According to company documents, each new parent at JPMorgan gets 16 weeks of paid parental leave. That reports Insider Friday. The policy reportedly begins in January.
JPMorgan Chase was the subject of what was considered a record-breaking lawsuit filed in 2017 following a complaint from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by Derek Rotondo.
Rotondo filed it after he said he was denied more than two weeks of parental leave and said he was told by the company that only women are considered “primary carers” and thus eligible for 16 weeks of paid leave.
The lawsuit argued “that JP Morgan discriminates against men by designating birth mothers as the default primary caregivers…while fathers are presumably considered non-primary caregivers, eligible for only two weeks of paid parental leave,” according to The American Civil Liberties Union, who took up the case.
It became a class action lawsuit in which other fathers at the company said the bank had denied them enough time off. It settled in June 2019.
The JP parental policy before this newly reported change is 16 weeks primary caregiver leave and six weeks for the non-primary carer. It was still gender neutral, which was another condition of the 2019 settlement.
Now all new parents at the financial giant get four months of paid leave. Company say it has more than 240,000 employees around the world.
Unequal parental leave is likely to exacerbate gender inequality research has shown. It may even be more complicated for LGBTQ+ parents.
JPMorgan Chase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.