Adoptive Parents Reap Benefits of Parental Leave Boom

The rising tide of employers offering parental leave benefits is lifting all boats, including those of newly adoptive parents.

New data from Mercer reveal that 41 percent of employers are offering paid parental leave versus only 25 percent in 2015. Leave for the adoption of a child is now offered by 38 percent of employers, compared with 24 percent in 2015, according to Mercer.

“Employers are aiming to provide paid leave to meet employees where they need it,” Rich Fuerstenberg, senior consultant in Mercer’s life, absence, and disability national specialty practice, told Bloomberg Law. Many employers traditionally viewed maternity leave as simply a medically necessary time off for new mothers, he said. But now companies increasingly are embracing the philosophy that new parents come in all shapes and sizes, from surrogacy to adoption to same-sex partners, he said.

That’s certainly true for cosmetic giant Estée Lauder. The company expanded its adoption benefits package in April—in addition to expanding its parental leave offerings—and “hundreds of parental leave requests” have been approved since the program went into effect in May, Latricia Parker, executive director of global benefits at The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., told Bloomberg Law in an email.

Estée Lauder offers new parents 20 weeks of leave at full pay for the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child, and eligible employees can seek reimbursement up to $10,000 for expenses related to the legal adoption of a child under the age of 18, or older if it’s a special needs adoption. The company’s adoption benefit also covers fees relating to home surveys and legal filings; the medical exams required for the adoption; and pre- and post-adoption counseling services, Parker said.

And Estée Lauder isn’t alone. Artificial intelligence computing company NVIDIA Corp., American Express Co., and Capital One Financial Corp. top the 2018 list of best adoption-friendly workplaces compiled by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. In terms of leave specifically designated for adoption, law firm Latham & Watkins LLP is ranked No. 1 with 22 weeks and American Express, New York City Economic Development Corporation, and NVIDIA tie for second with 20 weeks of time off for adoption.

A Recruitment Edge

In addition to supporting employees, generous leave programs also boost companies’ recruitment and retention efforts.

In the technology and investment banking sectors, companies that don’t offer these kinds of benefits and leave are at the back of the pack in terms of recruitment, Fuerstenberg said. In other sectors like retail, health care, and manufacturing, parental leave programs and adoption benefits also make the organization stand out as a progressive employer of choice, he said.

California, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia all require employers to provide some form of paid family leave. In most of these states the benefits are funded through an employee payroll tax and administered through a state temporary disability insurance agency.

State measures are driving employer activity in one way because companies that couldn’t afford to give workers paid parental leave now have those costs mitigated through employee contributions, Fuerstenberg said.

State mandates for paid family and medical also are making workers more aware of their options, making them more likely to seek an employer that offers such benefits, he said.