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Maternity Leave Cutbacks
November 11, 2005 Maternity leave may be a recruiting differentiation in favor of law firms. Corporate employers are cutting back on full pay for maternity leave at the same time that many law firms are increasing their maternity benefits. A survey of 1,092 employers, set for release, shows just 18% offer full pay during maternity leave, down from 27% in 1998.
This parallels a slight decline in another 2005 survey, a Society for Human Resource Management poll of 386 human-resource managers, showing 17% of those employers offer paid maternity leave, down from 19% in 2001. The change appears to be in response to rising employer costs of healthcare benefits. However, companies aren't backing away from paid maternity leave -- 64% offer partial pay to new mothers, up from 60% in 1998 -- but they are giving themselves more latitude on how much to pay: 19% say maternity-leave compensation "depends on the situation," up from 13% in 1998. | 
