Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The Justice Department has brokered a deal that requires the city of Tampa, Fla., to pay 10 male employees $300,000 to compensate them for being forced to take unpaid leave when their children were born because they had limited paid paternity leave.
Justice's consent decree also adds six weeks of additional leave for each male employee who would have been eligible for extended paid paternity leave had it been an option. The city's policy provided 320 hours for the "primary caregiver," and 80 hours for the "secondary caregiver."
"Employers must grant parental leave benefits regardless of sex," U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida said. "The resolution achieved in this case is a demonstration of the U.S. Attorney's Office's assurance to the community that employment discrimination based on a protected class, including sex, will not be tolerated."
One of the men affected by the policy, Jefferey Burger, filed a discrimination complaint with the Miami District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, for denying men the same amount of parental leave that it offered to female employees based on their gender. The EEOC tried to resolve the matter with the city, but repeated attempts failed. The commission ultimately referred the complaint to the Justice Department as an "enforcement action."
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The City of Tampa adopted a parental leave policy between 2017 and 2018 that gave male employees two weeks of paid parental leave instead of eight, which is what it offers to female employees, to serve as "primary caregivers" of a new child. The policy referred to males as "secondary caregivers," even if they were the primary caregiver for the family's new child.
The complaint says about 150 male employees were affected by the parental leave policy. Under terms of the proposed Justice Department deal, secondary caregivers also will receive the same amount of leave, 320 hours, as primary caregivers, regardless of gender. The male employees will receive about 150 hours, according to the EEOC complaint, and will be granted the 240 hours of paid parental leave they say they should have had.
"Parental leave policies should not reflect presumptions or stereotypes about gender roles," said Director Tamra Schweiberger of the EEOC Tampa Field Office. "When it comes to providing leave for bonding with a new child or flexibility in returning to work from that leave, mothers and fathers should be treated equally."
Justice's decree also requires Tampa to adopt a new parental leave policy that does not differentiate caregiver responsibilities based on sex, and to train employees on how to implement and enforce the new rules.
"Providing paid parental leave to employees is a significant benefit that many families rely on so that they can take care of their children," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "This agreement sends a clear message that in providing paid or unpaid parental leave, employers must guarantee that those benefits are provided without reliance on presumptions about which parent can be the primary caregiver. The Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to enforce federal civil rights laws and ensure that employers provide all employees leave benefits without discrimination."
The decree is subject to court approval.
