GCI’s parental leave policy offers more support for growing families

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Becoming a parent is a wonderful and often overwhelming experience. GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company and one of the state’s biggest employers, aims to make that challenge a little easier. GCI’s recently launched parental leave policy provides up to four weeks of paid leave to care for and bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. The policy applies to either parents and includes families welcoming new children through birth, adoption, or foster care.

The policy, which went into effect at the beginning of 2023, is available to full-time GCI employees. With it, parents bringing a new child into their homes will have more flexibility than ever before.

“GCI has always been a leader in supporting our employees and helping them to thrive both in and outside of the workplace. This change in our benefits package demonstrates our absolute commitment to making this a reality for all members of the GCI team,” said Becky Windt Pearson, a parent of three boys aged eight and under and Senior Vice President of GCI’s Law and Corporate Advocacy Department & General Counsel. “GCI has historically offered maternity leave to its employees through regular Paid Time Off (PTO), Short Term Disability and Family Medical Leave, but it’s really not enough. Our new parental leave policy brings equity to the issue by giving both parents the time they need to help introduce that new life to their homes. And they can do so without sacrificing their income.”

The four weeks of paid leave provided by the new policy doesn’t have to be taken all at once. Employees who take advantage of the policy are only required to take it in one-week periods and can spread it out over the course of the year following the birth, adoption, or placement through foster care of a child. The new parental leave policy will run concurrently with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other leave entitlements as applicable. It also supplements GCI’s paid time off policy.

Through initiatives like the company’s new parental leave policy, top-notch benefits, competitive salaries, and plenty of opportunities for advancement and career transitions, GCI strives to be a great place to work for all.

“GCI prides itself on being among the best places to work in Alaska,” said GCI Chief Human Resources Officer Joe Wahl. “Though the traditional benefits of working here, like paid time off, insurance, and 401K matching are top notch, it’s initiatives like our new parental leave policy and our diversity, equity, and inclusion program and business resource groups that ensures employees have the resources and support they need to have a long, happy, successful career at GCI.”

For more information about GCI’s workplace culture initiatives, visit: https://news.gci.com/topic/workplace-culture.

About GCI

Headquartered in Alaska, GCI provides data, mobile, video, voice and managed services to consumer, business, government, and carrier customers throughout Alaska, serving more than 200 communities. The company has invested more than $4 billion in its Alaska network and facilities over the past 40 years and recently launched true standards-based 5G NR service in Anchorage, now the nation’s northernmost 5G service area. Learn more about GCI at www.gci.com. GCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Broadband Corporation (Nasdaq: LBRDA, LBRDK, LBRDP). Learn more about Liberty Broadband at http://www.libertybroadband.com.