How much do you know about dads in the workplace in our modern era? Take our quiz and find out!

Since today is Friday the 13th, I’m going to make this quiz a hard one. But, as always, the answer will appear at the end of each question, so you can cheat all you want and we'll never know.

And if you make it all the way through, there will be a special Father's Day gift selected especially for you!

Ready? Here we go:

No. 1: Jack and Jackie are not married, but they live together and have a daughter, Jacquelyn. Jack’s employer has 75 employees, and he’s been working there full-time since 2020 and has never taken any leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In 2025, both Jackie and Jacquelyn come down with pneumonia, a serious health condition. Jack asks to take FMLA leave to care for Jackie. The employer says no. Is the employer correct?
A. Yes.
B. No.

ANSWER: A. The employer is correct. Jack is not entitled to FMLA leave to care for Jackie because he is not her spouse, parent, or child. (I’d recommend giving him some time off anyway, but there’s no legal obligation to do so under the FMLA.)

Does Jack have any other options?

A. Way!
B. No way!

ANSWER: A. Way! Jack can request (and should get) FMLA leave to care for little Jacquelyn because he is Jacquelyn’s father. The fact that he isn’t married to the mother doesn’t affect his FMLA rights with respect to his child. 

(And I seriously doubt that his employer will monitor to see whether he spends some of his FMLA leave looking after Jackie at the same time.) 

No. 2: Smedley’s wife just had a baby. It was a complicated delivery, and both mother and child are recuperating. Smedley’s employer is not covered by the FMLA. But can Smedley take time off work under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, since a complicated childbirth is a pregnancy-related condition?

 A. Yes.
 B. No.

ANSWER: B. The PWFA applies only to the person who is pregnant, not to her spouse and not to her baby. So unless Smedley is in a state with more generous laws (or unless his employer is nice and gives him time off anyway), Smedley and his new family are out of luck.

No. 3: Zeus has four kids and has taken paternity leave when each of his children was born. His youngest is two years old. A promotion opportunity comes up for which Zeus is well qualified, and he applies. His employer rejects him and chooses a less-qualified coworker. Does Zeus have a sex discrimination case if
A. The person selected is a less-qualified woman who, like Zeus, has taken four parental leaves? B. The person selected is a less-qualified man or woman who has never taken parental leave?
C. Neither A nor B? D. Either A or B?

 
ANSWER:  Possibly, D. If Zeus can show that the less-qualified woman who took four parental leaves was chosen because that’s “normal for women” but “kind of weird” for a man (a.k.a. "sex stereotyping"), then Zeus might have a case. And if the coworker was favored despite lesser qualifications because he/she never took parental leave at all, that could also be discriminatory. (Also, as we saw a few weeks ago, if Zeus's religious beliefs are the reason he has a lot of kids and takes paternity leave, he might have a claim for religious discrimination.)

No. 4: Hal, who used to be Hallie, is a transgender man who is pregnant. Hal asks his employer to accommodate his pregnancy-related condition (inability to stand for long periods of time) under the PWFA and also asks for lactation breaks under the PUMP Act for after the baby is born. Since Hal is a guy, can the employer turn him down? 
A. Yes.
B. No.

ANSWER: B. The PWFA doesn’t specifically address transgender employees, but since Hal is the pregnant person, it probably doesn’t matter how Hal identifies. If Hal is pregnant, Hal is pregnant, and almost certainly entitled to reasonable accommodation under the PWFA and lactation accommodation under the PUMP Act. 

No. 5: Adam and Steve are a gay married couple who have adopted a baby. The biological mother is Eve, a surrogate. Neither Adam nor Steve is the biological father. Adam, Steve, and Eve all work for the same employer, and they all ask for leave under the FMLA and for pregnancy-related accommodations under the PWFA. You, unfortunately, are the Human Resources Manager who has to sort this out. Adam, Steve, and Eve all have FMLA leave available. Your Chief Financial Officer has directed you to "give them what the law says you have to, but not an iota more." So, who gets what?
A. Adam, Steve, and Eve all get FMLA leave and pregnancy accommodations under the PWFA. B. Adam, Steve, and Eve all get FMLA leave, but only Eve gets pregnancy accommodations. C. No one gets FMLA leave or pregnancy accommodations because Adam and Steve are not the biological fathers, and Eve is just a surrogate who is not acting in loco parentis to the baby.

 
ANSWER: B. (This was my real "Friday the 13th" horror question.) Let’s break it down:

Adam and Steve are entitled to FMLA leave related to their adoption of the baby and also to care for him until he reaches age 18 if he has a serious health condition.* The fact that they are not the biological fathers does not disqualify them because the FMLA treats adoptive parents (and also foster parents) the same as biological parents. 

*If the baby has a disability, Adam and Steve may be able to take FMLA leave to care for him even after he is an adult.

Eve is entitled to FMLA leave because she was pregnant with and gave birth to the baby. The fact that she gave him up for adoption does not disqualify her from getting FMLA leave related to the pregnancy and childbirth. However, Eve would not be entitled to take FMLA leave to care for the baby if he ever had a serious health condition because she wouldn't be his parent (for FMLA purposes, anyway) after the adoption.

In contrast, and as already discussed above, the PWFA accommodation obligation applies only to the pregnant (or childbearing) individual. That would be Eve, but not Adam or Steve. If you think I’m wrong about that, I’m willing to listen.

HOW’DJA DO? 

4-5 correct: You're Mike Brady, the best dad ever!

2-3 correct: Not bad! You're Al Bundy: You support your family and stick up for your kids every now and then.

0-1 correct: Eek! You're Walter White!

Just kidding! You all did great. And here is that special Father's Day gift I promised you:

WOW. TALK ABOUT SEX STEREOTYPING.

Have a great holiday, Dads!