EEOC Settles First of its Kind Parental Leave Case Involving Dad

OMA Connections Partner, Bricker & Eckler, posted this: “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has reached a settlement agreement in the agency’s first lawsuit challenging parental leave policies that grant more rights to new mothers than new fathers. In August 2017, the agency filed suit against cosmetic company Estée Lauder after a new father requested, and was denied, six weeks of paid leave and a flexible return-to-work schedule as a primary caregiver under the company’s policy.

“Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers with 50 or more employees are required to offer 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to both new mothers and new fathers following the birth or adoption of a child. While there is currently no federal law requiring paid parental leave, most companies provide some form of paid leave, including, in some cases, paid caregiver or child-bonding leave.”