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As a soon-to-be 10-year employee and two-year Well-being Champion, Senior Principal Configuration Analyst Jill Peterson is all too familiar with Northrop Grumman’s benefits. She’s passionate about sharing resources with her team, but she never expected to use Paid Caregiver Leave to support her own family.
Starting in 2025, Northrop Grumman began offering employees,[1] who work 20 hours or more per week, two weeks (up to 80 hours)[2] of paid leave to care for a spouse, domestic partner, parent or child with a serious health condition. Jill, who promotes employee benefits during biweekly staff meetings, was excited to present the new offering that would allow employees to provide care for their loved ones without tapping into their paid time off (PTO). “I was presenting it as, ‘Hey, this is an option for you guys if you're in this situation,’ and then I ended up being the one to use it,” she said.
In January, Jill, who lives in Minnesota, learned that her daughter, who lives in Arizona, needed a minor surgery. Because the new benefit activated earlier that month, Jill requested one week of leave to care for her. She created an account through Aflac, received approval for her time off and made the trip to Arizona.
Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a relatively simple, outpatient surgery quickly turned into a health emergency when Jill’s daughter experienced post-op complications. She needed to stay in the hospital for four nights, and Jill was determined to stay by her side for every moment.
Jill recalls those days as some of the scariest of her life. As a mom, she knew that she needed to extend her leave. She first reached out to her manager, who immediately approved her request. Then, she reached out to Aflac. Luckily, she already had a case number for her first week of leave, so extending it was a painless process. Within a day, Jill’s request was approved.
“When you're in a situation like that — what I would call a medical crisis — the last thing you want to be thinking about is: ‘Do I have enough PTO? What's my balance? Will it go negative?’” Jill said. “Your brain is overloaded and overwhelmed by what's happening in your world, so knowing this is a benefit, and it's easy to use, makes me feel even more sure in my decision that Northrop Grumman is a fantastic company.”
Northrop Grumman recognizes the importance of family, which is why we make it as easy as possible to take care of them. “I want people to know that if you have anything going on in your personal life, or you’re looking for support or help, Northrop Grumman probably has a resource to help you,” Jill said. “I didn't have to max out my PTO to be able to take care of my child, which took a weight off my shoulders during a really stressful time.”
For more information, call Aflac at (800) 244-8017.
[1] To be eligible for this benefit, employees must have one or more years of service.
[2] Prorated for part-time employees