Deny my paternity leave?

Q: I'm a new father. I need to take some leave from work to care for our newborn son, as my wife's leave has ended. Our company has a policy allowing maternity leave and FMLA leave. I even offered to go part-time, but he tells me that he has to keep that part-time slot open in case one of our female workers needs it. He tells me that I cannot take leave, but he has allowed women in our office leave to care for their newborns. Can my boss really do that?

A. No. Employers may not treat either sex more favorably with respect to leave for childcare purposes.

Unfortunately, gender-based stereotypes also influence how male workers are perceived: “Stereotypes about women’s domestic roles are reinforced by parallel stereotypes presuming a lack of domestic responsibilities for men. These mutually reinforcing stereotypes created a self-fulfilling cycle of discrimination," according to the US Supreme Court.

While working women generally have borne the brunt of gender-based stereotyping, unlawful assumptions about working fathers and other male caregivers exist at work. Stereotypes sometimes have led employers to deny male employees opportunities that have been provided to working women. Sometimes they subject men who are primary caregivers to harassment or other discriminatory treatment. For example, some employers have denied male employees’ requests for leave for childcare purposes even while granting female employees’ requests.

Employers are permitted by federal law to provide women with leave specifically for the period that they are incapacitated because of pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.

But employers may not treat either sex more favorably with respect to other kinds of leave, such as leave for childcare purposes, according to the US EEOC.

To avoid a potential violation, employers should carefully distinguish between pregnancy-related leave and other forms of leave, ensuring that any leave specifically provided to women alone is limited to the period that women are incapacitated by pregnancy and childbirth.

If you are eligible to take FMLA leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the leave to care for a newborn child or for a newly placed child must conclude within 12 months after the birth or placement.