Paid Time Off MattersA (slow) progress report

100 years later: still no universal paid family leave in the US

Excellent and sad article by Mona Siegel in the New York Times: The forgotten origins of paid family leave. While the Microsofties have good paid family leave, the contractors employees (more than half the workforce) remain an unknown -essentially voiceless- quantity. When they speak up, they get fired (at least it has been our experience). When will Microsoft survey how its contractors employees are treated as far as paid time off is concerned? Who will dare remember Microsoft of its duties as a signatory of the UN Global Compact?

Reading 'The Moment of Lift', by Melinda Gates.

I just finished reading 'The Moment of Lift, How Empowering Women Changes the World', by Melinda Gates. I'll point out here the parts that I found especially interesting as they relate to paid leave. I know there are many other aspects of the book that are worth taking in and commenting about but I want to focus on what she writes about paid leaves, who are the people (mostly women organizing to obtain changes) and how it relates to my own experience as a temp with a Microsoft's contractor trying to obtain paid leave, as described in 'The Other Microsoft" and this blog.

One year later, how do Microsoft's contractors implement the new paid parental leave policy?

One year ago a new paid parental leave requirement was announced in the Microsoft's blog by Corporate VP  Dev Stahlkopf with the headline: Paid parental leave matters. Fast Company selected her among most creative people 2019 for her work at Microsoft. How have those changes been implemented? We remain concerned about the status of the 10 public holidays: for Microsoft direct employees they come on top of the paid vacation days.  As we wrote in 2018, organizing a survey of the contractors employees to collect their assessment of their situation and making public the results, would be useful. Why? Having Xmas day and all 10 public holidays taken out of your 15 days of paid time off seriously  reduces the real number of your paid vacation. That would be in violation of Microsoft commitment to its own Global Human Rights Statement of 2006. So can we get the details of the present situation?

Paid Parental leave matters: Microsoft's contractors employees to get 12 weeks of paid parental leave

The new paid parental leave requirement was announced in the Microsoft's blog by Corporate VP  Dev Stahlkopf with the headline: Paid parental leave matters. Read the interesting comments by Nat Levy in Geekwire, the Seattle Times (Rachel Lerman). Probably more to come (here Olivia Solon in The Guardian). Congratulations to Microsoft's management for moving in the right direction. Now the questions should be asked to other big high tech companies (Google, FB, Amazon, etc): what are your paid parental leave requirements for your contractors? Still unresolved for Microsoft's contractors employees, and it does count: the status of the public holidays (about 10 per year). The public holidays should be additional paid time off coming on top of the 'at least 15 days' presently required, not included within the 15 days of PTO. Organizing a survey of the contractors employees to collect their assessment of their situation would be useful.

The Guardian investigates the dire state of motherhood in the US

The Mother Load: America is failing mothers (and fathers and children). Maybe they'll expose the discrimination between workers at Microsoft and other high tech firms?

The paid time off divide between Microsofties and v- suppliers employees keeps growing

While working toward a third updated version of The Other Microsoft, I just found this article (among many) I had missed 4 months ago about how on June 27, 2017 Microsoft expanded the paid time off for its employees when someone is sick in their families. It's a constant pattern: Microsoft is glorified for giving more to its own employees, an attitude that would be fine if it did not completely ignore the fate of all the other people working for Microsoft via contractors who are left to fight for themselves without benefiting in any way from the fact they are de facto working full time for Microsoft. Kathleen Hogan could not claim she does not know those contractors employees exist and also would like more such benefits: she is the one we reached out to when we claimed Microsoft was a joint employer. At this point we can only see Microsoft's limits to empathy: Microsoft's empathy only goes to their own direct employees. The rest is of no concern to them. Here is Kathleen Hogan's June 27 statement on Linkedin: Families matter, that's why we are announcing Family Caregiver Leave: Family caregiver leave will allows an employee to take up to four weeks of fully paid leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.

Satya Nadella's focus on empathy: will it lead to extending paid family leave and paid public holidays for suppliers employees?

