Charter Communications said virtually all of its current and newly hired salaried employees now earn at least $18 per hour, a key milestone in its commitment to raise its minimum starting wage to $20 per hour by 2022. 

Charter said in April it planned to raise its minimum wage from $15 per hour (which it established in 2018) to $20 per hour by 2022,  with annual increases of $1.50 an hour to $16.50 in 2020 and to $18 in 2021. 

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“Charter is a place where employees can continuously learn and progress in their development,” chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge said in a press release. “Building, selling and servicing an advanced broadband network, conventional and streaming video, with fixed and wireless mobile products for home and business, creates ongoing career opportunities.”

The company said it is currently hiring for nearly 3,000 positions across its 41-state service area that feature the $18 starting wage. Candidates can learn more about open positions and apply online at the company’s careers site at jobs.spectrum.com.

Charter has about 96,000 employees across the country and said in addition to its highly competitive starting wages, these employees receive comprehensive health benefits, and for the past eight years, Charter has absorbed the full annual cost increase of medical, dental and vision coverage.

The company also offers a 401(k) retirement plan that matches the first 6% of employee contributions, plus a Retirement Accumulation Plan with an additional 3% company contribution, for which most employees are eligible. Charter employees can also receive up to $5,250 per year in education assistance, as well as complimentary and discounted Spectrum services.

The Walt Disney Co. announced that 125,000 employees will receive a one-time $1,000 bonus.

The company also said it will spend $50 million to launch a new education program designed to cover tuition for hourly employees.

“I am proud we are directing approximately $125 million to our cast members and employees across the country and making higher education more accessible with the launch of this new program,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said. “I have always believed that education is the key to opportunity; it opens doors and creates new possibilities. Matched with the $1,000 cash bonus, these initiatives will have both an immediate and long-term positive impact.”

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Disney said that nearly 88,000 hourly employees will be eligible for the new education program and can utilize the program to make an impactful investment in their future.

With this new plan, participants can pursue qualifying higher education or vocational training, including courses unrelated to their current responsibilities at Disney.

By creating new opportunities for those who wish to continue their education, employees can advance in their current roles or support their long-term career aspirations. After the initial investment of $50 million, Disney will provide up to $25 million in annual funding going forward.

The Disney employees getting the $1,000 bonuses are those based in the U.S. who have been with the company since Jan. 1. The bonus will come in two payments, one in March and one in September.

Discovery Communications has expanded its employee leave benefits, extending paid parental leave to 12 weeks and offering the same benefit to employees who act as family caregivers.

The new benefits will kick in on Jan. 1, 2017, Discovery said, adding that they place the programmer "among a small number of companies choosing to enhance paid family leave in the U.S., where the absence of national regulation has made America the only industrialized nation in the world without requirements for the benefit."

Across the U.S., only 13 percent of people have access to paid family leave, according to parental leave advocacy group MomsRising. Moreover, among new mothers who work, 33 percent take no formal leave at all, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

“These paid family leave benefits further our commitment to support employees both at work and at home, where we want to ensure they have the flexibility to spend the time they need -- and deserve -- with their families during important periods of transition,” said Adria Alpert Romm, chief human resources and global diversity officer. “This new policy marks a proud moment for Discovery and is something we hope will retain and attract great talent for many years to come."

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The paid parental leave benefit applies to mothers and fathers in cases of birth, adoption or foster care placement and stretches what is currently four weeks of leave paid at 100% to 12 weeks. In some cases, employees can further extend their parental leave by combining it with short-term disability leave and up to two weeks of vacation.

In terms of maternity leave, that means the total benefit now maxes out at 20-22 consecutive weeks, while total paternity leave now maxes out at 14 consecutive weeks.

The new paid caregiver leave benefit expands the definition of "family" beyond children, spouses and parents to qualified domestic partners, siblings, parents-in-law and grandparents, Discovery said.

Employees who serve as caregivers to a qualified family member in need -- "whether aging, ill or otherwise impacted by a serious health condition," Discovery said -- will now also qualify for 12 weeks of paid leave. With an option to add up to two weeks of vacation time, caregiver leave will max out at 14 consecutive weeks.

The new parental and caregiver leave policy allows employees to take their weeks consecutively or divide them up as needed over the course of a 12-month period.

Discovery said the new leave policy joins other "family-focused benefits" already available to its more than 3,000 U.S. employees, including an adoption and surrogacy assistance program offering up to $10,000 reimbursement for adoption- and surrogacy-related expenses; an on-site childcare facility at corporate headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.; and onsite wellness centers for employees and their dependents across a number of U.S. office locations.

Discovery Communications has been ranked in the top 20 -- 17th place, specifically -- in a listing of Best Places to Work for New Dads by digital lifestyle website Fatherly.com, which looked at companies that are leading the way in recognizing how family structures have changed.

"More companies are waking up to the fact that the role of dad has evolved dramatically since the last generation," Fatherly.com co-founder Simon Isaacs said, noting that as millennial men become fathers, they are more engaged in raising their kids than previous generations of dads.

"Today, 59% of families with kids have two working parents, and this report reflects how companies are recognizing and adapting to the changing dynamics of traditional parenting roles," Isaacs added.

Discovery, which has more than 7.000 employees worldwide, was selected for a number of family-friendly benefits ranging from on-site child care to concierge services. It was the only cable-related company on the list.

“I’m proud to work for Discovery for a number of reasons, among which is the emphasis it places on having happy, healthy employees,” said Larry Laque, a Discovery dad and EVP of global real estate and facilities. “It takes a continued, conscious effort to try to find work-life balance, and the resources that Discovery offers its employees are hugely helpful in that quest.”

Here's a look at the kind of family-friendly benefits, services and resources that could put your company on one of next year's Best Places to Work lists.

1-Offer paid paternity. Discovery's dads get four weeks, a respectable middle ground among the companies on the list; at the high end, No. 2 Facebook's fathers get a whopping 17 weeks, while a number of the picks provide only one week. Another option practiced by some of the companies gives dads who are primary caregivers extra paid leave.

2-Provide on-site child care. For working parents, that means no worries about who's dropping off the baby or who's picking up the baby or how the baby's doing today. At its Silver Spring, Md., headquarters campus, Discovery's Childcare Center is at full capacity with 103 kids enrolled.

3-Provide on-site health care. As Fatherly.com noted, employees can "see doctors without taking personal days to do it." And making it easier for employees to stay healthy -- e.g., get flu shots -- has reverberating effects at work and at home. Discovery has on-site Wellness Centers at its campuses in Miami, Fla.; New York, Silver Spring; Sterling, Va.; and London. Its U.S. centers had more than 16,000 patients visits in 2014.

4-Eliminate errands. Offering on-site amenities frees up employees to get more out of their downtime. Discovery provides a wide range of personal concierge services, including dry cleaning.

5-Offer adoption subsidies. Cost is a major hurdle for parents wishing to adopt; supporting their efforts sends a strong family-friendly message. Discovery provides a $10,000 subsidy per child.

6-Champion your working care givers. This can take the form of benefits, services or even just acknowledgement. Discovery provides back-up child care and elder care services, giving employees a go-to resource when things at home go awry. It also supports a global employee resource group, the Discovery Family Forum, dedicated to working parents, with more than 200 moms and dads participating.

7-Throw a party. Discovery puts on a big to-do across its U.S. offices for Take Your Child to Work Day, hosting its own Annual Kids Day of arty, scientific, "curious fun."