Father’s EEOC charge challenges disparity in J.P. Morgan’s paid parental leave policy

By Joy Waltemath

On June 15, a J.P. Morgan Chase & Company fraud investigator filed an EEOC discrimination charge claiming that the company discriminated against him and other fathers by denying fathers paid parental leave on the same terms as mothers, his lawyers announced. The complainant is the father of two young children, including a two-year old and a newborn just nine days old, according to the charge. He has worked at J.P. Morgan since 2010. The employee contends that J.P. Morgan discriminates against men by designating biological mothers as the default primary caregivers, eligible for 16 weeks of paid parental leave, while presumptively considering fathers to be non-primary caretakers, who are eligible for just two weeks of paid parental leave.

The EEOC charge, filed on behalf of all fathers who were or will be subjected to the same discriminatory policy, asserts that J.P. Morgan’s parental leave policy violates Title VII, the Ohio Fair Employment Practices Act, and other state and local laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on sex or sex-based stereotypes.

Seeking equal treatment. Before the birth of his second child, the employee sought approval to take parental leave as the primary caregiver. But HR purportedly told him that mothers are considered the primary caregivers, and that fathers can only be treated as primary caregivers (and receive 16 weeks of paid parental leave) if they can demonstrate that their spouse or partner has returned to work, or that “the mother” is medically incapable of caring for the child. The employee did not qualify under either of these exceptions, as his wife is a special education teacher on summer break and unable to return to work, and she is in good health, according to the complaint.

The employee’s EEOC charge asks the agency to investigate all of his legal claims on a class-wide basis. He is seeking changes to J.P. Morgan’s parental leave policy to make it equitable between mothers and fathers, as well as monetary relief for himself and other fathers who have lost out on paid leave due to the discriminatory policy.

“When I found out how J.P. Morgan’s parental leave policy was actually implemented, I was shocked,” the employee said in a statement. “It was like something out of the 1950s. Just because I’m a father, not a mother, it shouldn’t prevent me from being the primary caregiver for my baby. I hope that J.P. Morgan will change this policy and show its support for all parents who work for the company.”

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