In the foreword (page 13) of the second edition of his book The Other Microsoft, Philippe Boucher quoted Satya Nadella's focus on empathy. We have not had the opportunity -yet- to read   Hit refresh: The quest to rediscover Microsoft's soul and imagine a better future for everyone" but from the reviews we read he reasserts  for him the importance of empathy. We hope this empathy will contribute to expand Microsoft's initiative to have their suppliers provide 'at least 15 days of paid time off" to add paid family leave and paid public holidays that are not specifically offered now.

 You can also read this interesting interview by Jane francisco about the Nadella's family in Good Housekeeping (November 2017). A few other articles about empathy: NPR,  Business Insider,  Fortune, etc.

How much would paid family leave cost? How much does it cost in California?

Very often the articles about paid family leave do not look at what the cost would be and how it would be financed. Here is an article published in Fortune magazine in 2015 that looks at the costs induced in New Jersey and California that rely of a small deduction on each employee's payroll. In California the cost is estimated at about $30 per year per employee. Less than $3 per month. As we wrote in the previous post the cost of having paid public holidays is significantly higher, between $1 to $2+ per hour but many companies could/can easily afford such a cost considering the billions they make in profits. So, who is going to raise this issue? In general and also pointing specifically at some corporations like we did for Microsoft and it's suppliers. Not that we don't think states and the federal government should not adopt legislation: they should but in the meantime engaging wealthy corporations that ignore the needs of their lowest paid workers could help.

Microsoft and Human Rights: what about starting to promote human rights at home for Microsoft's suppliers employees in the US?

Technology for human rights: UN Human Rights Office announces landmark partnership with Microsoft is the title of the press release distributed today by Microsoft and the UN office (see below). It is widely reproduced in the media that glorify Microsoft's generosity with their yearly $1 million grant to the UN Human Rights office for the next five years. See this post on Geekwire for the joined video presentation. The UN is presently running a campaign Stand up for someone's rights today that starts with this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt:
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
Eleanor Roosevelt
Driving force behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I completely agree with Eleanor and my first reaction, beyond an automatic thank you note was to think about Microsoft's responsibilities 'in small places close to home' like toward the thousands of people they employ via vendors in the US, especially in Redmond and Bellevue. I was one of them for several years when we had zero paid time leave despite the fact paid leave is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (articles 24 and 25.2) and the other conventions Microsoft claims it intends to implement like the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights of 1966/1976. Articles 7d and 10.2 state: 

(the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to)

(7.d ) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays

10.2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security benefits.

Are those rights asserted 50 years ago implemented today by Microsoft for it's suppliers employees in the US? Two years ago, on March 26, 2015, Brad smith announced a requirement that should provide 'at least 15 days of paid time off' for those employees. That was certainly a step into the right direction but it fell short of what the UN covenants demand: there is no mention of paid public holidays nor any mention of paid parental leave, specific paid leaves that should be provided on top of the basic 'at least 15 days of paid time off'. As Microsoft reasserts publicly its commitment to human rights and how big data technology can help, I want to use this opportunity to challenge Microsoft to follow Eleanor Roosevelt's recommendation: survey all your supplier's employees to check the type of paid leaves they provide, especially paid holidays and paid parental leave. Also ask the employees how they feel and what their wishes would be. Last but not least, estimate how much fully providing for those paid leaves would cost and how it could be quickly implemented. Who am I to dare making such a request? A former so called 'temporary worker' ready, as the UN invites us, to stand up for someone's rights today. By the way, providing all the 'temps' with 10 paid public holidays would represent a yearly investment of at least $50 million. A bit more than the $1 million Microsoft is going to give to the UN Office for Human Rights. That would be a real commitment, right here, in the US but that would still do nothing specific for all the families with a new child.

Passing paid family leave in Washington State: Is your State Rep in favor or against?

A message from Working Washington:

We have a real chance to pass paid family leave in Washington State this year. We have momentum — but we need your help.

