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Paid Parental Leave Policy

Purpose/Objective

Central College will provide up to 5 days of paid parental leave to employees following the birth of an employee’s child.  This benefit will provide compensation for the short-term disability waiting period for the mother and will run concurrently with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, if applicable.

Eligibility

Eligible employees include:

  • A full-time, regular status employee. Parental leave eligibility begins the first day of the month following the date of hire.
  • An employee who has given birth to a child.
  • A spouse or committed partner of a person who has given birth to a child.

Amount, Time, and Duration of Paid Parental Leave

  • Eligible employees will receive a maximum of 5 days of paid parental leave per birth. The fact that a multiple birth (e.g., the birth of twins) does not increase the 5 days total amount of paid parental leave granted for that event. In addition, an employee in not able to receive more than 5 days of paid parental leave in a rolling 12-month period, regardless of whether more than one birth occurs within that 12-month time.
  • Paid parental leave is compensated at 100 percent of the employee’s regular, straight-time weekly pay. Paid parental leave will be paid on regularly scheduled pay dates.
  • This leave is in addition to any needed short-term disability or Family Medical Leave and is non-medical leave provided for transition and bonding time. This leave should be scheduled with as much advance notice as is practical and must be taken in consecutive days within 30 days of the birth of the child. Intermittent leave is not available. Any unused paid parental leave will be forfeited at the end of the 30 days.
  • Employees who desire additional bonding time can take unpaid leave (under the terms of Family Medical Leave) or use vacation time. In the event of a female employee who herself has given birth; the 5 days of paid parental leave will commence during the elimination period prior to short-term disability leave/benefit provided to the employee for the employee’s own medical recovery following childbirth.
    • Upon termination of the individual’s employment at the company, he or she will not be paid for any unused paid parental leave for which he or she was eligible.

Coordination with Other Policies

  • Paid parental leave taken under this policy will run concurrently with leave under the FMLA; thus, any leave taken under this policy that falls under the definition of circumstances qualifying for leave due to the birth of a child due to the leave will be counted toward the 12 weeks of available FMLA leave per a 12-month period. All other requirements and provisions under the FMLA will apply. The total amount of leave—whether paid or unpaid—granted to the employee under the FMLA is not to exceed 12 weeks during the 12-month FMLA period. Please refer to the Family and Medical Leave Policy for further guidance.
  • After the paid parental leave (and any short-term disability leave for employees giving birth) is exhausted, the balance of FMLA leave (if applicable) will be compensated through employees’ sick and vacation time. Upon exhaustion of sick or vacation time, any remaining leave will be unpaid leave. Please refer to the Family and Medical Leave Policy for further guidance on the FMLA.
  • The college will maintain all benefits for employees during the paid parental leave period just as if they were taking any other college-paid leave.
  • If a college holiday occurs while the employee is on paid parental leave, such day will be charged to holiday pay, and they will be entitled to 5 full days of paid parental leave.
  • Administrative leave will not extend the paid parental leave entitlement.
  • An employee who takes paid parental leave who does not qualify for FMLA leave will be afforded the same level of job protection for the period that the employee is on paid parental leave as if the employee was on FMLA-qualifying leave.
  • Please refer to the Adoption Benefit Policy for additional information about other employee benefits related to the adoption process. As per the policy, the college will pay for a maximum of four (4) weeks of adoption leave for eligible employees.

Requests for Paid Parental Leave

  • The employee will provide his or her supervisor and the human resource department with a notice of the request for leave at least 30 days prior to the proposed date of the leave (or if the leave was not foreseeable, as soon as possible). The employee must complete the necessary HR forms and provide all documentation as required by the HR department to substantiate the request.
  • As is the case with all college policies, the organization has the exclusive right to interpret this policy.