Latest news with #employeebenefits
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
4 Large Companies Top List For Best Paid Leave Policies In 2025 Index
The 2025 Leading on Leave Report highlights paid leave trends among large companies, including ... More expanding employee eligibility, lowering barriers to use, and covering a wider range of caregiving needs. Increasing employee demand for paid leave, particularly among young workers, was among the top employee benefits trends of 2024. Gen Z workers ranked paid leave as their top employee benefits priority in a 2024 MetLife survey. When asked about critical factors in selecting a job, 71% of Gen Z workers cited paid time off, according to a 2024 Economist Impact report. So which large companies have been most responsive to these shifting employee priorities? The National Partnership for Women & Families released its 2025 Leading on Leave Report today. The report recognizes companies with comprehensive paid leave policies and highlights key trends in paid leave innovation. The four large companies recognized as NPWF 2025 Leaders on Leave, in alphabetical order, include: This list was based on data gathered between June and October of 2024, in response to NPWF's invitation to private sector companies to apply to the Leading on Leave Index. NPWF scored each of the 20 applicants' paid leave benefits based on alignment with best practices. The four companies recognized as leaders achieved top scores for their paid leave policies among the applicants with an annual revenue of $1 billion or more. 'Despite growing demand, 73% of U.S. workers still lack access to paid leave,' said Jesse Matton, Director of Corporate Social Impact Policies at NPWF, via email. 'With the Leading on Leave report, we're spotlighting companies that are turning policy into action—and showing that transparency and innovation are critical to both workforce equity and long-term business resilience.' In addition to recognizing corporate leaders on paid leave, NPWF aggregated data from the Leading on Leave Index to identify key trends in paid parental, family, and medical leave benefits. Three trends stood out as effective innovations among large companies to better meet employees' caregiving needs. Large companies are expanding eligibility along several key dimensions, including offering paid leave benefits to both full-time and part-time employees. Responsive companies are making paid leave available to employees on their first day of work, without any length of service requirement. Large companies are also increasingly meeting the best practice of offering paid parental leave to both primary and secondary caregivers. Some large companies are adopting more flexible family definitions for paid family and sick leave to reflect shifts in modern family structures. While typical policies cover caregiving for children, spouses and parents, innovative companies are also covering leave for extended family members, such as siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and even some nonfamilial relationships. Many large companies are responding to the gap between paid leave eligibility and actual use by ensuring full salary coverage during leave periods, allowing intermittent leave, and easing employee notice and documentation requirements. Large companies are also abandoning any requirement that employees find another worker to cover for them before taking leave. Some large companies are experimenting with return-to-work policies that ease employees' transition back to the workplace after extended leave periods. Best practices include allowing gradual reentry and flexible work arrangements. Large companies tend to have more segmented paid leave policies than small and medium sized companies. Among large companies, there is a trend toward expanding categories of paid leave for various employee needs, including bereavement, pregnancy loss, abortion travel, and safe leave for sexual, domestic or other violence-related exigencies. Leaders are recognizing that competitive paid leave benefits are becoming a business imperative. But the lack of any 'standard' paid leave package, along with a lack of benefits transparency, has made it challenging for even well intentioned companies to achieve this goal. Companies have a growing number of resources available to help design competitive work-family benefits. But it remains challenging for companies to accurately benchmark their full range of paid leave policies against industry competitors. NPWF's new Leading on Leave Index helps companies meet employee demand by allowing business leaders to accurately assess and improve their paid leave benefits. NPWF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with over 50 years of experience on paid leave policy research, analysis and legislative advocacy. The Leading on Leave initiative is designed to maximize corporate participation by eliminating any downside risk. Companies voluntarily submit a free application by providing details on their workforce demographics and paid leave policies. Unlike many public ranking systems, NPWF's Index keeps all individual company data private, unless a company consents to public disclosure. NPWF does not disclose the names or scores of companies that participate and do not achieve Index recognition. Confidentiality empowers companies to provide complete data without concerns about poor ratings that may impact their reputation. The objective is to enable companies to receive valuable feedback, while allowing NPWF to analyze more complete data on industry trends. Participating employers receive individualized feedback on how their paid leave policies align with best practices, tailored recommendations for improvement, and benchmark data among industry comparators. As Matton explains, the Index fills the communication and transparency gap by 'offering a roadmap for employers to lead on leave and drive better business outcomes.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Summer kicks off with a new corporate perk aimed to ease employees' stress
