PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY

 

The University is committed to supporting its staff with parental leave for eligible employees who temporarily relinquish their duties following childbirth or adoption, in a manner consistent with its educational mission and the effective operation of the University.  This policy is designed to provide a reasonable and fair period of paid leave to such employees. 

 

Paid Parental Leave

 

Except as otherwise provided below, the University will provide eight (8) consecutive weeks of paid parental leave to each birth mother or new adoptive mother who is a full-time member of its staff (full-time voting faculty should refer to the Eligible Faculty Parental Leave Policy) and who temporarily relinquishes the duties of her position following childbirth or adoption.  This parental leave will be provided immediately following the birth of a child or adoption of a pre-school age child, beginning at the time of arrival of the child and running consecutively, except in extraordinary circumstances (such as, but not limited to, medical complications for the mother or child) where other leave timing is approved by the Director of Human Resources.

Note:  This policy presumes that the mother of a child will be the primary caregiver; however, if an eligible staff member is not the mother but is the primary caregiver for a child, that staff member may use this parental leave.

 

Eligible staff not assuming primary caregiver responsibilities for their newborn and newly adopted pre-school age children are eligible for two weeks of paid parental leave to be taken within the first three months following the birth of a child or the adoption of a pre-school age child.

 

For academic year appointments, in the event of a childbirth or adoption occurring during the summer months (June, July, August) to an eligible staff member, this paid parental leave will only apply for any balance of the eight (8) weeks that the staff member would otherwise have been expected to be back to academic term duties (i.e., if the employee gives birth or adopts two weeks before the start of the fall term, she would receive six (6) weeks of paid parental leave beginning at the start of the fall term, but if the employee gives birth or adopts 10 weeks before the start of the fall term, she would not need the benefit of paid parental leave during the term, as she would not otherwise be losing any salary during the eight (8) weeks following the birth or adoption).  

 

This policy is independent of the University’s paid sick leave benefit. However, paid parental leave will not extend unpaid leave available under the University's Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) policy.  Rather, such paid leave will run concurrently with any FMLA leave available under the circumstances, as designated by the Director of Human Resources.  Nothing in this policy precludes the eligible staff member from taking any remaining unpaid FMLA leave following the expiration of the University's paid parental leave, in accordance with the University's FMLA policy.

 

This policy is equally applicable to members of the eligible staff who are in a domestic partner relationship.  In such cases, there must be a legally recognized and enforceable joint adoption relationship between the eligible staff member, the domestic partner, and the child, in order to take parental leave under this policy.

  

Eligible staff must request parental leave in writing to their supervisor ninety (90) days in advance of the requested leave start date (or as early as possible in the planning phase of an adoption process). The Director of Human Resources must approve staff requests for parental leave.

 

i:/w&lpolicies/final/staffparentalleave.may2004.doc