BALANCING WORK AMD FAMILY : What Big Employers Offer : More Are Realizing That Broadening Family Benefits Can Help Boost Morale, Productivity

“You don’t stop being a parent when you walk in the company door.”

That, says Marty Cohen, vice president of the Work in America Institute in Scarsdale, N.Y., is the realization driving more and more companies to offer a wider array of family-friendly benefits:

* The proportion of employers offering child-care assistance rose from 64% to 85% between 1990 and 1995.

* Flexible scheduling options made their way into 67% of workplaces, up from 54%.

* Employee assistance programs spread to 84% of employers, up from 73%.

* The proportion of companies offering adoption benefits nearly doubled, from 12% to 23%.

“Employers who put in some of these programs realize that doing so has a business benefit,” said Carol Sladek, a consultant with Hewitt Associates, a national human resources firm that compiled the statistics.

“If they can help their employees, they are more dedicated and focused in work,” she said. “As employers share their results with other employers, the movement has really ballooned.”

The passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 focused attention on how employees balance their work and family obligations, said John Garner, who runs an employee benefits consulting firm in Pasadena.

The federal law, known as the FMLA, allows workers to take up to 12 weeks a year of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a seriously ill family member.

In addition to the 12 weeks guaranteed by the FMLA, California law allows women to take up to four more months of pregnancy disability leave. Employers are not required to pay workers during the leave--some do anyway--but state disability insurance does reimburse women about 55% of their pay while they are medically disabled, typically for six weeks.

Although businesses opposed the FMLA and George Bush vetoed it twice as President, benefits experts say the cost of complying with family leave laws has been less than expected. In addition, employee benefits consultants agree that generous and flexible benefits make workers more loyal and productive.

“These are not necessarily benefits that cost a lot of money,” Sladek said. “If you were to build a child-care center, that would be a huge expense. But you could do a flex-time arrangement and it wouldn’t necessarily cost you anything.”

To get a feel for the kinds of family-friendly benefits available to Southland workers, The Times interviewed 20 of the largest employers in the five-county area. Following are some of the ways employers in both the public and private sectors are helping workers balance their professional and family obligations:

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Women generally take about six weeks of maternity leave, with employers supplementing the state’s disability insurance payments. Beyond that, they are entitled to another 10 weeks of maternity leave, although many women use their regular paid sick leave or vacation time in order to maintain a stream of income. In addition, moms and dads may take 12 weeks or more of unpaid FMLA leave when a child is born, adopted or placed in the home for foster care.

At Pacific Telesis, the parent company of Pacific Bell, parents can take up to 12 months of unpaid leave during a two-year period after a child is born. Employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District may take unpaid leave until a child turns 3, and they are guaranteed an equivalent job when they return.

A number of employers provide “new baby kits,” which have information on breast-feeding, tips on finding child-care and instructions on getting a Social Security number for a newborn.

Also becoming more common are lactation rooms, where mothers can breast-feed their babies or use breast pumps to extract milk for later feedings. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power provides lactation rooms and even allows employees to check out breast pumps for use on the road.

“It’s had a tremendous impact on the well-being of the mother who wants to continue breast-feeding,” said Yolie Flores Aguilar, the city’s child-care coordinator. “For children, it really enhances the immune system, so parents are out sick less.”

Family Leave

Federal law ensures that workers can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in order to care for their children, parents or spouses during a serious illness. In addition, many employers allow workers to use some or all or their own paid sick days to care for sick relatives.

For example, Northrop Grumman gives employees a pool of “personal days” that can be used when the worker is sick or when he or she needs to care for an ailing family member.

Sears, Roebuck employees can take up to a year of unpaid leave and be guaranteed an equivalent job upon their return. Health and other benefits can continue during that time if the employee pays for them.

Pager loaner programs are also gaining in popularity.

“If someone is seriously ill or is expecting a child, we give them a pager so that they are readily accessible to their family in times of need,” said Georgia Nelson, Southern California Edison’s vice president of performance support.

Child-Care

At TRW Space & Electronics Group in Redondo Beach, employees asked for and helped design the Launching Pad, a 4-year-old on-site child-care center serving 204 children. In March, the Launching Pad won accreditation from the National Assn. for the Education of Young Children, a credit shared by only 3% of the nation’s licensed child-care centers.

“We opened because there was a need in the workplace,” said Betsy Bosak, TRW’s director of human resources. “We felt this would help differentiate us as a preferred employer. It has come back to benefit us, and it’s also a tremendous benefit for employees.”

On-site child-care is still pretty rare, and many parents would prefer to spare their children a commute. The most common alter-native is to offer referrals to pre-screened child-care centers, sometimes in conjunction with a 10% discount.

In 1991, Pacific Telesis spent $450,000 to help eight schools--including one in Pasadena and another in Anaheim--start or expand before- and after-school programs. While the programs are open to everyone, children of Pac Tel employees get priority for placement because of the company’s donation.

