VENTURA : Patagonia Official to Talk on Family Leave

Patagonia Inc.’s Terri Wolfe has gone to Washington before, but never to testify before a federal commission.

But today, Wolfe will make a presentation before the Commission on Family and Medical Leave and answer questions about Patagonia’s progressive policies in that area.

“We are widely known around the country and have been recognized for the work we have done to balance work and family,” said Wolfe, Patagonia’s human resources director.

A member of the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau invited Wolfe to testify about the Ventura-based company’s pro-family programs, which were in place seven years before the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Among its policies, Patagonia allows employees to take up to four months of unpaid leave. Parents are granted two months of paid maternity or paternity leave.

And the outdoor clothing company allows its employees to return gradually to work after the birth of a child, working three or four days until ready to come back full time.

“The reason these things are important is that they are short term,” Wolfe said. At Patagonia, she said, the company does not want to jeopardize its relationship with its employees by being unreasonable--a message she plans to carry to Washington.

“Patagonia was founded by a group of families,” Wolfe said. “These issues were there from the very first day.”