Kids might be excited about the end of the school year and for summer to begin, but many working parents who don't know how to fill their kids' long summer days may be feeling some dread right about now. AT&T is trying to change that. The third largest U.S. wireless carrier is launching an onsite summer camp at its Dallas, Texas, headquarters in June to give its employees more convenient options for reliable childcare during the school break. Childcare outranked any other perk including mental health support, paid maternity/paternity leave and tuition reimbursements as a benefit employers aimed to offer their workers last year, according to a survey of corporate-suite and human resource leaders. One in 5 employees said they had left a job because their employer didn't provide family care benefits, and a lack of childcare benefits topped the list of reasons they sought another job. 'The summer camp was in response to specific asks and pain points our employees had,' said Matt Phillips, AT&T assistant vice president of benefits. But childcare isn't the only caregiving people ask for nowadays, he said. People want help caring for every important person, or sometimes pet, in their lives, he said. 'When planning vacations and summer activities, there may be days sporadically that fall throughout the summer when people need some childcare,' Phillips said. To help ease worries of what to do with kids on those days, AT&T employees can register their children ages 4-12 for the 10-week onsite camp that runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Families have the flexibility to book one or multiple days whenever they'd like throughout the summer. There's no weekly sessions or commitments required. If employees use their backup care benefits, a day of camp would cost $15 for one child or $25 for two or more children. AT&T backup care allow workers up to 10 days of subsidized childcare if their primary care option is unavailable, and they can't take time off. They can choose center care for $15 per day or in-home care with a Bright Horizons caregiver for $4 an hour. Bright Horizons runs childcare centers and early education services nationwide. Additional days of summer camp can be bought at a discounted rate. Tell us: The caregiving crisis is real. USA TODAY wants to hear from you about how to solve it. Caregiving has typically meant childcare, but the COVID-19 pandemic, an aging population and rising costs have expanded the definition to include siblings, parents, grandparents and even pets. Gen Z through Gen X and even some of the youngest members of the Baby Boomers who expect to retire soon are demanding personalized benefits beyond retirement funds, salary and vacation days. Job seekers, even those fresh out of school, now have a 'holistic outlook,' said Blayre Riley, 22. 'We're not just looking at salary.' Riley doesn't have kids, but she has a 6-year-old kid brother. Her job benefits allow her to use so-called caregiver days, which are paid hours she can use to take care of a sick friend, relative or other loved one or take them to appointments, for example. With these benefits, if her little brother 'has a class party, I can go in the morning and come back to work in the afternoon, and it doesn't feel like a burden to my team,' Riley said. 'Or if he has a day off school and my parents work, I can spend time with him.' 'My dad always talks about when I was younger, his job didn't have this flexibility and when my mom was sick, he couldn't take her to doctor's appointments,' she added. 'Now, my job has it, and it can exist for everyone.' Education help: College applications are stressful. Here's how more companies are helping. New perks: Some workers are job hopping for fertility benefits. Employers are trying to keep up. The lack of available childcare alone costs the economy $122 billion every year, according to a 2023 study from the bipartisan Council for a Strong America. Yet, just 12% of all U.S. workers have access to childcare benefits through their employer, and only 6% of those who work part-time or in the lowest income quartile do, according to a Boston Consulting Group study published last year. Family caregivers ages 50 and older who leave the workforce to care for a parent lost $303,880, on average, in income and benefits over a caregiver's lifetime, according to a 2016 Families Caring for an Aging America study. The breakdown was as follows: $115,900 in lost wages, $137,980 in lost Social Security benefits, and conservatively $50,000 in lost pension benefits. Still, only 13% of companies offer eldercare referral services, and just 1% of