Elder Care

Referral services are the most common kind of elder care benefit offered. Many employers also offer occasional brown bag seminars on coping with aging parents. At USC, employees are welcome to participate in a weekly class at the School of Gerontology that focuses on elder care issues.

Bank of America hired Boston-based Work Family Directions to help its employees cope with elder care. Employees can call a toll-free number to get advice on choosing a nursing home, along with a list of referrals in any city.

Another common benefit is a dependent-care assistance program, or DCAP, which allows employees to contribute up to $5,000 in pretax income a year to a fund to pay for elder care and child-care for legal dependents.

“It’s good because the dollars you contribute are pretax. It allows you to reduce taxable income by the amount of child-care or elder care you buy,” said Jan Walden, acting director of human resources for Orange County.

Flex Time

Flex time arrangements allow employees to work from home, compress more hours into fewer work days, start and finish at non-traditional hours or share a full-time position with another employee.

Twenty telecenters with nearly 1,000 workstations and private offices for rent or lease have been set up in the five-county by the Southern California Telecommuting Partnership. The partnership, made up of city and county governments, AT&T;, Pacific Bell, GTE, Northern Telecom and Intel, encourages telecommuting and raises money to build and operate telecenters. An estimated 100,000 workers use these telecenters and private centers set up by employers. For more information, call (800) 6INFOHWY.

After a three-year pilot project, the city of Los Angeles will launch a telecommuting program before the end of the year. Bruce Roberts, administrator of the city’s ride-share program, hopes to involve 6% to 10% of city employees by June 30, 1996.

“We consider this a win-win situation,” Roberts said. “To employees, it improves morale and job satisfaction. That can add up to thousands of dollars a year per employee in productivity. We’re convinced of that.”

Rosemary Means, vice president of Bank of America’s flexible programs, said flexible work arrangements have benefited bank customers as well as employees. “It’s important for a number of reasons relating to the changing marketplace and when customers want us,” she said. “It’s not strictly a work-family benefit; it is a business tool.”

GUIDE TO FAMILY-FRIENDLY BENEFITS

While the job picture in Southern California has been bleak in recent years, at least one bright spot is emerging: Workers in the five-county area enjoy good benefits. “Broadly speaking, companies in California tend to be a little more progressive, more willing to try new things,” said Chris Wadley, a vice president with the benefits consulting firm of Godwins Booke & Dickenson in Universal City. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for sick family members. California law ensures that women can take another four months of unpaid maternity leave. The state also provides mothers with partial disability payments, typically for six to eight weeks. In our survey, we found employers offering substantially more. Here’s how family-friendly benefits stack up among the largest employers in the five-county area:

Glossary:

Compressed workweek--For example, employee works four 10-hour days per week instead of five eight-hour days. Under another common arrangement, employee works 80 hours over nine working days, taking every other Friday off.

Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP)--Optional program whereby employees can set aside up to $5,000 in pretax income per year to pay for care of dependents, such as children or elderly parents.

Telecommuting--Employee works from home or in a satellite office close to home.

CATEGORIES: MPL (maternity-paternity Leave), CC (child-care), EC (elder care), FL (family leave, to care for sick relatives), FT (flex time), O (other benefits)

* American Stores: MPL--State disability pay only. Women can take six months of unpaid leave for birth. CC--No specific program. EC--Referrals. FL--FMLA. FT--Most employees work part time and hours are flexible. O--None.

* BankAmerica: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--Referrals, DCAP and general advice on child rearing. Discounts with some providers. EC--Referrals and DCAP. Assistance with Medicare. FL--Sick time can be used to care for family members. Up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave can be taken to care for spouse, child, parents, grandparents, in-laws or significant others. FT--Flex time, telecommuting, compressed workweeks and job sharing. O--Comprehensive adoption assistance, including $2,000 reimbursement for legal costs of adoption.

* California State Universities: MPL--FMLA. Partial pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--On-site child care at some CSU campuses. DCAP. EC--May prepay for coverage of nursing home costs for self, spouse, parents or in-laws. DCAP. FL--Can take fully paid sick days to care for family members. FMLA. FT--Telecommuting and flex time. O--Can get rebates on medical and dental insurance if covered by spouse’s plan. Employees can take 2 classes per semester free of charge.

* City of Los Angeles: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Twelve days of paid leave can be used to care for new child. CC--Three on-site child-care centers. Referrals and DCAP; 10% discount at some private chains. EC--Referrals and DCAP. FL--Up to 12 days of sick leave at full or partial pay to care for relatives, plus four months of unpaid leave. FT--Compressed workweeks. Telecommuting starts later this year. O--Department of Water and Power has lactation rooms for nursing mothers. Breast pumps can be checked out for use on the road.

* Kaiser Permanente: MPL--10 weeks of fully paid medical leave for mother. CC--Referrals for day-care, private and public schools, camps and tutors. DCAP. EC--Referrals and DCAP. FL--FMLA. FT--Telecommuting and compressed workweeks. O--Quarterly newsletter on family issues. Workshops on child development. Breast-feeding classes, some lactation rooms.

