Apple Expands Employee Benefit Programs in Health and Wellness, Education, and Philanthropy

[flur]

Wow, congratulations. Apple in late 2014 is now offering the amount of maternity leave (which we don't know if paid or unpaid) that has been enjoyed in most European countries for several years as a matter of law.

The laws are different in the US (wish they weren't). Getting this much leave is a big deal for Americans.

It'd be more helpful if you encouraged rather than criticized, as if this becomes respected and accepted, more US companies will embrace the policy (and maybe the US can finally come into the first world 21st century and make this kind of thing law).

 

[zin]

Is that a reduction? In most other countries that would be considered a pretty poor offer. I'm not even sure that it meets the statutory minimum.

Considering the statutory minimum in the U.S. is 0 days, it certainly does meet the minimum.

 

[blacktape242]

Very nice. Now how about paying your fair share of Federal taxes...like the rest of us!

The rest of us....you mean like 20% of the country supporting 80% of the people.....lets start with that 1st.

 

[Rogifan]

they need to make laws that make stuff like this REQUIRED.

most companies fire you as soon as they find out you're pregnant

I've never worked for a company that fired someone after they became pregnant. What's your source?

 

[zin]

The laws are different in the US (wish they weren't). Getting this much leave is a big deal for Americans.

It'd be more helpful if you encouraged rather than criticized, as if this becomes respected and accepted, more US companies will embrace the policy (and maybe the US can finally come into the first world 21st century and make this kind of thing law).

I encourage U.S. companies to offer more but criticise the U.S. Congress for doing too little.

 

[Codyak]

This thread went downhill fast.

There's just one thing I wanted to add. In the US, a LOT of the more specific laws like this are governed by the state. The whole point was to have a limited federal government with states' rights being key. Unfortunately though this seems to be less and less true as time goes on.

That's not to say that the states have correctly kept up with maternity issues, a quick overview of individual states' laws surroundings this leave much to be desired.

 

[mdelvecchio]

As for providing on-site doctors... I think that's a great benefit as well but the cynical side of me wonders if Apple is doing this to increase employee productivity. If I don't need to take an hour out of my work day in order to drive to a doctor/dentist/etc, then that's an hour devoted to working.

...and? of course apple wants happy employees. good companies want their employees happy because that makes them more productive, which makes them better workers. thats why benefits packages were invented.

 

[UnfetteredMind]

I got two paid weeks for paternity leave. Six would have been really nice to have to allow me to help out more during the initial and roughest stages where you're getting little sleep. I applaud Apple for going above and beyond what is required in the US (even if it doesn't match up to what others get in the EU and other places).

 

[mdelvecchio]

Very nice. Now how about paying your fair share of Federal taxes...like the rest of us!

nope, you got it wrong. apple pays 26%, highest in tech. $1 in $40 income tax is from apple. GE pays negative.

what they don't pay taxes on is income for items produced & sold overseas. after all, why should it, since that income was earned by a foreign subsidiary and applicable taxes paid wherever. what the US congress would like is for apple to bring that money home, and pay a tax on it here too. they say 26%, apple suggests something smaller. i would too, since its a favor to the US banks/economy to move it here.

 

[Chatter]

Color me impressed. Hopefully this will attract more companies to follow suit if they dont already.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Wow, congratulations. Apple in late 2014 is now offering the amount of maternity leave (which we don't know if paid or unpaid) that has been enjoyed in most European countries for several years as a matter of law.

of course it isn't unpaid. unpaid isn't a benefit to any serious employe, def not the sort apple looks to retain.

apple isn't a european company, and it isn't governed by european maternity laws. good on them for doing it willingly here. boo on you for being a wet blanket.

 

[jlake02]

Up to ~ 4 months off for maternity seems pretty solid!

 

[tlevier]

With the new policy, expectant mothers can take up to four weeks before a delivery and up to 14 weeks after a birth, while fathers and other non-birth parents are eligible for up to six weeks of parental leave.

I assume this is paid leave yes?

Depends. It may not be entirely. In a standard company, the FMLA simply guarantees your job and how you get paid during the 12 weeks is "Short Term Disability Insurance", which pays you 2/3 of your salary for up to 12 weeks. It's possible that Apple negotiated a better STDI that pays for a longer period, that they pay the difference, or that the 18 weeks is a combination of using accrued time-off (PTO: Vacation, Personal, & Sick @ 100%) and then STDI @ 66.67%.

 

[mdelvecchio]

You American snob. These countries among other EU countries are far more human friendly than you could ever imagine.

and completely broke.

