Philadelphia Explores Pet Insurance as Employee Benefit
Philadelphia is considering offering pet insurance to city employees as part of a broader effort to attract younger workers and address a staffing shortage that has persisted for years.
The administration of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is evaluating the feasibility of providing pet insurance to thousands of municipal workers who choose to participate, as part of a package of options the city is exploring to attract more applicants from the millennial and Gen Z generations.
Joe Grace, a spokesperson for the Parker administration, said the pet insurance benefit would be self-funded by the employees and offered initially to non-union workers. He emphasized that the city would not incur any direct costs for the program.
“We see this as an important benefit in that many of our employees have pets,” Grace stated, citing studies indicating that millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) have the highest rates of pet ownership. “As the city looks to become an employer of choice, we want to support our employees total health and wellness, including those fur-babies too.”
The city is currently evaluating contract proposals from various pet insurance companies and intends to roll out the perk at the start of next year, according to information released in a public request for proposals.
Earlier this year, the Parker administration unveiled several new benefits for employees shortly after the mayor mandated that all employees return to full-time in-office and on-site work. These benefits included expanded parental leave and enhanced emergency care options for employees’ children or elderly family members.
These benefits are currently available to the roughly 6,000 employees not represented by municipal unions. Negotiations are ongoing between the Parker administration and District Councils 33 and 47 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the unions representing most city workers. Any changes to employee benefits for union members are likely to be determined as part of a contract agreement.
Leaders from DC 33 and 47 have expressed opposition to the city’s return-to-office policy, expressing concerns that it will lead to increased resignations and retirements, exacerbating the existing staffing challenges. Before the full-time return to the office in July, about 20% of city employees were working on a hybrid schedule.
As of April, approximately 5,100 city positions, representing about 20% of the total workforce, remained vacant, according to the most current available data.
