Favorite Perqs: Many Is Not Most

Vanilla is the most popular flavor for ice cream. But even so, only 29 percent rate it the best. Chocolate is rated number two with 8.9 percent of the people polled (who figures these things out anyhow?) and Butter Pecan gets 5.3 percent of the licks.

In 2007 (most recent year we could find,) Jacob was the most popular baby name in the U.S., followed by Michael and Ethan. For newborn girls it is Emily, Isabella and Emma. Brooklyn was number 57. Go figure! Going globally, the most popular boy’s name: Mohammed.

But just because things are popular with a lot of people doesn’t mean they pass the test with other people. Like the majority. Most people aren’t named Jacob, Michael or Emily. Most people don’t prefer vanilla. Many do, but not most.

So it is with workplace benefits.

Many people are pulling for a benefit embedded in the House-passed Tobacco that would grant federal workers (men or women, or both) 4 weeks of paid leave to take care of a newborn or adopted child. People who want it REALLY want it. And that’s understandable. But if it is knocked out of the bill, perhaps in a Senate-House conference, many will be disappointed. But maybe not most.

Here are some e-mails on the subject:

• “Throughout my entire career in the IT field, I have repeatedly worked the late shift, worked the day after Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas and New Years because of coworkers who had children. I never complained about it and, every year, even volunteered to do it because I feel it’s important for parents to spend time with their children, especially at Christmas, and because I didn’t live near my family.

  “However, another 4-6 weeks per parent is asking a bit much of coworkers, who don’t have children, to cover for them. Where are these generous extra benefits for the childless who have to do the work for these people with children?

  “I have had coworkers with children drop everything in the middle of a critical IT failure and leave, saying they had to pick up their children. Only one time did I refuse to let one go because the system was their responsibility. And, as tax payers, we even have to pay for this new perk that does not benefit everyone.” Linda at the National Institutes of Health

• “Why not use the Family Leave provisions for a new child? An additional 6 weeks of paid leave would make sure employees would be out the entire 6 weeks. What is the incentive to come back after 4 or 5 weeks? Some people would have a baby to get 6 weeks away from work. Some offices or units are so small that to be short handed 6 weeks is a serious hardship, particularly if there is no one else who performs that function. I worked in a clinic with one doctor. If the doctor was out 6 weeks, it would be difficult to function. (If the secretary was out for 6 weeks it would have been even worse, but that is another story.) They got very huffy if any of the rest of us wrote prescriptions. Also, if they can do without you for 6 weeks, maybe they can do without you, period.” Stanley F.
• “I am not convinced that a paid parental leave category is appropriate. Why should the employer discriminate between the disability called pregnancy and its after-affects and a disability caused by cancer, heart attack, or…? Pregnancy is usually by choice. Two generally take an action in order to have a baby. A heart attack or cancer is not welcome or voluntary. One can take care of him (her) self to hopefully reduce the chances of a disease, but it is still not voluntary. Therefore, why should we create an extra benefit for pregnancy and not for other diseases?

  “Since having children is usually voluntary, one should save her leave in order to have enough for pregnancy. And the husband must help out as well including the use of leave to help the wife or take leave to care for the baby while the wife goes back to work if appropriate. I am not listing factors as to how or when this takes place.

  “… I took 2+ weeks off to help my wife with each of the 3 children. My wife stopped working outside of the house with the birth of the first child. I do not advocate this approach, I am just stating the facts.” Stu C.

• “I am flat against PAID PARENTAL LEAVE. This is a ‘discriminatory’ benefit, available only to employees with children. Employees that do not have children would not be able to get a similar benefit. Employers do NOT owe employees time off to have children. This law merely results in ’employer paid welfare.’ If you want to have children, I’m sorry, you use your accumulated sick and annual leave, that is a sacrifice you choose to make.” J.J. Dippel, Retired 2005.
• “Why should I have to do extra work to cover my co-workers PAID leave because they chose to become parents? What PAID benefits am I going to receive because I chose not to have children or cannot have children? Is there any discussion of a paid sabbatical for employees which could be available to all employees regardless of their childbearing choices? I don’t even object so much if the employees are allowed to use their banked sick leave – but why should they get extra leave time because they have children? I don’t see why my tax dollars should go to support this type of benefit. ” Vicki L., Detroit.

On The Other Hand…

• “I have had the privilege of recently joining the Federal Government and I will say, with all honesty, that the lack of any true maternity package is the main reason for my husband and I not to be able to afford to have a third child (a child we had always planned to have). In this economic climate, we are not in a position to take off 12-20 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn nor am I in a position to go looking for another job just for the maternity leave benefit. While we are able to use sick and vacation time for maternity leave, even if I never took a day of vacation, it would take almost 2 full years of work to just get 4 weeks of time. Most day cares will not even TAKE a child until 6 weeks and others not until 12 weeks. You should not have to work for 6 years, without a day of vacation, to earn enough days to be able to take care of yourself and a newborn.

  “There are many ways of accommodating, few of which are actually actively encouraged. For my first two children, I hardly missed a moment of work. Why? Because I was able to work from home and bring my child to the office. With the exception of a ‘one day a week max’ teleworking policy with my boss, clearly this wouldn’t be possible.

  “I am not extremely eloquent right now as I’ve been struggling with eviction issues (wish you dealt with Mont. Co. law!), but think that while the gov’t wouldn’t have recruited me with a 4 week leave policy, it sure would have made a huge ‘quality of life’ difference if there is any way my husband and I can afford to have that third.

  “Now you should tackle why there is no real child care credit. 5K a year for a FSA is RIDICULOUS. We pay 35K/year JUST for 4 days/week, 7 hours/day at KINDERCARE- a run of the mill, middle of the road day care. 5K does little to nothing to assist. Good luck with that one.” Call Me K.

Roth Option, Investing, FERS Flu

Whatever you do, don’t miss today’s Your Turn with Mike Causey show (10 a.m. EDT). Dan Adcock, legislative director of NARFE will lead off with an update on the Tobacco bill before the Senate. The House version has more than a dozen big benefit changes for feds and retirees. They include major changes in the TSP, a Roth option for federal-postal investors and paid parental leave. At 10:30 a.m. financial planner Allan Roth talks about the most common mistakes active investors make, and the proposal to let feds invest in mutual funds outside the TSP. The show is on worldwide at www.federalnewsradio.com and, in the DC area, on WFED 1500 AM.

Nearly Useless Factoid
by Suzanne Kubota

Not all of our planet spins at the same speed. According to space.com, the solid inner core of the Earth “spins faster than the outer portion of the iron core, which is liquid. A study in 1996 showed that over the previous century, the extra speed caused the inner core to gain a quarter-turn on the planet as a whole. So the inner core makes a complete revolution with respect to the rest of Earth in about 400 years.” I think I felt it once, during a bout with tequila.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

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