Group: Let Credit Unions Reimburse Board Members for Childcare

Many credit unions are trying to attract younger people to their boardrooms — but, frankly, not so young as to require playing “Bluey” during their meetings.

The trade group America’s Credit Unions sent a letter Tuesday asking the NCUA to drop a prohibition against credit unions reimbursing board members for childcare during meetings.

Greg Mesack, America’s Credit Unions’ SVP of advocacy, said Tuesday that the rule stems from “an old, outdated” NCUA legal opinion from the 1990s and common sense should guide the NCUA to change the rule.

NCUA spokesman Joseph Adamoli said the agency had no comment on the request. He said any change in a rule requires the NCUA to follow the customary process to include a public notice, comment period and NCUA Board approval.

In the four-page letter, Luke Martone, senior director of advocacy and counsel at America’s Credit Unions, asked the NCUA to explicitly permit reimbursement for the cost of childcare when it is necessary to attend a board meeting. Doing so supports the efforts of credit unions to bring in younger people as part of succession planning, and increase diversity, equity and inclusion on their boards.

Credit unions’ commitment is “evident in the prevalence and increasing percentage of women, not only in senior level positions, but also at the board level. This is a testament to the work of our industry to achieve greater gender equity in leadership,” Martone wrote.

“To attract new talent, people with young children should be afforded the opportunity to more easily participate on a credit union board with appropriate reimbursement for their childcare expenses,” he wrote.

Martone said the board has the authority to change the rule, and should also apply the changes to care of adults who depend on the board member’s care.

The 1992 legal opinion, which was affirmed by another opinion in 1999, noted that “many credit unions accommodate volunteer officials by scheduling meetings at times that are the least disruptive to work or childcare schedules.”

Martone said many credit unions schedule board meetings in the evenings or on weekends.

“However, this does not resolve childcare concerns,” he wrote. “In fact, that is precisely when childcare would be needed for most volunteers as this falls outside of the standard hours for daycares or other paid caregiver services.”

“We must remember these are volunteers,” he wrote. “In order to attract and retain the next generation of board members, it is critical that the NCUA embrace modernization of its rules and regulations, particularly when such changes are clearly within the Board’s authority under the FCU Act.”