Companies are slashing parental leave benefits as their ‘purse strings have tightened.’ Here’s how to prepare
Hinterhaus Productions After boosting paid parental leave during the pandemic, many companies are now cutting or reducing the popular employee benefit. In 2022, organizations with paid maternity leave dropped to 35% from 53% in 2020, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s employee benefits survey . And fewer than one-third, 27%, now provide paid paternity leave, down from 44% in 2020. “A lot of these firms are now trying to get back to pre-pandemic norms,” said Michelle Long, a policy analyst at the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. More from Personal Finance: Borrowers in these states may owe taxes on student loan forgiveness Inflation fears spur shoppers to get an early jump on the year-end holidays Citi expands program to boost homeownership in diverse communities During the pandemic, many companies enhanced offerings beyond what is required by state law, but now “purse strings have tightened” as the economy has shifted, Long said. Currently, there isn’t a