A strong paid family leave proposal (HB 1116) has already passed out of the House Labor committee and the House Appropriations committee. The next step is to secure majority support for the bill so it can pass on the floor of the House.

It takes 50 votes to get a majority in the State House, and we’re not there yet. Help us get it done: contact your State Representatives and ask them to support statewide paid family leave by passing HB 1116.

Then when you hear back from your representatives, tell us what they say, and we'll add it to our public vote count. We're going to track where every member of the State House stands on paid family leave, because we think every voter should know where their representatives stand on this issue — and every representative should know they’re accountable for their vote.

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TODAY

Another project to support paid family leave, from a conservative perspective (although Brookings is more liberal than AEI)

AEI, the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution have joined forces to publish a series of blog posts under the title: "Paid family leave: an issue whose time have come?" The main authors are Aparna Mathur (AEI) and Isabel Sawhill (Brookings) but they have reached out for contributions by other 'experts'. As of today I have seen 7 such posts. Interesting but with what impact and where does it go? A few furious comments by people who see paid family leave as discriminatory for people who don't have children. Amazing. (see at the bottom of the extended entry).

More details about Pivotal ventures and paid leave

In the Seattle Times, Sandi Doughton gives some details about how Melinda Gates Pivotal Ventures is supporting paid leave projects: she began to think about inequities that persist even in the United States. "It made me realize that there are issues we need to look at"... 

Another cause Gates is tackling through Pivotal Ventures is paid family leave. The Gates Foundation offers its employees up to a year of paid leave to care for new children, and the city of Seattle recently bumped up its benefit to 12 weeks.

Programs like those are common in most other rich countries, but rare in the United States.

Gates said she’s been investing in public policy analyses to identify ways to create and fund family-leave programs.

“Ultimately, it’s up to governments to decide, but what I want to put out there are several different options,” she said.

 

A second team focusing on promoting paid leave: Pay+Leave - They protest the new policy offered by Starbucks that does not include dads

We just discovered the existence of Pay+Leave. See their strategy and their campaign targeting Starbucks. Starbucks announced improved paid parental leave but apparently left out many employees. A story reminiscent of what happened at Netflix a while ago. Anybody with Starbucks stock? Sign the petition started on change.org to ask Starbucks to include dads.

Why paid leave is good for business - by Panorama Global and the Boston Consulting Group

Gabrielle Fitzgerald of Panorama Global partnered with the Boston Consulting Group to produce a study titled: 'Why paid leave is good for business".
She writes : We worked alongside the Boston Consulting Group to analyze the costs and benefits of offering inclusive paid family and medical leave programs, and will use that evidence to persuade American companies that adopting such policies is better for business and the wellbeing of employees. While it remains to be seen how persuasive such evidence can be, it cannot hurt to have it collected, analyzed and largely shared. In the absence of unions, pushing for paid leave will require other tools for the workers presently left out without paid leaves: like shareholder advocacy.

Ikea and Trump on paid leave

Here is an interesting post from the pro-employer blog The Employerologist by Janette Levey Frisch . Here is how she explains the core of the matter:

Currently, IKEA employees receive up to 5 days’ paid parental leave, and up to 8 weeks’ paid disability leave to new mothers. Effective January 1, 2016, under IKEA’s new policy, new parents who have worked at IKEA for at least one year can receive up to four months’ paid leave. This new policy applies to both mothers and fathers, whether they are birth, adoptive or foster parents. For the first six weeks they will receive their full base pay, and half their base pay for the next six weeks. Workers with 3 or more years of service will be eligible for 8 weeks of full pay and 8 weeks of half pay. By U.S. standards this is a very generous policy. Compared to IKEA’s home country however, this is quite stingy. In Sweden, workers can receive up to 68 weeks off and the government subsidizes it. Other countries also provide more generous, paid time off. Is that why IKEA made this move? Not really.