* Los Angeles County: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. If full-paid sick days run out, mother receives partial pay. CC--Six on-site child-care centers. Discounts with three private providers. EC--Referrals. FT--Extensive use of compressed workweeks and telecommuting. FL--FMLA. O--Single parents can purchase formal benefits such as medical, dental and life insurance at slightly cheaper rates than married parents.

* Los Angeles Unified School District: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Parents can take unpaid child-care leave until child turns 3. CC--More than 90 child-care centers available to children of employees. EC--Referrals. FL--Seven days of paid leave to care for sick family members. FT--Compressed workweeks. O--None.

* McDonnell Douglas: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. If full-paid sick days run out, mother receives partial pay. CC--Annual child-care fair. Referrals. EC--Annual elder-care fair. Referrals. FL--FMLA. FT--Compressed workweeks and telecommuting. O--Leave of absence or part-time schedule for an employee seeking an advanced degree.

* Northrop Grumman: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Mother and father can take up to four months of unpaid family leave. CC--Referrals and DCAP. Periodic seminars on parenting. EC--No program. FL--Up to four months of unpaid leave per year to care for sick family members; paid sick leave can also be used. FT--Flex time. O--None.

* Orange County: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. If sick leave runs out, mother receives partial pay. Parents can also take up to six months of unpaid leave for birth. CC--DCAP. EC--DCAP. FL--Up to three days of sick leave can be used to care for family members, per illness. FT--Job sharing, flexible schedules, compressed workweeks and telecommuting. O--Brown bag lunch series on issues of interest to working parents.

* Pacific Telesis: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Mother and father can take up to 12 months of unpaid leave in a two-year period to care for newborns. Information about prenatal care. CC--Company spent $450,000 to help schools start and expand before- and after-school programs. Referrals and DCAP. EC--Referrals and DCAP. Toll-free number for advice. FL--Up to 12 months of unpaid leave can be taken in a two-year period to care for family members. FT--Telecommuting encouraged. O--$2,000 reimbursement for adoption.

* Rockwell International: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Mother and father can take 16 weeks of unpaid leave for birth or adoption. CC--Referrals and discounts. EC--Resource library and referral service. FL--FMLA. FT--Flex time, telecommuting and compressed workweeks. O--Lunchtime seminars on parenting. On-site dry cleaning, shoe repair, pharmacy delivery.

* San Bernardino County: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--Discount child-care center. Referrals and DCAP. EC--Referrals and DCAP. FL--At least 24 hours of paid sick leave can be used to care for family members. FT--Compressed workweeks and telecommuting widely used. O--None.

* Sears Roebuck: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Mother and father can take up to one year of unpaid family leave. CC--No program. EC--Long-term care policies can be purchased for parents, grandparents, in-laws and godparents. Referrals. FL--Up to one year of unpaid leave to care for family members. FT--Most California employees work part time, allowing for flexible scheduling. O--Low-cost education loans for employees and dependents; 10% discount on Sears merchandise.

* Southern California Edison: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. Mom and dad can take up to one year of unpaid leave for birth or adoption. CC--24-hour referrals; parenting programs offered. EC--Private company handles referrals and provides advice 24 hours a day. FL--Can take off two days with pay per sickness to care for family members. FMLA. FT--Flex time, compressed work weeks and telecommuting available at five satellite offices. O--Employees can donate paid sick leave to each other. Breastfeeding classes and lactation rooms for mothers.

* TRW: MPL--Full pay for mothers while medically disabled. CC--On-site child-care at Redondo Beach facility. Referrals and DCAP. EC--Resource and referral program. Seminar series on elder care. DCAP. FL--Paid sick days can be used to care for family members. Nearby hospitals care for sick children while parents work. FT--Flex time, compressed workweeks, job sharing and telecommuting. O--Brown bag sessions on family issues.

* UCLA: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--On-campus child-care. Referrals and DCAP offered. EC--Counseling and referral services. FL--Paid sick leave can be used to care for family members. FT--Compressed workweeks and telecommuting encouraged. O--Newsletter for working parents on balancing work and family.

* USC: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--Six child-care centers. Referrals. Counseling center offers parenting classes. EC--School of Gerontology offers weekly classes on caring for aging parents. Referrals. FL--FMLA. FT--Flex time, telecommuting and job sharing. O--Full tuition reimbursement for employees and their children.

* U.S. government: MPL--Full pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--Referrals and some on-site centers. EC--Referrals. FL--Five to 13 days of paid sick leave can be used to care for family members. FT--Telecommuting and compressed workweeks. O--Employees can donate paid leave to each other.

* Walt Disney Co.: MPL--Full or partial pay for mother while medically disabled. CC--DCAP. EC--DCAP. FL--FMLA. FT--Telecommuting available on case-by-case basis. O--Offers health benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees.