For
more information, please refer to the APSCUF Collective
Bargaining Agreement, Article 18 Leaves of Absences/Section G: Parental Leave or Section H: Childrearing Leave or call the Office of Human Resources..
What is Parental Leave?
Parental Leave is an extended period of time away from work
with benefits (without pay) to those employees who become parents
through childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement.
No unpaid parental leave may 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.
How do I request a Parental Leave for a pregnancy and/or the birth of a child?
How do I request a Parental Leave for adoption or foster care?
For adoption or foster care placement, Parental Leave begins
once custody/placement begins, except when required for prior legal
proceedings.
- Review the PASSHE Parental Leave Notice to Faculty, PASSHE FMLA Notice to Faculty and Employee Rights and Responsibilities under FMLA.
- 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 amount of
Annual Leave or Unpaid Leave to be used.
- 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.
- Entry
into ESS is not required by the employee.
Can I take time off work prior to the birth/adoption/foster care placement?
Yes—if approved by your supervisor and HR—Annual Leave can
be used. This will not be covered by FMLA.
However, if your doctor finds it medically necessary for you
to stop working prior to childbirth, this is considered Sick Leave. 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 needs to
provide medical documentation, which should be submitted to the Office of Human
Resources.
For adoption or foster care placement, leave begins once
custody/placement begins, except when required for prior legal proceedings.
What do I need to do once my child is born/legally adopted/placed in my care?
- If
adding the child to your healthcare, the employee should complete
the Medical Enrollment Change Form and
bring it to the Office of Human Resources with the original birth
certificate/adoption papers/foster care papers within 60 days of
birth.
- To add
voluntary group life coverage for your new child, complete the VGLI
Enrollment form on the PASSHE VGLIP website.
- For
childbirth, submit updated medical documentation to the Office of Human
Resources regarding your post-partum recovery period and expected release
to return to full-time work date.
Remember: You may want to also update
your beneficiary information for your basic group life insurance policy,
voluntary group life insurance policy, and/or retirement accounts.
Can I take a longer leave than what my doctor ordered after the birth of my child?
Yes—if approved by your dean/chair and HR—Annual Leave can
be used. Once all Annual Leave is
exhausted (Annual Leave not available for nine-month faculty), the remaining time off work will be unpaid leave. The remainder of
approved 12 weeks of FMLA will apply.
Faculty are permitted to take up to six (6) months of parental leave without pay. At the discretion of the university, at the end of the initial six (6)-month parental leave without pay entitlement, an extension of parental leave without pay may be granted.
Subject to management's approval, faculty members may use leave in an intermittent or reduced time basis at any time before the initial six (6)-month parental leave without pay entitlement expires.
For more information on unpaid leave, please refer to
the APSCUF Collective Bargaining
Agreement, Article
18 Leaves of Absences/Section G: Parental Leave or Section H: Childrearing Leave or call the Office of
Human Resources.