Babies in the Workplace

Brian Moline, an attorney who is now at the Kansas Corporation Commission, was initially worried about liability from baby programs but is now a staunch supporter of them. He said that, "While lawyers have concerns about things like that, they tend to overreact. My observation was that, while anything can happen, the chances [of problems] were remote."

One caveat to the assumption that liability risks are very low is if employees are permitted to take their babies with them while they are driving on company business. Although Logan Simpson Design Inc., a landscape architecture and environmental planning firm, is very pleased with its policy of having babies in the workplace, they have a very firm rule that employees are not allowed to take their babies into the field with them--even in the parent's own car--while the parent is on company business. Logan Simpson

Higher liability--and insurance--issues come into play when a company sets up an official day care operation in which the company provides a caregiver for children. Carolyn Gable explained that New Age had provided an on-site babysitter for a time but stopped the practice when her attorney told her that her liability risks were much higher by doing this. Susan Matthews said that Borshoff had also considered having a "baby room" but decided that the liability risks were just too high. On-site daycare facilities are a great perk for employees in larger companies that can afford to cover the costs for space, providers, and insurance. But for medium and small companies, or even for large companies who are trying to rein in costs in an increasingly competitive economic climate, a baby-to-work program like those covered here--where parents are responsible for their own children--can be ideal.