Claw back caregiver leave? Forum

[Anonymous User]

My firm has the "policy" that if you take caregiver leave and do not return for at least 6 months, the firm can claw back the caregiver leave pay. It is not in the official policy that the firm put up on its internal portal, but after talking with HR to arrange my leave, I was asked to sign an agreement acknowledging this. How common/market is this practice? I have no plan of leaving my firm so far but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Anonymous User]

My firm has the "policy" that if you take caregiver leave and do not return for at least 6 months, the firm can claw back the caregiver leave pay. It is not in the official policy that the firm put up on its internal portal, but after talking with HR to arrange my leave, I was asked to sign an agreement acknowledging this. How common/market is this practice? I have no plan of leaving my firm so far but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Did you sign it? I would be pissed. I've never heard this, but then again I'm not an employment lawyer and have not taken parental leave yet. It seems dishonest to leave this out of the initial employment contract and then impose it on you when you decide to take leave. Please out the firm so others can avoid.

[Anonymous User]

My firm has the "policy" that if you take caregiver leave and do not return for at least 6 months, the firm can claw back the caregiver leave pay. It is not in the official policy that the firm put up on its internal portal, but after talking with HR to arrange my leave, I was asked to sign an agreement acknowledging this. How common/market is this practice? I have no plan of leaving my firm so far but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Scandalous

[Anonymous User]

I have worked at three firms, all v50. Two of the three firms did this. Although the clawback period was only three months in both cases.

[Buglaw]

Wut? So if you are one of the many women or men who don’t come back from parental leave you have to pay back the money they gave you? Or if you lateral shortly thereafter? This is market practice?

I just wouldn’t pay it. Are people really going to sue new parents for parental leave pay?

[dastardlydash]

That is wild. Most I have seen is you owe the amount paid in health benefits; not your entire leave amount.

[Bramwell]

I don’t remember ever seeing such a requirement. I’d suggest not signing it or marking up the provision before initialing. Unless this particular form is needed to hard wire you’re pro rated hours requirement for annual bonus, I prob wouldn’t acknowledge the form at all.

[Anonymous User]

I don’t remember ever seeing such a requirement. I’d suggest not signing it or marking up the provision before initialing. Unless this particular form is needed to hard wire you’re pro rated hours requirement for annual bonus, I prob wouldn’t acknowledge the form at all.

Even still unless the pro-rated hours policy explicitly mentions you have to sign a clawback release, this still seems over the top.

[almostperfectt]

We should be naming and shaming these firms.

Parental leave is part of your compensation. Clawing it back it ridiculous. You earn your leave (just like you earn your pay) by being employed there, not by staying there some arbitrary amount of time

[Anonymous User]

Have you been at the firm for a year? I’ve seen this done when we had an associate take pat leave 3 months into starting a job. Got full leave but had a clawback.

Edit: firm’s official policy states you don’t get leave benefits until after you’ve been at the firm a year (which I believe is market).

[LBJ's Hair]

Have you been at the firm for a year? I’ve seen this done when we had an associate take pat leave 3 months into starting a job. Got full leave but had a clawback.

Edit: firm’s official policy states you don’t get leave benefits until after you’ve been at the firm a year (which I believe is market).

this seems reasonable to me tbh

[Anonymous User]

I just left a NY midsize firm with this policy that was in the associate handbook. I was on parental leave when I left and they could have exercised it and clawed back the leave benefit.

I negotiated a make-whole with my new employer, where they would reimburse me up to a certain dollar amount if my old firm exercised the claw back. Thankfully however the old firm didn’t exercise the clawback. I never raised the issue with them, and they never raised it with me.

[Anonymous User]

Have you been at the firm for a year? I’ve seen this done when we had an associate take pat leave 3 months into starting a job. Got full leave but had a clawback.

Edit: firm’s official policy states you don’t get leave benefits until after you’ve been at the firm a year (which I believe is market).

this seems reasonable to me tbh

I know a woman who's due date was like 10 months after starting at her new firm, and HR told her that they would have to look into the situation and see what they could do, since she hadn't been there for the necessary full year. I think HR just legitimately wasn't sure how to handle it, but she responded to HR CC-ing the partners she worked with and said "am I right in understanding that the firm is considering denying me maternity leave benefits?" and apparently the partners responded within minutes saying she would receive all standard maternity benefits. I'm sure they were terrified imagining the reaction if it had became a rumor.