IKEA says it expects that this expansion of paid leave will improve productivity and reduce turnover. IKEA is not alone. Other US companies, such as Netflix, Adobe and Etsy have also rolled out comparatively generous paid leave, though their programs tend to apply only to either top-tiered or salaried employees, whereas IKEA’s benefits apply to both hourly and salaried workers.

Let me repeat our mantra: when is Microsoft going to emulate IKEA and improve upon its minimal paid leave standards for all its suppliers employees? When googling about this info, I find references to articles in USA Today, The Atlantic, Forbes, but no Washington State publication. if I did not subscribe to this specialized blog I would not know about this. My mistake as there was a reprint of an AP wire in the Seattle Times. 

Chuck Collins about "Rule changes that raise the floor". Where does Microsoft stand?

In his book 99 to 1 Chuck Collins writes (page 98): "Policies that raise the floor reduce poverty and establish a fundamental minimum standard of decency that no one will fall below...One third of people in the United States have no paid sick days and one half have no paid vacation days. Everyone deserve the right to take (paid) time off when sick and have a few weeks of (paid) vacation each year. In the rest of the developed world, these are considered basic human rights."

As we have seen those paid leaves are incorporated in various UN human rights documents that Microsoft claimed it is committed to implement.

 

Microsoft's Corporate Social Responsibility Report for 2016: What's to be done?

On October 18, 2016, Microsoft published it's 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. We did not see any public article or comment about it. We think it is an important document as it reiterates Microsoft stated commitment to respect human rights as they are detailed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the covenants listed below. As you can see this commitment  also clearly includes Microsoft's suppliers employees. Unfortunately, as we had noticed one year ago, Microsoft remains in breach of several clauses of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted 50 years ago.

What's to be done to incite Microsoft to implement it's commitment so that it's suppliers employees get paid public holidays on top of the present minimal standard of 15 days of 'paid time off' and specific paid parental leave? We think shareholder activism is presently the best way to raise the issue with Microsoft's leadership.

On NPR: On Your Mark Give Birth Go Back To Work

In the NPR program All Things Considered, this all too frequent story about the lack of paid parental leave in the US . Who is going to speak up for Microsoft's supplier's employees so that they get the same paid parental benefits as Microsoft's direct employees? What about progressive shareholders? Are there any? They could influence policy changes in many companies (including Microsoft and tis suppliers) while impatiently waiting for the legislative changes that would emulate laws that exist in all other countries.

Frustrating4th of July: Paid holiday discrimination thanks to Microsoft and Lionbridge Technologies

I have been working full time for Microsoft via their supplier Lionbridge Technologies for 4.5 years, since December 5 2011 when I was part of the first team in their app certification lab. I am still misclassified by Lionbridge as a 'temporary worker' because we had the audacity to vote for a union in September 2014.
In January 2015, Lionbridge decided that after 9 months of full time employment, its temporary workers will be laid off or be 'converted' to 'regular' status with the corresponding benefits that include paid holidays. So what am I complaining about?
There is an exception to this conversion scheme: if you happen to be represented by a union in the process of a collective bargaining negotiation, this conversion does not apply to you. We discovered this very recently as Lionbridge had chosen not to share with us this policy change except when they started telling co-workers they could not get any pay raise nor paid holidays because of the union. The implicit/explicit message was clear: get rid of the union and get pay raises and paid holidays. The NLRB is presently investigatng a union's charge in this matter against Lionbridge for bad faith bargaining and meanwhile it will be one more 4th of July without pay.
As Lionbridge is very aware this creates a hardship for the employees who really need a full week pay, they 'generously' accept that people work 10 hours per day during the rest of the week, to compensate for the 8 hours they have not been paid on July 4th. Of course this is not considered overtime. As for Microsoft, they keep looking the other way, even more so now that the union claimed they should be considered a joint employer.

In March 2015, Microsoft required that its suppliers provide at least 15 days of paid time off to their employees. As I have accumulated enough paid time off I am able this year to use it to get paid on July 4.  Does that represent a huge improvement?

