How We Offer Parental Leave at Our Bar and Restaurant Group

Parental leave coverage in America is woefully inadequate, made even more obvious within the service industry. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 16 percent of service workers have access to paid family leave, the lowest of the occupation types surveyed, despite making up the third-largest employee segment in the country. Relatedly, food service workers have the lowest median tenure at just 1.6 years. 

The pandemic brought this into focus for restaurant groups like New Orleans-based LeBlanc + Smith (The Chloe, Sylvain, Barrel Proof), which saw people leaving the industry in droves to get better health benefits. Workers were also surrendering management and leadership roles when they became parents. Five years ago, the group started researching how to offer paid parental leave to their staff and instilled a plan in 2024 in partnership with hospitality consultants Oyster Sunday and its program OS Benefits. Here, LeBlanc + Smith’s director of people, Ali Grieb, discusses that process and why it’s better for the group’s bottom line.