Microsoft will require US suppliers to provide a minimum of 15 days paid time off per year for eligible employees, according to a blog post today by Brad Smith, general counsel and executive VP of legal and corporate affairs.

“Over the past year there has been increasing debate about income inequality and the challenges facing working people and families,” Smith wrote. “While this is often discussed as a general topic, at times individuals have raised pertinent questions for companies in the tech sector, including Microsoft. This has led us to step back and think anew about the types of benefits policies we want to have with our suppliers.”

Microsoft will require suppliers to provide 10 days of paid vacation and five days of paid sick leave or 15 days of unrestricted paid time off.

The policy will apply to suppliers with 50 or more employees in the US, and will apply to their US employees who worked for them for more than nine months, or 1,500 hours, who perform substantial work for Microsoft.

“We recognize that this approach will not reach all employees at all of our suppliers, but it will apply to a great many,” Smith wrote.

The company intends to work with suppliers to make this change over the next 12 months, but Smith acknowledged this may result in higher costs. “We appreciate that this may ultimately result in increased costs for Microsoft, and we’ll put a process in place for addressing these issues with our suppliers,” he wrote.

Many suppliers already offer strong benefits packages, but the company does not have data on how many do or don’t provide paid time off, according to the blog post.

Separately, last July, Microsoft imposed a new restriction to 18 months of access to Microsoft buildings and the corporate network on those who do work for the company through vendors or temp agencies. After the 18-month time period, such workers are blocked from returning for six months.