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The U.S. is surprisingly 1 out of only 6 countries in the world without a national paid parental leave policy – which adds to the burden of employers and state governments to ensure their employees have essential time they need.
With so much responsibility in the hands of employers, it's not surprising that 84% of US organizations plan to change their leave policies over the next two years, a new study by Cocoon found.
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While just over half of companies do not have tenure requirements for taking advantage of parental leave policies, the study found that a quarter of organizations require 3-6 months of tenure and 10% require over a year of service before employees are eligible. As the study points out, tenure requirements are an essential factor that employees consider when applying for new positions.
Additionally important, is the dire need for paid parental leave. The study found that only 27% of US private-sector workers currently have access to paid parental leave with over four-million Americans utilizing the FMLA-protected parental leave every year.
Although these numbers seem discouraging, the study points out that progress is certainly being made as US companies consider the increasing importance of employee benefits surrounding parental leave. Since 2021, parental leave policy lengths for birthing and non-birthing parents have increased nearly 25%, according to the study data.
The leading industries for birthing parental leave policies include media, capital markets, engineering/manufacturing and pharmaceuticals – offering a more generous 18-24 weeks, the study found.
Additionally, other forms of leave, such as paid medical leave and paid caregiver leave policies are on the rise. The study found that since 2022, median medical leave offering is up 76% – up to 6 weeks from 3.4 weeks previously. And 24% of employees surveyed said they have a paid caregiver leave policy – up 15% from 2023.
“Though we’re still working towards our long-term vision where every working person can afford to take the time they need during life’s pivotal moments, we’re reassured by the growth in the number of companies offering paid leaves as well as increases to the lengths of those leaves each year,” the study said.
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