Health

Estee Lauder Promotes Adoption With Parental-Leave Policy

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Makeup company Estée Lauder is promoting adoption among its employees by making some significant updates to its U.S. parental-leave policy.

These updates include 20–28 weeks of paid parental leave, $10,000 grants for employees who need help with expensive adoption fees, $20,000 aid for fertility treatments and in-home care, and a transition period for new parents, “regardless of sex, gender, and sexual orientation,” Business Insider explains.

The successful makeup company told BI that “no family is the same,” which was one of the reasons behind adding these new benefits to their parental-leave package.

Previously, only 12 weeks of paid parental leave was given to new parents, which is the minimum amount of job-protected leave, in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act. Surprisingly, only 6 percent of workers qualify for paid leave in the U.S.

As BI explains, “In the US, many parental-leave programs prioritize birth mothers— and therefore offer limited benefits to fathers, adoptive parents, foster parents, or LGBT parents. Hourly workers are also less likely to receive an extensive amount of paid leave, even though they are more likely to not be able to afford newborn childcare.”

Another reason Estée Lauder decided to update its leave policy is so it can remain competitive with other large companies. A significant portion of Estée Lauder employees are female, so fair leave benefits are particularly appealing.

Eligible employees include those who work at least 30 hours per week and have been working for the company for at three months.