Proposal Summary for Ways & Means
Purpose
On July 22, 2010, the WorkLife Executive Committee (WLEC) accepted a proposal from the Emory WorkLife Resource
Center for expanding parental leave options and programs for staff as outlined below.
Members of WLEC: Rosemary Magee, Peter Barnes, Claire Sterk, John Ford, Lisa Tedesco, and Sharon Weiss.
Business Drivers – Why?

Work-Life Task Force Recommendation #12.
“Develop a feasibility study on expanding maternity and parental leave options for staff. The report will draw on models provided by peer institutions (e.g. Duke University) to provide support for staff leaves.”

WFD Recommendation – Audit of Work-Life Programs and Services (April 2009).
“Provide a minimum of two weeks of fully paid maternity leave and one week of fully paid paternity leave.”

Emory’s Strategic Plan, Theme #3, Creating Community – Engaging Society.
“Emory will be the preferred employer and first choice – a destination – for staff and faculty. Emory will be the best place for faculty and staff to work, raise families and provide a community environment where all can realize their full potential.”

Perceived disparity between the parental leave available to faculty.

Desire to be an innovative leader in work-life practicing by adopting low-cost, high-value work-life programs.

Finding and securing care for newborns is extremely difficult in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
2010 Dependent Care Needs Assessment, the most requested dependent care support was infant care.
Current State – What’s happening now?

Job-protected FMLA (up to 12 weeks) of unpaid leave for birth and adoption.

Staff member can use existing sick, vacation, or floating holidays for parental leave.

Emory offers short-term disability insurance with varying waiting (elimination) periods.

Emory does not offer parental leave as a standalone benefit.

In the past twelve months, Emory has paid approximately $28 million to Emory University staff for paid time off benefits (vacation, sick, and floating holidays).

FY2010 staff payroll = $301.6 million. Leave programs represent approx. 9.3% of staff payroll.
Benchmarking – What are other organizations doing?

According to the 2010 SHRM Survey of Employee Benefits, approximately 17% of U.S. employers currently offer paid parental leave (duration not specified). 16% offer paid adoption leave.

Cornell, Duke and Harvard offer paid parental leave benefits for staff. Duke currently offers three weeks of paid parental leave.

60% of peer institutions offer a financial assistance program for adoptions.

Organizations listed in the known employer recognition programs typically offer paid parental leave as a standalone benefit. In some cases, offering such a benefit is a requirement for recognition (Working Mother
100).

Select Recommendations
Recommendation
Allow Staff to Use
Earned Sick Leave for
Adoption
Implement an Adoption
Reimbursement Program
Description
Modify existing leave policy to allow
University staff to use up to six weeks of earned sick time for adoption. Emory
Healthcare currently allows staff to use accrued “extended illness” leave for adoption.
Implement an adoption reimbursement program that reimburses faculty and staff up to $2,500 per adoption. Consistent with
WFD recommendations and peer institution practices.
Use Projection
10-12 per year.
(data based on
FMLA historical records)
10-12 per year.
(data based on
FMLA historical records)
Financial Cost
$0 direct cost.
Employees would use earned sick accruals.
$25-30K per year, assuming 10-12 faculty & staff receive the maximum reimbursement.
Implement a Paid Staff
Parental Leave Policy
Implement a three-week paid staff parental leave policy for staff with a minimum of one year of Emory service. Runs concurrently with FMLA.
Approx. 220 staff births and adoptions per year.
$660,000 per year.
(indirect productivity cost)
Note: WLEC was also interested in allowing in‐vitro fertilization reimbursement in the adoption reimbursement program. We do not have reliable data to forecast utilization, but if accepted, would recommend a similar cap ($2,500) per course of treatments.
Approximately 25% of U.S. employers offer some form of in-vitro fertilization coverage as part of the health care plan (2010 SHRM
Employee Benefits Prevalence Survey).
Benefits of Expanding Paid Parental Leave Options for Staff
1.
Reduces the gap between faculty and staff parental leave policies and practices.
2.
Positions Emory as a “family-friendly” employer of choice (strategic theme #3 in Emory’s Strategic Plan) by offering parental leave benefits that are competitive with organizations awarded for best practices.
3.
Demonstrates Emory’s commitment to family wellness by facilitating the mother’s return from childbirth and maternal-infant attachment.
4.
Enhances recruitment efforts by addressing the needs of the changing workforce.
5.
According to research, paid maternity leave results in better health outcomes for mothers and children
(Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law): a.
Women with any combination of paid time off tend to take more time off after childbirth, resulting in positive health effects for women and children. b.
Women workers who have access to paid leave take, on average, 10.5 weeks off after childbirth, while women without paid leave take 6.6 weeks. c.
The majority of new mothers report one or more physical side effects five weeks after childbirth. d.
Newborns have decreased access to follow-up care, lower rates of immunization, and decreased breastfeeding as a result of early returns to work.
6.
According to research, women with paid parental leave are more likely to return to the same employer after the birth of a child. One case study showed Aetna realized a substantial increase in new mother retention after introducing a paid leave program.
Possible Model for Phasing-In Paid Parental Leave for Staff
Effective Date
January 1, 2011
January 1, 2012
January 1, 2013
Parental Leave Benefit
One week paid
Two weeks paid
Three weeks paid
Projected Productivity Cost
220,000
451,000
677,000
* Model assumes the same rate of birth and adoptions (220); also assumes average pay increases by 2.5% per year.