NEW YORK – Starbucks is telling employees that it’s expanding their parental leave benefits.
The move comes as companies are trying to retain workers given low unemployment rates. Overall, paid maternity and paternity leave in the U.S. lags behind standards elsewhere. Federal law requires only unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, but companies including Netflix, Adobe and Microsoft have recently increased their benefits.
In a note to employees sent Thursday, Starbucks Corp. said birth moms will be eligible for six weeks of paid leave at 100 percent of their average pay starting Oct. 1. Previously, they were given six weeks of leave at 67 percent of average pay.
Employees who work an average of 20 or more hours a week are eligible for benefits.
Starbucks representative Jaime Riley said the company has 160,000 employees in the U.S. That includes district managers and other employees who work outside its stores. Among those employees, birth moms will be eligible for 18 weeks of leave paid at 100 percent of average pay. They were previously given six weeks of leave at 67 percent of pay.
