Over the last year, 18 largeemployers have updated their paid leave policies, with many of themclosing the gaps between hourly and salaried workers. (Photo:Shutterstock)

When one of the 900 hourly workers at Rent the Runway died, CEOJennifer Hyman had to reckon with a harsh reality. The dead man'scoworkers, a close group that included some of his family members,couldn't take time off to mourn his death or attend the funeral.

If they'd been among the company's 300 salaried employees, itwouldn't have been an issue. Their benefits included bereavementleave, paid parental leave and time off to care forsick family members, as well as invites to occasional company-widebeach or ski days.

It didn't seem fair, and soon after, Hyman decided to equalize benefits across her workforce, makingRent the Runway one of a growing number of companies that areextending benefits to hourly and part-time workers. Almost half ofthe 391 companies surveyed by the International Foundation ofEmployee Benefit Plans now offer the same health insurance coveragefor all employees. About a third offer paid maternity or parentalleave to their part-time workers, too, the survey found.

Related: Power shifts to the job seeker in today's hiringmarket

Earlier this month, Best Buy announced a subsidized childcare benefit for all of itsemployees, capping a year that began with Starbucks and Walmartextended their parental leave policies to hourly and part-timeworkers. General Mills improved leave for new moms and dads andadded paid time off for bereavement and caring for sick loved ones.Over the summer, The Wing, a New York based co-working space withlocations across the country, expanded health insurance andretirement benefits to all of its 300 employees, with a goal to dothe same for parental leave.

Contract workers also saw gains. Survey Monkey, under pressurefrom employees, now offers full benefits to its contractors;Microsoft requires subcontractors with more than 50 employees toprovide paid family leave.

Over the last year, 18 other large employers updated their paidleave policies, with many of them, like H&M and Dollar General,closing the gaps between hourly and salaried workers, according toAnnie Sartor, an advocacy director at PL+US, an advocacyorganization that worked on both the Starbucks and Walmartcampaigns.

The spoils of the slowly improving U.S. economy have gone mostlyto the highest earners, and a competitive labor market at thehighest end of the earnings spectrum has led to a benefits boom. Inthe last few years, in-demand workers have seen longer paid leavetimes, coverage for fertility treatments and egg freezing, andemployer sponsored student debt repayment plans.

Less than 10 percent of the companies surveyed by theInternational Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans extend thesebenefits to all of their workers. Contract workers, who make up 10percent of the workforce, are left out of the statistics altogetherand often get no benefits at all.

Companies have historically suggested part-time or hourlyworkers don't need full benefits: They're students, teenagers, orstay-at-home parents working to make extra cash on the side. Thatlogic no longer holds. “A lot of people who work at H&M areparents, and need time to take care of their kids,” said ArtaviaMilliam, an employee at H&M, who helped negotiate more benefitsfor her part-time colleagues.

People who work more than one job make up 5.1 percent theworkforce, a figure that has held steady even as the economy hasrecovered from the recession. The trend suggests that in parts ofthe economy, full-time positions have been permanently replacedwith part-time workers, who generally earn less and have lessstability.

Extending benefits to all workers can get expensive. “There areupfront costs in doing this,” said Rent the Runway's Hyman.Employers spend almost $30,000 per employee with a family of fourper year of employer-sponsored health insurance.

Hyman believes the added costs will pay off. For one, betterbenefits will increase retention and lead to savings on trainingand hiring, she says. And because hourly workers didn't have asmuch flexibility or paid-time off, some have had to quit in orderto take care of sick family members. “Can you imagine a seniorexecutive at a Fortune 100 company having to choose betweengrieving for a loved one in their family and keeping their job?”Hyman says.

She also plans on using her own company as a case study to trackthe potential cost savings. She claims loyalty rates andproductivity are already up. “We can debunk those myths that thisis just a sunk cost,” Hyman says. “It's not. This is an investmentin your people, your talent, your culture.”

Read more:

• Why you should use your benefits plan to give backto your employees
• What hourly workers want, aren't getting in the jobmarket
• Companies piling on incentives to attract seasonalworkers

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