Full Breakdown
U.S. Employers Scale Back Family Leave Benefits
5/12/2026, 5:15:34 AM
Deloitte and Zoom Reduce Family-Leave Offerings
Deloitte announced reductions to its family-leave program for employees in certain administrative roles. The changes include shorter vacation periods and the removal of financial assistance for adoption, surrogacy and in-vitro fertilisation. Zoom also reported a scaling back of its family-leave provisions. Both announcements mark a reversal of earlier expansions of such benefits.
Decline in Paid Family-Leave Coverage
A 2025 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 31 percent of U.S. employers offered paid family leave, a drop of two percentage points from the previous year.
Not Long Ago, Firms Competed on Perks
Not long ago, many firms competed to provide extensive family-friendly perks, such as paid parental leave for fathers, subsidies for fertility treatments, and even pet insurance. Those policies extended paid leave to hourly workers and broadened eligibility. The recent cutbacks at Deloitte and Zoom signal a shift away from that “golden age of benefits” among certain employers.
Who Is Affected
The reductions primarily affect support-staff positions rather than Deloitte’s consulting or accounting units. Those roles are generally lower-paid and disproportionately filled by women. Zoom’s policy changes also represent a reduction in family-leave benefits.
Impact on Female Workers and Lower-Paid Staff
Analysts note that paid family leave has been shown to help women stay employed. By eliminating adoption, surrogacy and IVF assistance and by reducing vacation time, Deloitte’s cuts could affect female employees who rely on such benefits. Zoom also reduced its family-leave benefits, though the article does not detail the impact on its workforce.
Criticism and Opposition
Joan Williams, founding director of the Equality Action Center at UC Law San Francisco, argues that Deloitte’s focus on administrative staff targets jobs that generally pay less and are predominantly held by women. Analysts note that the cutbacks could affect female workers who rely on paid family leave. The broader trend of scaling back “nice-to-have” perks, such as laundry or snacks, further underscores concerns about diminishing support for caregivers.
Verbatim Quotes
- “employers offering paid family leave dropped two percentage points in 2025, to 31 percent,accordingto an annual survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.” — Society for Human Resource Management survey
- “The move could particularly affect female workers, analysts said, because paid family leavehas been shownto help them stay employed.” — Article excerpt