companies offer employees subsidies for eldercare, according to SHRM's 2024 Employee Benefits Survey. Lack of support leads to caregiver burnout. Half of caregivers said caregiving increased their level of emotional stress, while 37% said it impacted their physical feelings of stress according to a 2023 AARP survey. Companies 'must address new needs, particularly around things like caregiving benefits, absence and leave benefits, and wellness benefits in all forms, as well as personalizing/customizing benefits to keep their workers happy,' said Bryan Hodgens, head of research at Life Insurance Management Research Association, or LIMRA, in a report. Comprehensive caregiving benefits like flexible work arrangements, paid leave, financial support, and access to education, consultations, resources, and digital caregiving platforms can improve workers' wellbeing and boost businesses. BCG found that childcare benefits alone deliver returns of up to 425% of their cost for companies across the U.S. Aside from caregiving, it's imperative companies also offer employees opportunities for self-care. Healthier habits help keep healthcare costs down for both employees and employers. AT&T, for example, offers a Wellbeing Choice Account to reward employees for healthy habits. Employees and their partners or spouses can each earn up to $750 annually for completing wellness activities like getting their annual physical. They can then use that money to go towards fitness classes, an exercise bike, student loan repayment, massages and facials, and healthy meal kits. 'It's like free money because you're getting paid to do things you should be doing anyway,' said Ryan Stafford, an AT&T employee who used his rewards to buy a nicer bike than he would have been able to afford. 'l had no guilt spending a little more,' he said. Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@ and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New company perk this summer aims to ease workers' stress Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Tax-efficient employee benefits attract and retain top talent
Almost all staff know their exact salary, but how many of us understand our 'total compensation package'? As well as basic pay, a TCP can include a bundle of benefits ranging from healthcare, gym membership and season ticket loans to bonuses, pension contributions, stock options and other perks. Once only used by US-based firms, the more-rounded measurement is rapidly gaining popularity in the UK. Companies squeezed by the employer NI hike are investing in tax-efficient employee benefits to attract and retain top talent, while employees view a tailored package of perks as a cost-effective way to combat the cost of living crisis. The result? Over half of professional candidates now seek out employers with strong benefits packages, rising to two thirds of those aged under
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Denver restaurant owner supports mental health through local nonprofit partnership
More restaurant workers say they're struggling with their mental health. To address those struggles, a Denver employer is prioritizing mental health by partnering with a local nonprofit. According to Culinary Hospitality Outreach Wellness, 63% of hospitality workers suffer from depression. Many workers are also uninsured or underinsured and can't afford help. CBS Emily Biederman is the COO of Secret Sauce Food & Beverage, which owns and operates Ace Eat Serve and Steubens Uptown. Biederman said in kitchens and dining rooms, there are many factors that could impact one's mental health. "We work in a relatively high-pressure environment," said Biederman. "The late nights, which affect your sleeping, the bar, which, if you're struggling with addiction." She employs nearly 135 people and offers an employee benefit providing free access to mental health care. She said it's the most widely used benefit she offers, and many of her employees have taken advantage of the free resources because it's local, easy to access and affordable. "Being able to offer that benefit, that is huge, both in terms of hiring, employee retention and also for my team," said Biederman. "People have just been so appreciative of what they get from their therapy sessions." Biederman partners with Kind Therapy Inc. to offer those resources. Kind Therapy Inc. is a local nonprofit organization that offers mental health support, making outpatient mental health therapy affordable for the underinsured and underserved. CBS Through the partnership with Kind Therapy Inc., restaurant owners cover and pay for a certain number of sessions every month within their budgets, and employees don't have to pay anything for their sessions. If employees need more sessions than their employers cover, there are also programs that offer reduced rates for therapy, or some sessions could be free through grant-sponsored programs. Lundi Ramos founded the nonprofit because of his own experience working in restaurants and not being able to afford therapy. He said he wanted his organization to be a place where restaurant workers trusted him to reach out to for help, including for owners who wanted to create mental health solutions for their employees. "Often, restaurant workers can feel judged by the mental health space that somehow they're going to be talked out of