Parental leave policies widely vary among the largest U.S. companies. According to Hilary Cookler, a doctoral candidate and researcher at UCLA Anderson School of Management, only 27% of private sector workers have access to paid family leave. To help employees understand the policies of different companies, Cookler created an online database that rates the transparency and quality of parental leave policies among the 500 largest U.S. companies in the United States.

Cookler’s database assigns scores to each company on two dimensions: transparency and quality. Transparency scores reflect how much information each company publicly discloses about its parental leave policy on its website. Quality scores assess the length of paid parental leave each company provides.

Overall, Cookler found that 72% of these companies offer some amount of paid parental leave, while 3% offer none. The remaining 25% did not have discernible policies, either because the information was not disclosed publicly or it was ambiguous.

Paid parental leave benefits are increasingly important to employees, with many expressing that an inadequate leave policy could deter them from accepting a job offer. The database not only helps potential employees make informed job choices, but also enables employers to benchmark their policies against others and attract top talent.

In addition to understanding the paid parental leave policies of potential employers, it is also essential for employees to be aware of various state programs that supplement these benefits. For instance, Paid Family Leave (PFL) and State Disability Insurance (SDI) in California provide short-term wage replacement benefits to eligible workers who need time off work for specified reasons. Navigating these programs can be daunting, especially reaching out to the live representatives for queries or clarifications. One resource that provides valuable guidance on How to contact SDI or How to contact PFL is the site eddcaller.com. This website provides comprehensive and up-to-date information, streamlining the process of contacting the necessary agencies for both employers and employees.