parents to take some of their child tax credits early.

Some Idaho employers today allow workers to apply paid sick leave, accrued paid time off or some of each for a portion of their FMLA-required parental leave weeks. Among them:

▪ St. Luke’s Health System. “The birthing mother can use up to 6-8 weeks of their accrued Extended Sick Leave, then they would use their accrued Paid Time Off (PTO),” said Anita Kissée, public relations manager for St. Luke’s Health System, in Boise, in an email. “The non-birthing parent would be eligible to use their accrued PTO time for their time off.”

▪ Saint Alphonsus Health System. A woman having a baby can get the first six weeks of leave paid or eight weeks if she delivered by c-section, said Mark Snider, public relations and digital strategy coordinator, in an email message. “Then she has the option of taking the remaining leave time (up to 12 weeks) either by using accrued PTO, or as unpaid leave. We allow her to bank up to 40 hours of PTO and don’t require her to exhaust it all. For a dad, he is covered by the federal FMLA policy, and unpaid leave after any accrued PTO is exhausted.”

▪ J.R. Simplot Co. The Boise-based agribusiness provides paid leave for new mothers through short-term disability benefits and provides up to 12 weeks of leave for fathers through FMLA, said Josh Jordan, senior manager of communications and public relations, in an email message.

Public-sector leaves

Access to the benefit has been growing rapidly in the public sector, said Jessica Mason, senior policy analyst for the National Partnership for Women and Families, in Washington, D.C.

Nationwide, 19% of workers have access to paid leave – 18% of workers in the private sector and 25% of workers in the public sector, she said.

Most recently, New Mexico and Tennessee announced paid leave programs for state employees. The federal government adopted a similar policy that takes effect this year.

Idaho state employees, like others, can take the FMLA’s 12 weeks, but their leave is paid only if the employee has accrued enough sick and vacation hours to cover their time off. They won’t have to tap those hours for the eight paid weeks under the executive order, which takes effect July 1.

The fiscal impact is expected to be minimal, because agencies will use existing personnel dollars to pay for the benefit, Little’s office said in a news release.

“Parents and children need to be together as much as possible in the weeks following a birth or adoption,” Little said when he announced his executive order. “Children benefit, parents benefit, and the state benefits when we support a culture that balances the demands of work with the demands of family.”

But the policy benefits the state as an employer, too, he said: “Flexibility and family-supportive policies are essential to recruiting and retaining a state workforce that is productive and engaged.”

Idaho Statesman Business Editor David Staats contributed.