The HR department at Apple Inc. just offered employees another healthy bite of the corporate fruit.
In a memo to employees, Denise Young Smith, Apple's head of human resources, outlined several powerful enhancements to Apple's benefits package. Among them:
- Extended maternity leave for moms and other parental units related to the baby;
- Educational reimbursement for any courses employees take related to their job;
- Student loan refinancing program designed to "ease the burden" of loans;
- Generous matching program for employee volunteerism.
Young Smith has been running the HR function at Apple since February, and has been making her mark. The latest plan enrichment was cleverly "leaked," with the emailed memo going straight to the computer of a Fortune Magazine reporter to ensure widespread publicity around the announcement.
"We know how hard all of you are working: from the teams designing, producing, launching, and supporting our incredible products to the thousands of retail employees sharing the excitement and experience face to face with our customers every day," she said in the memo. "Because we want to make sure you get the support you need, we're excited to introduce significant changes to our global well-being programs for both part-time and full-time employees."
Recommended For You
Apple not only bolstered existing benefits, like its maternity leave, but extended benefits to employees who previously hadn't enjoyed them, such as part-timers.
The donation match was particularly expansive. Here's how Young Smith described it in the memo:
"Giving back is something that's important to so many of us. Since the Apple Matching Gifts Program began, Apple has matched over $25 million of employees' charitable contributions. Now we're going to help you do even more for causes that are important to you — by expanding the Apple Matching Gifts Program to all Apple employees around the world and by donating money to causes where you volunteer your time."
The new philanthropy policy, Fortune reported, will "match employees for their time spent on philanthropic endeavors, not just money. To that end, the company will match up to $25 per hour of non-profit work for a total cap of $10,000 per employee."
Young Smith also discussed the corporate wellness center at the campus in Cupertino, California, where, she told Fortune, more than 43,000 employees have already visited for physician appointments. The center is home base to seven primary care clinicians with whom employees can schedule check-ups and other routine medical procedures. She said Apple plans to open similar clinics elsewhere throughout its empire.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