their job, and we're really passionate about them feeling supported within their line of work," said Ramos. Ramos said about 70% of the industry is also uninsured, and many workers can't afford help. "Restaurant workers are some of the most resilient people, but they also are quietly burning out, and they need a space where they can feel human and not have to be focused on hosting and performing and fixing and instead have some space for themselves," said Ramos. CBS Kind Therapy Inc. has in-person and virtual sites. The organization also has therapists who've worked in restaurants and are passionate about helping people within fields they've come from. Since 2020, they've served 4,500 restaurant employees. Laura Shunk, the President of the Colorado Restaurant Foundation, said one of the association's goals is to help connect employees to resources they need and to help raise money to fund those efforts. Part of that effort was partnering with Kind Therapy Inc. "Pre-pandemic, we had a therapist tell us that the level of stress that she sees from industry employees is on par from what she sees from first responders," said Shunk. She added that after the pandemic, the Association saw a rise in the need for mental health services in the industry. "Our industry in particular was hit hard during the pandemic, and we really saw people needing some support," said Shunk. "I think we have more conversations about mental health happening in general, so we've done a number of things over the years, but we're excited with the partnership with Kind Therapy Inc." Shunk said part of the conversation is raising awareness and having people talk about mental health more. In recent years, the association has set up an Angel Relief Fund, which was a crisis hardship fund. They also helped fund inpatient treatment for mental health care and supported some of the expenses of people who needed resources. CBS She added that restaurant workers also make up 11% of the state's workforce. "So when you're thinking about kind of helping a population with mental health, you're really talking about a 10th of the people who live in the state of Colorado who now, through these partnerships, have access to mental health care," said Shunk. Biederman, Ramos and Shunk all say there has also been a large focus on mental health since the pandemic, and they believe talking about mental health sends a strong message. "When I was in the industry 15 years ago, I just noticed that there was a lot of people struggling and a lot of lack of talking about it," said Ramos. "The need is still there, but restaurant workers are more excited than ever to support their company culture." "The fact that the conversation is being had, and is being had in such a positive way, is relatively new for our industry," said Biederman. "Taking care of my team in a way that's meaningful and impactful to them is important. And right now, the conversation of mental health and the restaurant industry, it really is at the forefront."
Forbes
14-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Prison Dentist Scored A $1.2 Million Payday From Unused Vacation Days
When the state of California cut a $1.2 million check to a retiring prison dentist last year, it wasn't a bonus or lottery prize. It was a payout for his unused PTO; decades of banked vacation days that turned Dr. George Soohoo's unclaimed time off into a seven-figure windfall. His story, recently chronicled in the Los Angeles Times, illustrates the immense value of unused PTO for employees and, on the flip side, the massive hidden cost that public institutions and businesses quietly carry on their books. From taxpayer-funded leave cash-outs for government workers to private companies racing to cap rollover or pivot to unlimited PTO policies, the fallout from stockpiled unused PTO is both financial and cultural. But it also opens the door for innovation. One emerging idea: allowing workers to trade unused PTO to help pay off student loans, a benefit that merges workplace flexibility with financial wellness. Behind it all lies a simple but costly truth: unused PTO carries real monetary value, and when left unmanaged, it becomes a liability for employers and a missed opportunity for workers. California's $1.2 million dentist is extreme, but he's far from alone. He was one of nearly 1,000 California state employees who retired last year with vacation payouts exceeding $100,000, according to the Los Angeles Times. In total, the state paid out $413 million in a single year to departing employees for unused PTO, including unused vacation days, holidays, and comp time. The financial exposure is massive. California's unfunded liability for unused PTO currently exceeds $5.6 billion, a figure that would need to be paid if all eligible workers retired at once. The problem has worsened since the pandemic, when travel restrictions and remote work left many employees with fewer reasons, or fewer chances, to take time off. While California technically caps vacation accrual at 640 hours, lax enforcement has allowed balances to balloon. And California isn't alone. Cities, counties, and state governments across the U.S. face similar pressures. From police officers to firefighters, teachers to transportation workers, unused PTO payouts have become one of the most underreported costs in public budgets. When