The reality is that in 1998, that's 18 years ago, Microsoft had required that its suppliers provide 13 days of paid time off to their employees: apparently this policy had been abandoned sometimes during those 18 years since it was never mentioned or implemented until our union started to protest about the lack of any benefits. 18 years later the difference is only 2 extra days.
Microsoft's requirement is still lacking as it  does not not respect the terms of article 7 (d) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights  that affirms the rights of workers to  'Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays': a clear requirement that public holidays be paid on top of usual paid time off. Although this Convention was never ratified by the US Senate, Microsoft voluntarily committed itself to implement all its content when they joined the UN Global Compact in 2006. That's ten years ago, ten years with thousands of workers deprived of their rights and the thousands/millions of dollars involved. 

That's why celebrating July 4th is still for me quite a stretch and a frustrating reminder of the paid holiday discrimination for thousands of misclassified temporary workers employed by Microsoft and its suppliers.

Philippe Boucher
President, Temporary Workers of America
Author of The Other Microsoft.

Asking for a 9 months waiting period before starting accruing Paid Time Off violates the terms of the International Convention concerning Annual Holidays with Pay

The Convention concerning Annual Holidays with Pay (C132 adopted in 1970) states in its Article 5:

1. A minimum period of service may be required for entitlement to any annual holiday with pay.
2. The length of any such qualifying period shall be detertmined by the competent authority or through the appropriate machinery in the country concerned but shall not exceed six months.

A look at paid parental leave

The site Early Childhood Education Degrees asked us to share this info-graphics about paid parental leave with our readers. It enumerates the many reasons why paid parental leave is so important. That's why we are determined to have shareholders mobilized to require companies (like Microsoft and all its suppliers) provide paid parental leave to all their employees. Contact us  at temporaryworkersofamerica at gmail.com if you are a Microsoft shareholder and you want to support our initiative.

Unpaid public holidays and no paid parental leave: Microsoft and Lionbridge are Scrooge like companies

In December 2012, Henry Blodget wrote a post in Business Insider about the Scrooge Award he gave to Corporate America. Three years later, as Xmas is coming, Microsoft and Lionbridge jointly deserve a Scrooge Award for not providing paid public holidays to all their employees. As we are not paid during those public holidays we suffer a loss of income that takes a big part of the fun out of this period as we worry about how we are going to compensate for this $ loss. Could it be possible that Microsoft does not know its trusted Lionbridge supplier does not pay for public holidays? It is doubtful as Microsoft directly profits by not paying either for those public holidays. Yes, some suppliers are more human and do pay those days to their workers (like WIPRO does). As we noted in the previous post, Microsoft should require all its suppliers to provide paid public holidays as this is clearly mentioned in article 7 (d) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: "Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays ", and Microsoft claims it is committed to implement this Convention. We'll keep denouncing this Scrooge-like behavior until it changes. Of course in these times of celebrating a nativity we'll add to our outrage the lack of any paid parental leave. The Universal Declaration of HumanRights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also contain dispositions for pregnant moms. Article 25.2 of the UDHR states: "Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance". Article 10.2 of the Internal Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states: "Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security benefits." 50 years later, as this Convention was adopted in 1966, these benefits are still not required by Microsoft for all its suppliers. Although this Convention was never ratified by the US Senate, Microsoft voluntarily committed itself to implement all its content (as far as it was relevant to its responsibilities as a multinational corporation) when they joined the UN Global Compact in ... 2006.  9 years later Microsoft is still not respecting its commitment to implement dispositions adopted 50 years ago and implemented routinely in most industrialized countries, including by Microsoft's subsidiaries operating in those countries. Lionbridge Technologies does not give a damn about the UN Global Compact but their subsidiaries in other countries also have to respect those dispositions. Only in the US...

 

Request for Microsoft to attend a collective bargaining meeting as a joint employer

Find below the text of the letter/email we sent on October 17, to Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft Executive Vice President Human resources. 

 

Dear Melinda: can you help us convince Microsoft to do the right thing for our families?

