JPMorgan loses an interesting EEOC claim, suggesting a new paid leave policy

I saw a short thing on a parental leave discrimination settlement with JPMorgan on the Bloomberg news feed today…

It said that US in only major country without mandatory paid parental leave…strike one for USA.  We're special all right.

And that 36% of companies have any paid leave.   Most are gender neutral  (29% are gender neutral and the remaining 7% of more generous companies are female only)…so says SHRM.  (My company has paid gender neutral leave...fairly similar to JPMorgan's policy.  We often have to cajole the dads to take it.)

So, since the investment bank is on the side of the angels with this policy, how did JPMorgan get the ACLU after them?   A recent dad filed a claim…yes, the firm had a gender neutral policy, but guys who tried to claim it were routinely refused.   So the policy and the practice were different.

This cost JPMorgan a $5 million settlement, to be distributed to all the men at the firm who had a kid in recent years.  

You have to admit, that's a funny EEOC outcome!  Sadly I assume the cash in the settlement checks will, in the end, fund more golf! And more 99% male dinners at Smith & Wollensky! 

Still--I think this is a good settlement. The guy who filed the claim said he thought it was a classic case of practice reinforcing gender stereotyping…men don’t parent.  How refreshing to hear this obvious but rarely stated point of view come out in a public business forum.  Not honoring gender equality in parental leave is sexist.

I would chime in of course with the idea that no one needs a family with tons of kids any more.   The planet can’t afford the selfishness.   Perhaps that’s a bridge too far from this limited claim against one specific employer, in a country that believes in do-it-yourself healthcare all around.

Here's my program:  How about every one, all moms and all dads, get paid parental leave for the first two kids. After that, if you hit three, you have to pay back what you received for the first two.