For the purposes of talent acquisition and retention,
multinational employers with U.S. parental leave policies may wish
to roll out the exact same policies at all locations. However, this
can easily turn into a tale of "no good deed goes
unpunished" because certain provisions may run afoul of local
laws and customs or inadvertently grant additional benefits. Below
are several common issues multinational employers may want to keep
in mind when drafting parental leave policies, as well as steps
they can take to harmonize policies globally.
1. Retaining Discretion Regarding How Much Leave to
Provide
Policies allowing an employer to retain discretion as to how
much leave to provide may run afoul of certain countries' (such
as Chile, Colombia, and Mexico) laws. For example, if a policy
contains a provision for up to 18 weeks of leave, the "up
to" language signifies that the employer has discretion. This
can violate the some countries' requirement that
