Parental Leave
What Is Parental Leave?
Parental Leave, is paid leave that provides employees time to bond with a child following the birth of a child or placement of a child under the age of 18, with the employee for adoption or foster care. Parental leave also allows adoptive and foster parents to attend post-placement court proceedings and mandatory meetings related to the placement.
Eligibility
Legal parents, adoptive parents, and foster parents who:
- have an active and on-going role in parenting the child;
- are in a leave earning position on the date of the qualifying event; and
- have worked for the state for 12 months and at least 1250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the date parental leave begins.
Duration of Leave
A full-time employee may be granted up to six weeks (240 hours) of parental leave during the twelve-week (84 day) period following a qualifying event. The number of hours an eligible part-time employee may be granted will vary depending on their work schedule.
Paid Leave
Employees are entitled to compensation at the rate of 100% of their base pay while on parental leave, without deduction to eligible employee’s annual, sick, or compensatory leave balances.
How Do I Request Parental Leave?
Employees may request Parental Leave by completing and submitting Parental Leave Request/Certification Form. In addition to the request form, you may be required to produce acceptable proof in support of your request, such as a birth certificate or insurance certificate confirming your relationship to the child for whom Parental Leave is requested or proof of attendance at court proceedings or other mandated meetings related to adoption or foster placement.
Request for leave should be made at least 30 days prior to your leave start date to ensure that your leave will be properly recorded. If the leave is unforeseeable, notify your supervisor and the university’s Senior Benefits/ADA Coordinator as soon as possible about your need for leave.
Supervisors receiving a notification or any updates from an employee regarding a pare ntal leave qualifying event, must notify the University’s Senior Benefits/ADA Coordinator so that the leave can be properly administered.