[alanfranz]

Because while you are on a medical leave or a maternity leave it’s especially difficult for you to sort out things, or to find another job? “I laid you off while you’re lactating, please find another job in 60 days or leave US”.

In most places in EU it would be illegal to layoff people in those situations, that’s not a US thing of course, but just asking the already-approved deal to be honored seems just obvious.

[JamesBarney]

Aren't they getting 16 weeks of severance + 2 weeks per year. Say an average of 2 years of work. Most people at Google are making at least 150k. That's almost 60k. That's more than the median U.S. worker makes in a year. And more than the median household income in almost every EU country.

Not to mention no one Google lays off is going to have any trouble finding a job paying at least the median wage.

[alanfranz]

> Not to mention no one Google lays off is going to have any trouble finding a job paying at least the median wage.

While feeding a newborn or dealing with serious illness?

That’s the point. You’re on a leave for a reason. You don’t expect the leave to be unilaterally canceled.

Not to mention that, if you’re an immigrant, you have visa problems as well.

[saagarjha]

Most Google employees do not have median expenses or a clear path to getting there without drastically upending their lives.

[winrid]

It's even illegal in China...