a longtime employee retires, they don't just leave, they could walk away with a six-figure check. That exit payment hits the department's budget all at once, creating fiscal pressure and potentially crowding out new hires or public services. The challenge is policy design: while many private-sector companies have moved toward PTO caps or forfeiture rules, government agencies are typically required to treat unused PTO as earned compensation. That means it can't simply expire, it must be paid. This combination of generous accrual, infrequent enforcement, and guaranteed payout creates a liability that grows silently and unpredictably over time. It's not just government agencies struggling with unused PTO liabilities. In Corporate America, unused vacation days are creating a different kind of balance sheet headache. According to a 2015 Oxford Economics study cited in the Wall Street Journal, private employers collectively owe over $224 billion in unused PTO. A newer estimate reported by PYMTS pegs that number closer to $318 billion. For large companies, unused PTO is effectively a growing debt, often running into the tens of millions of dollars. To reduce this burden, many employers cap how much PTO employees can roll over from year to year. Instead of allowing time off to accrue indefinitely, companies typically allow just one or two weeks to carry forward. Anything beyond that either expires or triggers a use it or lose it rule. These policies protect the company from ballooning liabilities and encourage employees to take their time off. In states like California, where unused PTO must be paid out by law, rollover caps are especially important to prevent six-figure vacation payouts. One increasingly popular approach is unlimited PTO, which sounds generous on paper but has a hidden benefit for companies: it eliminates PTO accrual altogether. No accrued time means no accrued liability and no PTO cashout when an employee leaves. While some workers appreciate the flexibility, others end up taking less time off due to vague expectations. From a company's perspective, unlimited PTO may be as much about eliminating unused PTO from the balance sheet as it is about employee well-being. Between 2018 and 2022, the number of companies offering unlimited PTO grew by more than 30%, according to HR platform Namely cited in TechCo. This trend appeals to startups and modern workplaces looking to project flexibility and trust. On the surface, unlimited PTO policies appear worker-friendly; no caps, no accrual, no stress about banked days. But in reality, the financial incentive for companies is just as powerful: no unused PTO means no large vacation payouts at offboarding. For employees, the results are mixed. Without a set number of PTO days, many people take less time off. A defined benefit creates an anchor, something tangible to use or lose. Unlimited PTO, by contrast, can lead to guilt or ambiguity. In some cases, workers avoid taking vacations altogether, fearing they'll look disengaged. That's why companies may benefit from unlimited PTO while employees quietly burn out. Ultimately, unlimited PTO may be more than a perk and part of a strategic response to unused PTO liability. By removing the accrual structure altogether, companies eliminate the need to pay out unused vacation time, effectively de-risking their workforce. This shift may help with retention and recruiting, but it also means employees lose the financial value of unused PTO, which in traditional plans could be cashed out upon departure. As student debt continues to weigh on millions of workers, a new trend is emerging: converting unused PTO into student loan payments. Rather than letting unused time off sit idle or forfeited, employees can opt to trade that value to reduce their debt. With over $1.7 trillion in outstanding student loans, this benefit appeals to younger workers especially, who often carry both financial pressure and a tendency to skip vacation. Some companies now offer programs that allow employees to apply the dollar value of unused PTO directly to their student loan servicer. Instead of waiting for a vacation cashout at separation, workers can proactively direct accrued time toward loan repayment. It's a win-win: employees gain financial flexibility, and employers reduce their unused PTO liability without sacrificing payroll dollars. This trend reflects a deeper shift: the growing intersection of workplace benefits and personal finance strategy. For employees torn between taking time off and meeting financial goals, the ability to redirect unused PTO toward student loans is a powerful alternative. It adds a layer of flexibility and shows how a long-standing liability can be transformed into a student debt solution. In the end, whether you're a taxpayer tracking public liabilities, a manager monitoring the balance sheet, or an employee watching unused PTO pile up, the message is clear: paid time off has real value and real costs. While Dr. Soohoo's $1.2 million payout may be an outlier, it highlights a broader truth: unused PTO doesn't just disappear, it compounds. Choosing not to take time off can have consequences that go far beyond a delayed vacation. By recognizing and addressing the hidden costs of unused PTO, we can build smarter systems that protect both employee well-being and organizational budgets.
