JPMorgan Chase to pay male employees $5 million in parental leave discrimination settlement
JPMorgan Chase is paying $5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the company denied male workers the same chance as female workers to stay home with their newborn babies.
The proposed settlement is the highest sum on record for a parental leave discrimination case, says a lawyer for the prosecuting father – and the case could cause other companies to think seriously about how they enforce their own family leave policies.
“To qualify for 16 weeks of paid parental leave, a male employee alleged that HR asked him to provide documentation that his wife was “medically unable” to care for their child.”
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement on this and look forward to communicating the policy more effectively so that all employees, men and women, are aware of their benefits,” said Reid Broda, associate general counsel at JPMorgan. Chase & Co., in a statement. declaration.
The $5 million will go to male employees working at the company who felt discouraged or deprived of their chance to enjoy the paid time off they deserved as primary care givers. The proposed settlement was filed Thursday in federal court in Ohio and has yet to be approved by a judge.
JPMorgan Chase JPM,
does not admit its responsibility in this matter.
The case dates back to May 2017, when Chase employee Derek Rotondo prepared for the birth of his second child, Lincoln. Rotondo asked Human Resources for 16 weeks of paid parental leave as a primary caregiver. The company had extended its paid parental leave policy from 12 weeks to 16 weeks for primary caregivers months earlier.
But a human resources representative told Rotondo that women were presumed to be the primary caregivers of children and that he could only qualify for the full 16-week paid leave in certain circumstances, such as submitting documents indicating that his wife was “medically unable” to provide any care for the infant. He was initially only allowed to take two weeks off and filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The two sides then reached an agreement, which culminated in Thursday’s announcement.
“In December 2017, JPMorgan Chase changed its leave policies to clearly ensure that men and women can be considered primary caregivers.”
Additionally, shortly after Rotondo filed his complaint with the EEOC, Chase granted him the full 16 weeks of leave. In December 2017, Chase changed its leave policies to clearly ensure that men and women could be considered primary caregivers. Under the terms of the settlement, the company will ensure that its human resources staff are trained to apply the leave policy equally.
Don’t miss: Giving this free gift to your wife should transform your marriage
“I love my children and all I wanted was to spend time with them when they were born,” Rotondo said Thursday. “I am proud that since I filed my complaint, Chase has clarified its policy to ensure that male and female employees who wish to be the primary parental caregiver have equal access to these benefits.”
“While 16 weeks of parental leave is quite generous and we want more companies to follow Chase’s example, care leave must also be offered equally to men and women,” said one of Rotondo’s attorneys, Galen Sherwin, a senior. staff attorney for the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project.
Observers say the case is a significant victory for parents – but it also highlights the scarcity of paid leave across the country. A total of 15% of private industry and local and state government workers had access to paid family leave in March 2017, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
“As of March 2017, 15% of private sector and local and state government workers had access to paid family leave.”
Although the District of Columbia and five states have paid family and medical leave laws, there is no federal law. The Family Medical Leave Act 1993 required 12 weeks leave for some new parents, but there is no requirement for companies to pay these workers while they are away.
“This case highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive national paid family and medical leave program that supports all working families, ensuring that the time parents and babies have to bond does not depend on where they live. job, gender, income or zip code,” Patricia said. Cole, senior director of federal policy at ZERO TO THREE, an organization that pushes for laws that support early childhood development and the parents who raise those children.
There could be around 5,000 male workers in the class, according to Peter Romer-Friedman, one of Rotondo’s attorneys.
“This settlement, more than any previous settlement in this area, has big ramifications for employers considering what might be the right policy for them,” Romer-Friedman said.
He said his office regularly receives calls from all kinds of male workers who are “ashamed” or told they cannot take parental leave. “They’re being punished for not conforming to that age-old ‘Mad Men’ stereotype,” he said.
But on Thursday, Romer-Friedman said her office also received calls from happy male Chase employees. They are “happy to see that change has arrived and that people are listening to the needs of men to have strong parental leave, just like women,” he said.
Shares of JP Morgan Chase are up more than 9% year-to-date. In the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
is up 7.6%.
Comments are closed.