Dear Todd Jones, CEO of Publix:
Paid family leave provides working people time to be with their families when they are needed most: when welcoming a newly arrived child, caring for a seriously ill family member, or addressing one's own illness. Publix is a top employer, yet fails to provide employees this critical benefit.
PL+US’s third annual ranking of paid family leave policies at the largest employers in the U.S. finds Publix is ranked the worst when it comes to offering paid family leave to its employees. There is clear momentum in the private sector and Publix has quickly fallen far behind their competitors. In the last year alone, 20 companies ranging from Starbucks to Walmart have expanded their paid leave policies.
The benefits of paid family leave are well documented. Businesses that have implemented better paid leave policies have done so noting the advantages of employee recruitment, retention, and reduced turnover costs.
Publix’s policies also have a major impact on the lives of employees. Paid family leave is proven to benefit both child and maternal health outcomes and reduces infant mortality.
Publix offers NO paid family leave to its 190,000 employees. That’s zero days off after childbirth, zero days to care for a dying parent, zero days for chemo treatments.
Employees can change company policies when they take action together. We've seen Publix employees successfully convince the company to update the dress code to allow beards using a Coworker.org campaign and on the issue of paid leave, PL+US has helped Starbucks baristas win more generous family leave in their workplace.
Publix current policy is failing employees and falls far behind industry standards. As CEO you have the power to lead by offering all of your employees at least 12 weeks of paid family leave.