What is your company’s maternity leave policy?
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On Monday, struggling tech giant Yahoo announced it was hiring Marissa Mayer as chief executive, the company’s fifth leader in five years. But there was even more news to come. The 37-year-old Mayer, a highly respected former Google executive, is pregnant — and the board knew all about it when it appointed her. When asked about maternity leave, Mayer said: “My maternity leave will be a few weeks long, and I’ll work throughout it.” We polled some area companies to find out policies in our region for leave after a baby is born. What is your company’s policy?
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The federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which covers not only maternity leave but also absences for other reasons, including the care of a sick relative, requires companies to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but applies only to companies with 50 or more employees. Smaller companies in Massachusetts must hold a woman’s job for eight weeks of leave after the birth or adoption of a child, although some companies offer more.
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Comcast — Parental leave provides new mothers and fathers with time to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, or newly placed foster child. Employees may take up to 12 weeks of parental leave, with four weeks paid at 100 percent of base pay and eight weeks unpaid (an employee has the option to use paid vacation time toward the unpaid leave portion). Parental leave must be completed within 12 months of the qualifying event and, except for California employees, must be taken as one continuous leave.
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HubSpot — Hubspot already had an unlimited vacation policy. Now, the Cambridge-based marketing software company steps up its policy with 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. Laura Fitton, spokeswoman for the company, said the policy is “above and beyond because we wanted to be above and beyond.” Fathers can use four weeks of paid paternity leave from the company. Also, same-sex couples qualify for the maternity level benefits, regardless of gender.
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TripAdvisor — For new mothers, TripAdvisor offers 12 weeks off for maternity leave. Mothers can use vacation time to supplement the time, and receive 60 percent salary for the rest. Fathers can receive four weeks off paid for paternity leave. If an employee adopts a child, he or she can receive up to six weeks paid time off.
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Vistaprint — Vistaprint offers maternity and paternity leave for employees who are scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week. This leave is given to families in the event of the birth or placement of a child in their home. Primary care parents (employee who serve as the primary care giver during first 10 weeks of life or placement in the home for adoption) are eligible for up to parental paid leave at 100 percent salary for 10 weeks. Non-primary care parents (employees wanting to spend time with their new family) are eligible for two weeks parental leave within the first six months of the child’s birth or placement in a home.
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