Reliance Matrix releases Parental Leave whitepaper

Authored by an all-attorney team, guide helps employers understand and comply with applicable laws and EEOC guidance

A leader in technology-driven absence and employee benefits management, Reliance Matrix has released its newest whitepaper entitled, Is Your Parental Leave Policy Compliant? Reliance Matrix’s all-attorney Product Compliance team designed the plain-language guide to help employers understand and comply with applicable laws and EEOC guidance applicable to Parental/Bonding Leave policies and create best practices for ongoing administration.

“Over the years, we’ve carved out an industry niche in the specialized world of employee absence regulation,” said Mark Marsters, Chief Operating Officer of Reliance Matrix and President of Matrix Absence Management. “The landscape has grown more and more complex, and changes quickly. Most employers, and many providers, are simply unable to achieve and maintain an understanding of what it takes to be compliant, let alone formulate strategies to stay that way.”

The Parental Leave Whitepaper is part of a continuing series of employer guides produced by the all-attorney Reliance Matrix Product Compliance team, which also publishes a leading blog, Absence Mentor, and presents nationally on topics concerning employee leave and absence laws, litigation and workplace application. The current whitepaper reviews common definitions and differences associated with employer-sponsored parental or bonding leave policies, and the lines drawn by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and courts to ensure they are equitable.

How employers choose to craft and administer parental/bonding leave policies clearly impacts the overall effectiveness and return on their employee benefits investment. Such policies, when elective, are usually intended to entice and help retain valuable human capital. But there’s a harsher reality: Employers have paid millions of dollars in litigation expenses, settlements, and damage awards due to parental/bonding leave policies that are not drafted or applied properly.

“While private employers are not required to offer their own Parental/Bonding Leave policies (outside of state or federal laws), those that do need to be careful to follow the spirit and letter of the laws governing such policies,” said Nell Walker, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, who heads the Product Compliance team.

“One mistake we see frequently is around maternity and bonding policies, with employers blending the two rather than clearly delineating between them," she said. "One is medical leave, to allow the employee to recover from pregnancy-related conditions including childbirth. The other is parental leave for any parent – regardless of birthing status – to bond with and care for a new child. ?Failure to recognize and address the difference between these very different leave types can result in policies that violate the law.”

Those kinds of mistakes are not relegated to employers who are small or shorthanded. As noted in the whitepaper, large companies and iconic brands have fallen prey to policies that – while perhaps appearing appropriate – crossed the legal line when challenged. It can be an expensive lesson.

“Keeping our clients and brokers informed is in our DNA,” Walker says. “But it’s more than conveying information. We are committed to making complex legal information clear, putting it in context, and helping craft business practices that can actually drive operational and cultural advances.”

Is Your Parental Leave Policy Compliant? is available by subscribing to the Absence Mentor blog, at this link. For more information, contact your Reliance Matrix sales or account manager.