Amazon will now offer paid paternity leave to its salaried and hourly workers, according to theWall Street Journal
The e-commerce company announced the policy to its employees on Monday. New fathers will receive six weeks of paid leave if they been employed by Amazon for a year.
The policy, according to the Journal, covers more than 100,000 staff in customer service and fulfillment center positions. The Seattle-based company's large fulfillment warehouses, which are often run by contractors, have been the subject of scrutiny and criticism for their controversial labor and staffing practices.
In addition to paid paternity leave, female employees can now take 20 weeks of paid maternity leave. Amazon has also added a "leave-share" program that enables employees to split part of their six weeks of leave with partners or spouses who aren't entitled to leave through their employers. When returning to work, staff will be able to work part-time for as many as eight weeks.
The policy change comes after Amazon was the subject of widespread criticism for its workplace culture and policies depicted in a recent New York Times story. That article highlighted a variety of questionable practices, including a relatively short maternity leave policy and a sizable gender gap within the company.
Amazon may also see the expansion of its parental leave as a way to compete with other big tech companies that offer generous benefits to new parents. Netflix, Adobe and Intel all increased their offerings this year.
Jason Abbruzzese contributed to this report.
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