Class Action Claims Deloitte Fails to Disclose 16-Week Paid Parental Leave Policy Comes with ‘A Huge Catch’

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A former Deloitte employee claims the professional services firm’s 16-week parental leave policy comes with “a huge catch” in that those who take more than 12 weeks of leave lose the right to return to their former position—“or to any job at Deloitte at all.”

Filed against Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and Deloitte & Touche LLP, the proposed class action out of New York claims that although Deloitte “brags” about its purportedly reasonable parental leave policy, the company does not advertise or otherwise disclose to workers that its willingness to provide such a policy does not mean their job will be there upon their return.

“[The plaintiff] learned this the hard way,” according to the 41-page complaint. “Following her return from parental leave in late-2019, [the plaintiff] discovered that not only would she not be returning to her prior position, but that Deloitte had no position for her at all.”

After her post-maternity leave termination, the plaintiff, who inquired as to why her job was no longer available, was “repeatedly told” that those who take more than the 12 weeks of parental leave protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), in Deloitte’s estimation, lose their job protection and may not have a position upon their return, the lawsuit says.

“This is true even though Deloitte purports to provide 16 weeks of parental leave,” the complaint states. “It is also true even for those who are ready, willing and able to come back to work within 12 weeks, but – like [the plaintiff] – take more than 12 weeks of leave because Deloitte does not disclose that they are giving up their right to a job if they do so.”

Per the complaint, the plaintiff had a “lengthy and successful professional career”—one that included high-level government service, a successful consulting business, and executive-level cyber threat intelligence positions at BNY Mellon and Target—prior to joining Deloitte U.K. in August 2016. After a “successful stint in the U.K.,” the plaintiff joined Deloitte’s U.S. firm as a senior manager in February 2018, after which she excelled in several roles, the suit says.

Just before the plaintiff left for maternity leave in late May 2019, she was assured by her supervisors that she would be reinstated to her role upon her return, according to the lawsuit.

“This, of course, is what the FMLA requires,” the complaint contends.

Pursuant to Deloitte’s policies, the plaintiff took more than 12 weeks of parental leave, per the lawsuit. The suit alleges the plaintiff was not informed at any point that she would lose any rights by taking more than 12 weeks of leave—a fact she says would have affected her decision.

“If [the plaintiff] had been informed that she would be losing rights in the event that she did not return to work within 12 weeks, she would have returned to work within 12 weeks, as she was ready, willing and able to do so,” the complaint reads.

Upon the plaintiff’s return in December 2019, “it quickly became clear” that not only was she not returning to her prior position, but Deloitte “had no plans whatsoever for her.”

The case goes on to detail the plaintiff’s months-long efforts to secure work at Deloitte, which allegedly included ignored and unanswered communications from supervisors and others, being passed between departments at the firm, a lack of meaningful performance feedback and performing work below her skillset that “served no career development purpose whatsoever.”

According to the complaint, the plaintiff’s experience upon her return from maternity leave indicated she had lost her FMLA-protected right to return to her prior position:

In May 2020, the plaintiff had “no other choice” but to reach out to Deloitte’s Integrity Hotline to inquire as to whether her treatment “was indeed normal and ethical,” the case says.

In June, the company’s lead employee relations specialist contacted the plaintiff to inform her that an investigation had confirmed Deloitte complied with its legal obligations by “giving her a paycheck and a title,” the complaint relays, and that her case was closed.

Less than a month later, she was terminated, the lawsuit states.

According to the suit, the explanation provided for the plaintiff’s termination—that it was “related to COVID” and not her performance and that her prior position had been “eliminated”—was “clearly pretextual.”

The plaintiff alleges that given it is Deloitte’s practice to deny FMLA rights to employees who take advantage of extended leave, there are likely “many, many other women” who have been impacted by the firm’s “brazen discriminatory conduct.”

The lawsuit looks to represent all women who worked for Deloitte in the U.S. and took a parental leave exceeding 12 weeks, with several other proposed classes and subclasses for those who did so in New York and New York City.

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