Staff Paid Parental Leave

Guidelines and Procedures

In addition to the Staff Paid Parental leave the University provides family leave to all employees in accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

If any questions arise which are not covered by this guideline or previous published statements interpreting our policy, the University reserves the right to make any necessary interpretation which shall be conclusive for purposes of resolving the question.

General Provisions

Pregnancy, Childbirth or Adoption Leave

Appointed staff members may have up to ten weeks of paid parental leave, during pregnancy and the first year after birth or adoption of a child, whether because of a pregnancy-related disability or for child care. In cases where the birth mother is taking Parental Leave, the paid leave will always be in conjunction with the 60% Core Short Term Disability Benefit. Employees who have completed less than one year of appointed, benefit-eligible service would receive 1/3 paid leave and the remaining 2/3 would be paid by the employee drawing first upon unused sick accrual and then vacation accrual. Appointed, benefit-eligible employees who have completed between one and two years of service would receive 2/3 paid leave and the remaining 1/3 would be paid by the employee drawing first upon unused sick accrual and then vacation accrual. Employees who have two years or more of service would receive full paid leave without drawing upon unused sick or vacation accruals.

Eligibility

All appointed employees are eligible to receive up to ten weeks of paid parental leave, (if an employee elects to take their 12 weeks as eligible under Federal Law those additional two weeks would be unpaid, or the employee could use their sick and vacation accrual to cover those additional two weeks).

Notification

Whenever possible, staff intending to take a leave should inform their supervisor or department head no later than three months prior to the proposed beginning of leave, if this is not possible because of pre-term delivery, sudden availability of adoption, or other unpredictable changes in family status, leave will still be granted.

Simultaneous Leave

If both parents are employed by the University of Denver, either may take the leave, but not both. Paid and unpaid leave may not be taken simultaneously unless there are documented medical reasons requiring both parents to be absent.

Employee Status After Leave

A staff member who takes Parental Leave will be able to return to the same job or a job with equivalent status, pay, benefits and other employment terms.

At the end of a Parental Leave, the employee must return to work at the same status that he/she was in prior to going on leave for at least 30 calendar days (to include not using vacation time within these 30 days). If the employee chooses not to return to work for reasons other than a continued serious health condition, the University will require the employee to reimburse the University the amount it paid for the employee's health insurance premium and paid parental leave during the leave period.

How to Apply

1. Leave of Absence Request must be submitted to your immediate supervisor with a copy to the Human Resources Office.
2. Doctor or Health Care Provider must complete the Certification of Health Care Provider and submit a copy to both the Supervisor and Human Resources.
3. If leave is to be intermittent, come up with a scheduling agreement with your supervisor.
4. A completed Leave of Absence Request Form must be completed and forwarded to Human Resources. Please attach pay leave schedule.
5. A short-term disability claim must be filed when the leave of absence is more than two weeks and is for an employee's own serious health condition.

(See Forms -- Family & Medical Leave Forms)

For more detailed guidelines please refer to the Family and Medical Leave Act Understanding Your Rights and University of Denver Guidelines.

Parental Leave Pay Schedules

A breakdown of how your sick/vacation time, parental leave benefit and short-term disability benefit work together is detailed in this Parental leave pay schedule (pdf).