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How Some Companies Are Supporting Working Parents with Child Care Benefits and Resources



School breaks often create child care challenges for parents. That's why we offer customized Spring and Winter Break programs for our corporate partners. By offering age-appropriate educational activities for older children, parents can focus on work knowing that their school-age children are having fun and being well cared for in a safe environment even when school isn't in session.


With our help, parents can share the "at work" part of their lives with their children and still have time to attend to business needs. We offer a fun on-site program that entertains and educates children, while parents attend meetings, answer emails and take care of other business obligations.




How Some Companies Are Making Child Care Less Stressful for Their Employees




Intermittent or reduced schedule leave. Employees have the right to take FMLA leave all at once, or, when medically necessary, in separate blocks of time or by reducing the time they work each day or week. Intermittent or reduced schedule leave is also available for military family leave reasons. However, employees may use FMLA leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for bonding with a newborn or newly placed child only if they and their employer agree.


As more companies mandate a return to the office, workers must readjust to pre-pandemic rituals like long commutes, juggling child care and physically interacting with colleagues. But such routines have become more difficult two years later. Spending more time with your colleagues could increase exposure to the coronavirus, for example, while inflation has increased costs for lunch and commuting.


The PDA requires that a covered employer treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in the same manner as other applicants or employees who are similar in their abilityor inability to work. The PDA covers all aspects of employment, including firing, hiring, promotions, and fringe benefits (such as leave and health insurance benefits). Pregnant workers are protected from discrimination based oncurrent pregnancy, past pregnancy, and potential pregnancy.


Discrimination against a worker with caregiving responsibilities violates Title VII if it is based on sex, and violates the ADA if it is based on a family member's disability. For example, an employer violates Title VII bytreating a female employee with young children less favorably than a male employee with young children when deciding on work opportunities, based on a belief that the mother should focus more on the children than on her career. In addition, anemployer violates the ADA where it takes an adverse action, such as refusing to hire or denying promotion, against a mother of a newborn with a disability over concerns that she would take off a lot of time for the child's care or that the child'smedical condition would impose high health care costs.


The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees of employers with 50 or more employees to take up to 12 workweeks of leave for, among other things, the birth and care of theemployee's newborn child and for the employee's own serious health condition. The Department of Labor enforces the FMLA. For more information about the FMLA see


In fact, only 7 percent of companies nationwide offer on-site day care to employees. Since 2004, Google has opened two day care centers, accommodating approximately 200 children at two different sites. They used this new perk as an effective recruiting tool and the company grew like crazy. It was so effective that it has struggled to meet the demand for child care and also keep child care affordable for everyone. They are planning on opening a third site.


Roughly half say child care issues were a reason they quit a job (48% among those with a child younger than 18 in the household). A similar share point to a lack of flexibility to choose when they put in their hours (45%) or not having good benefits such as health insurance and paid time off (43%). Roughly a quarter say each of these was a major reason.


With some notable exceptions, employees are entitled to 12 weeks within any one-year period. That exhausts the FMLA leave entitlement except for military caregivers leave, which can extend to 26 weeks in one leave year. Under OFLA, an employee may take up to 12 weeks of pregnancy disability leave in addition to the 12 weeks available for any OFLA purpose. Either parent who has taken a full 12 weeks of parental leave (e.g., to care for a newborn, newly adopted child or newly placed foster child) is also entitled to take up to an additional 12 weeks of sick child leave to care for a child with a non-serious health condition requiring home care or to care for a child whose school or daycare is closed due to a public health emergency.


Generally, no. OFLA provides that leave counted as FMLA is also counted as OFLA if it is also an OFLA qualifying circumstance, if the employer was covered by both laws and if the employee was eligible under both laws at the time the leave was taken. Therefore, if an employee needs 10 weeks to care for a parent with a serious health condition, the 10 weeks are counted against both OFLA and FMLA leave entitlements, and the employee has two weeks of leave left in the year. There are a few situations, however, such as sick child leave, bereavement leave and leave to care for a parent-in-law, grandparent or grandchild with a serious health condition, in which OFLA provides for leave and FMLA does not, so it is not possible to count the leave toward the FMLA entitlement. In such cases, an employer might be required to grant more than 12 weeks of leave in a year. Conversely, some FMLA circumstances do not necessarily qualify under OFLA.


Yes, under OFLA, but not under FMLA if the parents are married. OFLA employers are not required to allow both parents to take parental leave at the same time, but each can take the full 12 weeks. OFLA states that family members working for the same employer may not take family leave at the same time unless one or both of the employees is suffering from a serious health condition, the child is suffering from a serious health condition, or the employer allows the taking of concurrent leave.


With some notable exceptions, employees are entitled to 12 weeks within any one-year period. That exhausts the FMLA leave entitlement except for military caregivers leave, which can extend to 26 weeks in one leave year starting from the first use of military caregiver leave. Under OFLA, an employee may take up to 12 weeks of pregnancy disability leave in addition to the 12 weeks available for any OFLA purpose. Either parent who has taken a full 12 weeks of parental leave (e.g., to care for a newborn, newly adopted child or newly placed foster child) is also entitled to take up to an additional 12 weeks of sick child leave.


Generally, no. OFLA provides that leave counted as FMLA is also counted as OFLA if it is also an OFLA qualifying circumstance, if the employer was covered by both laws and if the employee was eligible under both laws at the time the leave was taken. Therefore, if an employee needs 10 weeks to care for a parent with a serious health condition, the 10 weeks are counted against both OFLA and FMLA leave entitlements, and the employee has two weeks of leave left in the year. There are a few situations, however, such as sick child leave and leave to care for a parent-in-law, grandparent or grandchild with a serious health condition, in which OFLA provides for leave and FMLA does not, so it is not possible to count the leave toward the FMLA entitlement. In such cases, an employer might be required to grant more than 12 weeks of leave in a year. Conversely, some FMLA circumstances do not necessarily qualify under OFLA.


Learn more about the Emerging Leaders Fellowship, designed for mid-level early childhood education and care professionals who seek to advance their leadership professionally and civically.


For some companies, cutting hours and pay was a strategy to decrease costs while continuing operations. Even before the pandemic, manufacturers and newspapers, among other companies, used shorter shifts as a way to stave off widespread layoffs. Even if companies pay workers their full wage, they can see cost benefits such as lower energy bills and reduced equipment and supplies usage.


Based on statistics about cyberloafing, some companies instituted shorter workweeks as a way to push employees to be more productive. Employees averaged nearly three hours per eight-hour workday on non-work activities, according to statistics compiled by careers research firm Zippia, and 89% of workers agreed they wasted time at work.


Many companies see the shorter workweek as a way to boost job satisfaction, which can also improve employee retention. Giving employees back eight hours, whether as a whole day or over the course of a week, relieved their stress and increased job satisfaction. However, those employers that chose a compressed workweek, in which employees worked 40 hours in four days rather than five, experienced a decrease in job satisfaction.


The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to companies with 50 or more employees and contains very specific requirements for managing employees with medical issues. For covered employers, FMLA provides job-protected unpaid leave for employees working at least 1,250 hours over the preceding year who need to take leave when dealing with medical issues (including caring for children, spouses, or parents) and/or for parents to bond with a newborn or adopted child. FMLA does not require covered employers to pay employees during times of leave; however, employers may want to talk with their CPA or tax attorney about potential tax benefits if they should choose to pay employees while out on medical leave. 2ff7e9595c


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