Johnson & Johnson Just Gave New Parents in the U.S. Eight Weeks Of Paid Leave

Johnson & Johnson Just Gave New Parents in the U.S. Eight More Weeks Of Paid Leave
May 1, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- New parents employed by the United State’s largest pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson will be eligible to take up to an eight weeks of paid leave – including new dads – the company told BioSpace this morning.

Total maternity and paternity leave for Johnson& Johnson is now 17 weeks for new moms and nine weeks for new dads. The company announced the new plans for the “21st Century working family” on a company blog post earlier this week.

“We are especially proud of the changes instituted today because they underscore our strong support for the modern-day family, no matter what shape that family takes. In addition to the obvious benefits for mothers, our new policy is also a great stride forward in terms of fathers’ and adoptive parents’ leave,” co-authors Peter Fasolo, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of human resources, and Lisa Blair Davis, vice president for benefits, said in the blog.

The new paid-time-off policy applies to all new parents, whether maternal, paternal, same-sex or adoptive, and goes into effect on May 1, the report said. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson will retroactively honor the new policy for anyone working at the company who became a parent on or after May 1, 2014.

Time off does not need to be taken consecutively, giving new parents the ability to stagger their time off. The time off can be taken any time during the first year of a birth or adoption, Entrepreneur said.

Current U.S. federal law provides for 12 weeks of leave within a 12-month period for a birth or adoption, according to the U.S. Department of Labor website. During that time off law mandates the jobs of parents taking the leave time is protected.

On its blog the company said it is committed to “driving the critical change” they said is needed to “align workplace policies with the realities of the 21st Century family.”

“Today is a perfect occasion for J&J employees to celebrate our company’s commitment to the health & wellness of families, to work-life balance, and to putting first the needs and well-being of the people we serve,” Davis and Fasolo said.

The blog post was met with positive response from several employees and family members who chimed in in the comments section.

“Thank you, J&J! You will never know how much this truly means to our family. In less than a month, we will go pick up our newest daughter whom we are adopting. This time you are allowing my husband to spend with her is invaluable. We are so thankful to be a part of the Johnson and Johnson work family,” responder KJ said.

Some governments, such as Sweden, works with companies to provide additional incomes while parents take family leave. The United States does not have such a policy.

With Johnson & Johnson taking this lead, will other pharmaceutical companies or leading businesses in other industries also make similar offers? Only time will tell.

Johnson & Johnson’s stock is slightly down this morning, currently trading at $99.20 per share. The stock opened Friday morning at $100.07 per share.

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