Parental Leave Policy

Revised July 2018

This policy applies to all full-time Administrative Faculty, Teaching Faculty and Staff, after one (1) full year of employment at the College.

Employees who meet the eligibility criteria may receive up to twelve (12) weeks of paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Paid parental leave is available only during the period the faculty or staff member is normally scheduled to work. For the purpose of this policy, a week is considered to be five (5) business days.

If an employee is medically unable to return to work at the end of a paid parental leave, the Paid Sick Leave and/or Intermediate Term benefits will apply. Any parental leave time will run concurrently with any eligible Family Medical Leave.

An employee is expected to notify in writing their immediate supervisor and the Director of Human Resources, as early as possible, requesting paid parental leave and stating the approximate date leave is expected to begin and end.

Parental Leave, Primary Caregiver

This leave is available to full-time employees after completing one (1) calendar year of full-time service.

Eligible employees, upon notification of the need for leave, will receive up to twelve (12) weeks of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a dependent child. Paid leave is provided for the primary caregiver during the period when the employee is normally scheduled to work.

Teaching Faculty members will, upon written request to the Academic Dean, receive a release from teaching, advising and research duties for the full semester of their leave. Should the leave cross into two (2) semesters, the request may be made for unpaid release, outside of the twelve (12) paid weeks, for the full academic year. Tenure clock, upon request to the Academic Dean, will be extended during the period of release received.

Teaching faculty who return to work, but are not scheduled to teach classes during the respective semester, will be asked to perform the other duties outlined in the job description for a teaching faculty member.

Staff and Administrative Faculty members may request an additional four (4) weeks of unpaid leave, following the twelve (12) paid weeks, to total sixteen (16) weeks of leave. If available, Staff members may also choose to use Personal Time per the Paid Personal Time Policy (Part I: Section 14 of the Handbook) or accrued sick time may be used by Staff following the Paid Sick Time policy (Part I: Section 15 of the Handbook). Neither paid sick time or personal time can be used to extend Staff leave beyond sixteen (16) total weeks.

Faculty and Staff may utilize accrued vacation time, with their supervisor’s approval, to extend their time off with pay.

An employee is expected to notify in writing their immediate supervisor and the Director of Human Resources as early as possible, requesting paid parental leave and stating the approximate date leave is expected to begin and end.

In the event of a birth or adoption where both the primary and secondary caregivers are employed by Earlham, the parents will share a total of fourteen (14) weeks of paid leave and the increment for each may be determined by the parents.

Parental Leave, Secondary Caregiver

This leave is available to full-time employees after completing one (1) calendar year of full-time service. Eligible employees, upon notification of the need for leave, will receive up to ten (10) days of paid parental leave for birth or adoption of a dependent child. Paid leave is provided for the secondary caregiver during the period when the employee is normally scheduled to work.

An employee is expected to notify in writing their immediate supervisor and the Director of Human Resources as early as possible, requesting paid leave and stating the approximate date leave is expected to begin and end. Proposed changes must be submitted to the Director of Human Resources and are subject to the approval of the employees’ direct supervisors.

Family Medical Leave

According to the Family Medical Leave Act, an unpaid leave of absence of up to twelve (12) weeks is available to full-time faculty and staff after completing one (1) calendar year of full-time service. Earlham, however, provides eligible faculty and staff with a portion of this time as paid. Eligible employees will receive up to ten (10) days of paid Family Medical Leave in the event of a serious accident, illness or death within the faculty or staff member’s immediate family. A maximum of ten (10) days is available within two (2) fiscal years; the faculty or staff member must work for at least two (2) calendar months after utilizing Family Medical Leave.

Eligible faculty and staff members wishing to utilize a Family Medical Leave should submit a request in writing to the Human Resources Director. Family Medical Leave runs concurrently with any other leave time and does not extend the eligible time off.

Benefits may be continued during a paid family or parental leave provided the employee pays their portion of elected benefit costs. Benefits costs will be equivalent to the employee cost in effect before the leave began. Any College premium changes will be as if the leave had not occurred. If the family or parental leave is extended under another type of leave, continuation of benefits will be determined by the provisions of the applicable leave. Benefits during a period of leave should be coordinated with the Director of Human Resources.