Dive Brief:
- After garnering massive media attention for its announcement of unlimited paid parental leave, Netflix admitted that the policy does not apply to its entire workforce, according to an article at the Huffington Post.
- The news site reports that employees in Netflix’s declining but very profitable DVD division aren’t covered by the new policy, which permits new parents to take up to 12 months leave at their own discretion, company spokeswoman Anne Marie Squeo confirmed to The Huffington Post late on Wednesday.
- Explaining why the company's DVD workers, many of whom are paid hourly, wouldn’t be covered, Squeo would only say that "the two sides of the business are run differently." The DVD employees receive a month's paid leave.
Dive Insight:
Federal law requires large employers to offer 12 weeks of unpaid family leave, but paid leave is a perk that’s mostly left to companies to dole out at their discretion. And since the financial crisis, many are now offering less paid leave than before, said Huffington Post.
This move seems to reflect a trend in Silicon Valley, in which companies "fall over themselves" offering excellent salary and benefits -- but only to a specific group of employees with specific, desired skills. The talent war rages on, but not for all types of talent.
Despite this note, the article does say there are several companies now lengthening their parental leave policies, including Nestlé, Vodafone, Johnson & Johnson, Blackstone and even the U.S. Navy, which did so in May.
