Ohio State’s family-friendly benefits win recognition
Ohio State’s efforts to help faculty and staff balance responsibilities at work and at home are receiving local and national attention.
This summer, the University was recognized by The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and The Ohio Department of Health’s Healthy Ohio program for the university’s adoption benefits and lactation program, respectively.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption named Ohio State to its 2011 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces List. The foundation ranks employers based on financial reimbursement and paid leave for employees who adopt. The University’s adoption benefit provides $5,000 per adopted child to offset adoption costs and fees, and paid leave when a faculty or staff member adopts a child.
The University’s lactation program, which provides a private, safe space for mothers to express breast milk when they return from paid parental leave, garnered Ohio State a spot on the 2011 Breastfeeding Friendly Employer Award Winners list. With locations across the University and Medical Center, the program aims to offer enough spaces that no nursing mother has to walk more than 5 minutes to reach a location. The program also provides hospital grade pumps for use in the spaces.
These offerings, and others like them, are part of the University’s effort to create a culture of eminence.
“We value the whole person, and our concern for faculty and staff doesn’t start and stop at the door,” said Katie Purcell, human resources work life manager. “We want to create a supportive culture for families, and the choices families make.”
Purcell said that the University is creating programs, benefits, and policies that address the needs of faculty and staff at work and at home. In addition to the adoption assistance benefit and the lactation program, the Flexible Work Policy (6.12) guides longer-term flexible work arrangements that fall outside of the usual unit work schedule, allowing employees to adjust work schedules to take care of personal needs while still meeting work responsibilities. Also, comprehensive medical benefits and programs such as Your Plan For Health help faculty and staff maximize their personal health.
Creating a supportive environment by focusing on the whole person will help the University reach its goals, said Purcell. Healthy employees who are able to better manage stress are more productive, and experience less absenteeism. Also, offering cutting-edge, comprehensive benefits helps recruit and retain top talent.
“When you create a culture where people feel valued, can improve and maintain their health, and can minimize the pressures of life, we can attract and keep the best people,” she said.
For more information about Ohio State’s benefits, visit http://hr.osu.edu/benefits/.
Nursing Mother Amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act
As part of the recent Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide breaks for nursing mothers. Under section 4207 of the PPACA, which appears to be effective immediately, employers must provide a “reasonable break time” for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child. The requirement applies for one year after the child's birth. The PPACA places no limit on the number of the breaks to be provided, and does not contain any guidance with respect to the duration of such breaks.
In addition to providing reasonable breaks, the employer must also provide a place where the employee can express breast milk. The place must be somewhere other than a bathroom and must be “shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.”
The law exempts any employer with fewer than 50 employees if providing the break (or the place to express breast milk) would impose an “undue hardship” on the employer. For the purposes of the PPACA, “undue hardship” is defined as “causing the employer significant difficulty or expense” when considered in relation to relevant factors.
The new provision does not require an employer to pay for reasonable break time provided under the new law. Depending on the length of the break in particular cases, the PPACA may run contrary to existing Department of Labor regulations, which require employers to compensate for rest breaks of short duration (5-20 minutes) or even certain state laws related to breaks.
Until such time as the Department of Labor provides guidance regarding the issues surrounding this new entitlement for nursing mothers, employers should tread carefully and consult with counsel in formulating appropriate practices and policies.
Finally, keep in mind that 24 states, including California, Georgia, Illinois, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, already have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace. The PPACA does not preempt application of those laws and employers with operations in states with such laws should continue to comply with state law if it is more protective of employees.
