Come January 1, Discovery Communications will have one of the most robust paid family leave policies in the U.S.
In addition to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, it will offer similar benefits to caregivers.
Maternity leave will now max out at 20-22 weeks.
How does this compare to your company, and what can your HR team learn from this media giant?
As of New Year’s Day 2017, Discovery will be joining a select group of companies with respect to its policies on paid leave.
The company’s new policy extends its parental leave benefit to a full 12 weeks of paid leave. Currently, Discovery offers a four-week parental leave benefit, and applies to child birth, adoption and foster care placement.
Furthermore, Discovery will now offer those same 12 weeks as part of a caregiver leave benefit designed to support families in the case of serious health conditions.
Under the new policy, and with the addition of short-term disability and up to two weeks of vacation time, maternity leave will now max at 20 to 22 weeks, depending on delivery.
With the option to add up to two weeks of vacation for all parental leave, paternity, adoption, and foster care placement, leave will max at 14 consecutive weeks.
How does that compare to other media companies?
Cumulus Media in February 2014 introduced an industry-leading maternity leave policy providing new mothers with six weeks of fully-paid time off in addition to the paid time off and disability benefits currently provided to employees. The policy is available to all full-time, non-commission employees with at least one year of service.
At Mid-West Family Broadcasting, vacation days may be used for maternity leave, with employees enjoying 10 vacation days until their fifth year at the company, when they will earn five additional vacation days. Sick days may also be used for maternity or paternity/family leave, and Mid-West employees are entitled to 10 per year, with non-expiring accrual.
Discovery Communications boasts a payroll of more than 3,000 U.S.-based employees. As a Discovery staffer, one is also entitled to participation in an adoption and surrogacy assistance program, offering up to $10,000 reimbursement for adoption- and surrogacy-related expenses; an on-site childcare facility at the corporate headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.; and onsite wellness centers open free of charge to employees and their dependents across a number of U.S. offices.
Where does your company stack up? Share your story in the comments below.
