The new leave policy applies to parents who give birth, adopt or have a surrogate mother. Employees also will have access to up to $35,000 for adoption and surrogacy costs and $35,000 to pay for infertility treatments.
Under the old policy, primary and secondary caregivers only had six weeks and two weeks of paid leave, respectively. Also, American Express had paid $10,000 for adoption and surrogacy costs and up to $20,000 for infertility treatments.
“Clearly, it’s not getting any easier to juggle personal and professional [responsibilities],” says Kevin Cox, chief human resources officer at the firm. He added that there is “a diversity dimension at play,” to make the firm more attractive to female and LGBTQ workers, specifically.