A majority of Planned Parenthood’s regional offices do not extend paid maternity leave to their employees, a revelation that comes amid allegations that the organization discriminated against pregnant employees.
Of the 55 regional Planned Parenthood offices across the U.S., 49 do not offer paid maternity leave to their employees, The New York Times reports.
Although employees at Planned Parenthood’s Manhattan headquarters receive six-week paid parental leave, employees from approximately 20 of the regions are permitted to use short-term disability to receive a fraction of their salary. The regional offices manage multiple local clinics and are staffed with their own chief executives and maintain their own human resources policies.
Additionally, Planned Parenthood has been accused of mistreating pregnant employees in ways that broke federal and state laws, according to interviews and legal documents obtained by the New York Times.
For example, Planned Parenthood’s Ta’Lisa Hairston was told by doctors that her high blood pressure was hazardous to her pregnancy and was instructed to take breaks often. Despite the notes Hairston’s nurse provided her department regarding the breaks, Hairston’s supervisors allegedly did not honor the request and she often didn’t take a lunch break.
“I had to hold back tears talking to pregnant women, telling them to take care of their pregnancies when I couldn’t take care of mine,” Hairston said. “It made me jealous.”
Hairston said she ultimately resigned this year after the human resources department at her clinic contacted her while on maternity leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act and requested she return to her position before her maternity leave ended.
The regional chief executive overseeing Hairston’s clinic, Vincent Russell, rejected Hairston’s allegations.
President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Leana Wen said Planned Parenthood was evaluating the allegations presented to the New York Times and was also examining what it would cost to provide paid maternity leave to approximately 12,000 employees in the U.S.
“I believe we must do better than we are now,” Wen said in a statement to the New York Times. “It’s our obligation to do better, for our staff, for their families and for our patients.”
