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Parental Leave is an extended period of time away from work with benefits to those employees who become parents through childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement.

• Available to all faculty members (temporary, regular part-time, tenure track, and tenured) who have met the FMLA criteria...one year/1250 hours worked.
• May request up to ten (10) consecutive scheduled work days, using paid sick leave (accrued sick or donated from the Sick Leave Bank) during an otherwise unpaid parental leave.
• No such leave shall be granted beyond one (1) year from the date of birth, of assuming custody of an adopted child, or of placement of a foster child.

Employees who have no leave entitlement or have a very limited amount of paid leave to use may be eligible for unpaid leave up to 12 weeks with ACA benefits and job rights for pregnancy-related conditions. Please contact Benefits Services of the Office of Human Resources for further guidance and assistance.

Because pregnancy is a serious health condition, employees should request parental leave as soon as it is known it will be used.

1. Review the FMLA Notice to Faculty and Employee Rights and Responsibilities under the FMLA.
2. Complete the Request for FMLA Leave form. Please indicate plans for extended leave following the birth/adoption/foster care placement of the child, including the amount of Annual Leave or Unpaid Leave to be used.
3. Have your healthcare provider complete the Certification Form for Employee Serious Health Condition. (Note: Healthcare providers may charge a fee to complete forms necessary for FMLA certification.)
4. Return both completed forms to the Office of Human Resources, c/o Benefits Manager, for review at least 30 days prior to your due date. A designation notice will be sent to you with approval determination and further instructions on leave continuation.
5. Submit a Release to Return to Work form from your healthcare provider to your supervisor and the Office of Human Resources upon release to return to work by your physician.
6. Entry into ESS is not required by the employee.

For adoption or foster care placement, Parental Leave begins once custody/placement begins, except when required for prior legal proceedings.

1. Review the FMLA Notice to Faculty and Employee Rights and Responsibilities under FMLA.
2. Complete the Request for FMLA Leave form, signed by your dean and/or chair. Please indicate plans for extended leave following the birth/adoption/foster care placement of the child, including the amount of Annual Leave or Unpaid Leave to be used.
3. Return the completed form to the Office of Human Resources, c/o Benefits Manager, for review at least 30 days prior to adoption/placement. A designation notice will be sent to you with approval determination and further instructions on leave continuation.
4. Entry into ESS is not required by the employee.

This will depend on individual circumstances and the supporting medical documentation completed by the health care provider.

Should your doctor deem it medically necessary for you to stop working prior to childbirth, this is considered Sick Leave and may be covered under FMLA. Employees with less than one (1) year of service may only request to use Sick Leave that has been earned to date. Employees with more than one (1) year of service may request to use Sick Leave that is expected to be earned in the current leave calendar year. Your doctor will need to provide supporting medical documentation, which should be submitted to the Office of Human Resources. Please contact Benefits Services of the Office of Human Resources for further guidance and assistance.

For adoption or foster care placement, leave begins once custody/placement begins, except when required for prior legal proceedings.

1. If adding the child to your healthcare, the employee should complete the and bring it to the Office of Human Resources with the original birth certificate/adoption papers/foster care papers within 60 days of birth.
2. To add voluntary group life coverage for your new child, complete the and the on the .
3. For childbirth, submit updated medical documentation to the Office of Human Resources regarding your postpartum recovery period and expected release to return to full-time work date.

Remember: You may also want to update your beneficiary information for your basic group life insurance policy, voluntary group life insurance policy, and/or retirement accounts.

This will depend on individual circumstances and available paid leave. Once available paid leave has been exhausted, the remaining time off from work will be unpaid leave. Any remaining unused FMLA entitlement will apply. Please contact Benefits Services of the Office of Human Resources for further guidance and assistance.

Please refer to the FMLA Notice to Faculty section titled “Absences After 12 Weeks of FMLA Absence.”

• Regular Faculty Members may request an extension up to nine (9) months of leave without pay (LWOP) absence.
• Temporary faculty members or regular part time faculty members may request an extension up to fourteen (14) weeks of leave without pay (LWOP) or the remainder of their appointment, whichever is less.
• Faculty members must request the LWOP in writing, and for sick or family care reasons, proof of the need for continuing absence must be provided on the Serious Health Condition Certification form. Note: Only one occasion within a rolling year will be approved.
• LWOP extensions cannot be used on an intermittent or reduced time basis.

Please refer to the FMLA Notice to Faculty section titled “Benefits Continuation Information.”

• Annual (if applicable), sick, and personal leave continue to accrue based on regular hours paid.
• Medical benefits and group life insurance benefits through the State System will continue during the 12 weeks of an FMLA absence and the first 14 weeks of extended leave without pay (LWOP), as long as the faculty member continues to pay any employee share of premiums. Missed premiums will be billed by the central office of the State System. A faculty member must contact their University Human Resource office to add any new dependents to the medical benefits within 60 days of birth or assuming custody of a child
• In accordance with the Affordable Care Act, a faculty member may be eligible to enroll in the State System's ACA health plan upon the expiration of the 14-week benefit-eligible period of extended leave without pay and during the 13-week LWOP for faculty with less than one year of employment. The ACA health plan is the Highmark PPO plan, which includes prescription drug coverage. The cost of the ACA PPO plan is not subsidized by the State System. If you elect coverage in this plan, you will be paying the full plan cost.