By: Micaela L. Neal

As Father’s Day swiftly approaches, a proposed class action settlement filed in Ohio federal court serves as a strong reminder that dads are every bit the parents that moms are.  While this may seem obvious as a general matter, the settlement is a reminder to employers that this parental equality needs to be reflected in parental leave policies, as well, and that such policies must be enforced with equality in mind.

The proposed class action settlement reflects that JPMorgan Chase (“Chase”) agreed to pay $5 million to hundreds of male employees who claimed they were not provided with the same parental leave opportunity as female employees when they became parents.  This is the largest settlement recorded in the United States for a parental leave discrimination case.

Chase’s parental leave policy provides for 16 weeks of paid parental leave to employees who are the “primary caregiver” of a new child. The class representative alleged that when he asked to take this paid parental leave after the birth of his son, however, the human resources department told him that females were presumed to be the primary caregivers and were eligible for 16 weeks of paid parental leave.  Males, on the other hand, were only eligible for two (2) paid weeks of leave, unless the mother of the child was incapacitated or back at work.  The lawsuit alleged that this policy in practice relied on and enforced sex-based stereotypes about who should be raising children, and constituted sex/gender discrimination.

The takeaway here is that all employment policies need to be gender-neutral, both in writing and in practice, even when the policy goes above and beyond what is actually required by law.  In Chase’s case, the law did not require paid parental leave, but rather Chase offered it as an employee benefit.  Because the benefit was not applied neutrally, this constituted gender discrimination.

In California, the law requires employers with at least 20 employees to provide parental leave for new parents who meet certain eligibility requirements, but the leave does not have to be paid. Employers should review their parental leave policies to assure equality and legal compliance.

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Micaela L. Neal is an attorney with Wanger Jones Helsley PC and practices in Fresno and Sacramento.  She regularly represents employers in wage and hour and other employment matters.  This article is intended to notify our clients and friends of changes and updates to the law and provide general information.  It is not intended, nor should it be used, as legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader.