Danny Meyer Creates Landmark Parental Leave Policy For His Restaurants

Danny Meyer — owner of Shake Shack, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke Grill, and The Modern — just announced a groundbreaking new parental leave policy that is almost unheard of in the industry, as first reported by Eater.

He will be giving each and every employee with at least one year of employment — male of female — four weeks of paid maternal or paternal leave starting in 2017. Then, if the worker chooses to extend his/her leave, he/she will receive 60 percent of the regular paycheck each pay cycle until returning to work.

The leave plan applies to all new parents of naturally conceived or adopted children and will cover all Union Square Hospitality Group Restaurants. Danny Meyer piloted this plan at the corporate offices of USHG in 2015 before announcing the parental leave expansion.  

In America, businesses right now are only required to offer 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and paid parental leave within the hospitality industry is extremely rare, according to Eater.