Department of Justice Settles With Tampa Over Parental Leave For Male Workers

The lawsuit, filed by city employee Jeffrey Burger, claimed female workers were allowed 320 hours of leave time in order to serve as a primary caregiver for a newborn - male workers were only permitted 80 hours and were classified as "secondary" caregivers, even if they were primary.

The city of Tampa, Florida, reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve a discrimination lawsuit claiming male workers didn’t receive the same parental leave as female workers.

According to the settlement, reached on Dec. 21, the city will pay $300,000 and provide 240 hours of credited additional leave time for male workers who were denied the same amount of leave as female workers in 2017 and 2018. The lawsuit, filed by city employee Jeffrey Burger, claimed female workers were allowed 320 hours of leave time in order to serve as a primary caregiver for a newborn – male workers were only permitted 80 hours and were classified as “secondary” caregivers, even if they were primary.

Burger will be paid $60,000, and $240,000 will be split amongst other eligible workers.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said, “This agreement sends a clear message that in providing paid or unpaid parental leave, employers must guarantee that those benefits are provided without reliance on presumptions about which parent can be the primary caregiver,” according to The Tampa Bay Times.

The DOJ’s complaint said at least 10 male employees who put in formal leave requests were denied due to their gender while others were discouraged by supervisors or Tampa HR officials from applying as a primary caregivers.

On top of settling, Tampa will be forced to adopt a new non-sex-discriminating parental leave policy, but it will need to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tampa.

Upon approval, the city will be required to work with an officer from Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) to guarantee the changes are implemented.

“When it comes to providing leave for bonding with a new child or flexibility in returning to work from that leave, mothers and fathers should be treated equally,” Tamra Schweiberger, director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Tampa field office, said in a statement.

The Tampa City Council denies any wrongful discrimination against Burger or any other male employees, but says they came to the resolution to “avoid the risk and burdens of protracted litigation.”