Parental Leave Isn't Just About Parents: Why It Makes a Difference to Our Kids' Health
Let's not forget what parental leave is really about: healthier babies, parents who are able to thrive professionally, and strong and resilient families.
By Melinda Gates

This post first appeared at Parents.com. We could not find the exact date and it apparently did not elicit any comment. It was then reproduced on August 21, on The Huffington Post (72 comments). We discovered it because it was referenced on October 7 by Emily Peck again in The Huffington Post in a post where she explained how Melinda Gates is taking her own advice as the Gates Foundation announced it was now offering to its employees up to one year of paid parental leave.

The question for us: is there any chance that Melinda can convince Microsoft to require that its supplier Lionbridge Technologies provide "some parental leave" instead of nothing. What does she think the standard should be for Microsoft's suppliers?

Improved Benefits for Facebook Contractors' Employees

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's CEO posted this announcement (below) on FB's blog. You'll notice the similarity with Microsoft's announcement also via the company's blog and with a very similar wording. A few differences still: the $15 minimal wage and $4000 for workers who don't receive parental leave. It's not clear if the minimum 15 days of paid time off includes the 'legal holidays' or if they are added to this package. I wonder if the media compared those benefits to those offered by FaceBook to their 'direct' employees. No mention of the eventual 'cost', nor who will pay for it, nor how many people are concerned. Implementation was effective May 1st for some contractors.

Valerie Jarrett: Why we think paid leave is a worker's right, not a privilege

Posted on LinkedIn on January 14, by Valerie Jarrett

How much paid time off does Microsoft provide to its own "direct" employees?

From Glassdoor and I work for Microsoft (a bit old? 2008) and Glassdoor again for paid parental leave.
Microsoft provides paid time off for eight national holidays in addition to paid time off for two personal days per year and 10 sick days per year. That is all use-or-lose time, none of that rolls over if you don't use it. Vacation time is based on your years of service with the company. Vacation time does roll over year to year but only up to a maximum of one year's worth, then you begin to lose it and there is no cash out option. Employees with less than six years of service earn three weeks of paid vacation per year. Employees with six to 12 years of service earn four weeks, and over 12 years earn 5 weeks per year. Employees with over 15 years who have reached Principle level also earn a paid eight week sabbatical.
Paid Maternity/Paternity Leave – At Microsoft, new mothers are eligible for 20 weeks off following childbirth: 12 weeks paid at 100 percent of base salary, with the option to take an additional eight weeks unpaid. This time off is available immediately upon hire. Parental Leave is available for new fathers and employees who care for a newly adopted child or newly placed foster child. Parental Leave may be taken for up to 12 weeks, with four weeks paid at 100 percent of base salary and eight weeks unpaid.

A slightly different version from Glassdoor:

 

• Apr 26, 2015
   Current Senior Program Manager in Redmond, Washington State

  Microsoft provides up to 12 weeks per year for parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The first four weeks are paid, and the remaining eight can be unpaid or paid by using vacation and/or sick time. The leave can be taken anytime within 12 months of the birth or adoption of the child.

 

Microsoft Global Human Rights Statement: How It Can Help Determine Paid Leave Standards

Here is Microsoft's Global Human Rights Statement. It derives from 2006 Microsoft signature into the UN Global Compact that aims at improving how multinational corporations promote human rights. You could think this is far away from the issues of paid leaves but when Microsoft commits itself to the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions (including the C-132 Annual Holidays with Pay Convention?) those documents refer to specific standards as far as paid leaves are concerned: article 24 of the Declaration makes 'periodic holidays with pay" a human right and the C-132 Convention makes 3 weeks the minimum standard for paid vacation (article 3), excluding the legal holidays that have to be added to those 3 weeks (article 6).

Microsoft follows those standards for its full time employees and Lionbridge almost does as well except the length of paid time off they offer to their FTEs start at 12 days, instead of 15. Both companies compensate they FTEs during the legal holidays and do not include them as PTO.

We think the same standard should apply to all Microsoft's supplier's employees.