 

[JHankwitz]

fantastic.

parental leave needs to be expanded. especially for fathers. should make it law.

You've got to be kidding. Small companies would stop hiring women if this became law. It would put many companies out of business. Paying employees not to work can destroy the bottom line. I will discriminate against singles and people that don't want children and encourage employees to have as many children as possible, or more than they can afford.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Pretty good, actually. Those mothers are still getting their paid maternity leave and the economies of those countries are not as bad as you're reading in the news.

The UK has 39 weeks of paid maternity leave. It certainly must be economically crumbling right about now by your logic. Maternity leave has very little to do with the state of an economy.

UK has a solid economy and isn't part of the Euro. do you realize how high unemployment is in Greece and Spain?

 

[poematik13]

I've never worked for a company that fired someone after they became pregnant. What's your source?

mostly anecodtal evidence, but i hear a lot of horror stories of women who get laid off/fired as soon as the employer finds out they are pregnant, because they don't want to pay for their leave and they can just hire someone else

 

[bawbac]

they need to make laws that make stuff like this REQUIRED.

most companies fire you as soon as they find out you're pregnant

Why?
I'm a parent but do single people get leave when their dog has puppies or friend is pregnant and they want to be there to help?

Getting pregnant is a CHOICE.
Single people with no kids get the shaft.

 

[JHankwitz]

Very nice. Now how about paying your fair share of Federal taxes...like the rest of us!

Apple paid more taxes last year than any other company in the USA. They were audited and found to be following every tax law. How can you say they aren't paying their fair share?

 

[thirdeyeopen666]

Don't assume. It may not be unless specifically stated to be.
In most places it is not. What you get is you keep your job and apply for state disability insurance.
It would be nice to hear from the people inside who saw the actual policy.

Certainly wasn't paid maternity/paternity leave in 2012 when I had my child. I doubt it is now.

 

[thelawman]

Without wanting to derail this thread even more, one thing I always find interesting in the debate about employee rights and benefits vs economic output, is that German and French workers are considered to be more productive than US workers: http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/which-country-has-the-most-productive-workers.html

 

[JHankwitz]

mostly anecodtal evidence, but i hear a lot of horror stories of women who get laid off/fired as soon as the employer finds out they are pregnant, because they don't want to pay for their leave and they can just hire someone else

Which is only fair. Since you have the right to quit your job at any time for any reason, it should be the right for any employer to fire any employee at any time for any reason. Fair is fair.

 

[rGiskard]

You've got to be kidding. Small companies would stop hiring women if this became law. It would put many companies out of business. Paying employees not to work can destroy the bottom line. I will discriminate against singles and people that don't want children and encourage employees to have as many children as possible, or more than they can afford.

Yeah, that explains why no European companies are profitable and why their birth rate is so stratospheric.

Props to Cook for doing right by employees. I'm really diggin' that wellness center with on-site doctors. Makes good business sense not to force employees to take half a day off just to see a doctor for routine stuff, and by making it so easy to see a doc, employees won't wait until they're too sick to work before seeing one.

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Without wanting to derail this thread even more, one thing I always find interesting in the debate about employee rights and benefits vs economic output, is that German and French workers are considered to be more productive than US workers: http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/which-country-has-the-most-productive-workers.html

 

[Mr Fusion]

and completely broke.

You too pal. I'm American and I sure hope you aren't because comments like that are just downright embarrassing.

Without wanting to derail this thread even more, one thing I always find interesting in the debate about employee rights and benefits vs economic output, is that German and French workers are considered to be more productive than US workers: http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/which-country-has-the-most-productive-workers.html

Shhh! Don't say that, working in 'Merica isn't about productivity, it's a **** measuring contest to see who can work the most hours and then brag about it later. Slacker Millennials...

Work harder, not smarter.

 

[flur]

You've got to be kidding. Small companies would stop hiring women if this became law. It would put many companies out of business. Paying employees not to work can destroy the bottom line. I will discriminate against singles and people that don't want children and encourage employees to have as many children as possible, or more than they can afford.

No one will go to bars if smoking is banned, and they'll go out of business!
No one will get married if gays are allowed, and it'll destroy the institution!
Hmm...bars are just fine. Marriage is just fine.

Companies will do just fine if they treat their employees like people and not machines.

And as a woman who never intends to have kids, I certainly don't feel discriminated against, because it makes having a child a CHOICE, not something I'll risk losing my job over, and the financial cost of raising a child is HUGE compared to the extra weeks' pay, so I'm not "getting less" than those who chose to be parents.