PayPal workers just got a sweet holiday gift.
The company is giving a huge boost to the paid parental leave it offers, starting in the new year
New moms at PayPal (PYPL) will get sixteen weeks of fully paid leave, while fathers will get eight weeks of "paid bonding" time, a benefit PayPal previously offered only in California.
That will replace the previous policy, which gave new mothers eight weeks off with 80% pay.
PayPal is the latest of a hoard of U.S. companies that have upped their parental leave policies this year.
Tech giants have led the pack with unprecedented offers, such as Netflix's (NFLX) decision to let its employees take as much paid parental leave as they want.
Spotify and eBay (EBAY) are among the most recent to offer generous new leave policies for moms and dads.
The public sector has gotten in on the action as well. The city of Portland recently said workers can take six weeks of paid parental leave when a baby arrives.
But the U.S. is still largely playing catchup with European workers. Benefits overseas are typically far more generous, and six months of paid parental leave is more the norm than an eye-popping new offer.
Related: eBay to give new moms 6 months of paid leave
The rest of the company's 10,000 U.S. employees will also get more time off next year with these other new policies:
- Employees can now take eight weeks of paid time off to care for an immediate family member who is seriously ill.
- Workers can take five days of sick leave per year.
- They can take another five days can be taken to do volunteer work.
--CNNMoney's David Goldman contributed to this report
