TAP No. 23: Leaves of Absence: Family and Medical Leave, Maternity Leave, Parental Leave, and Personal Leave 

Scope

This policy applies to all eligible (hereafter defined) University employees, and is effective January 1, 2020.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to identify and define leave available to eligible University employees for reasons protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as related paid maternity and parental leave, and personal leaves of absence.

I. Family and Medical Leave Overview

In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA"), and as amended in June 2010, Duquesne University will provide unpaid, job-protected leave time to all full-time and qualified part-time employees for eligible family and medical needs based on the following:

  1. Employees must have been employed for at least 12 months.
  2. Employees will have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in the immediately preceding 12 months.
  3. Leave will be granted for the following reasons:
    1. An illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition of the employee which requires in-patient care or continuing treatment by a physician and which makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the job. This includes leave related to a pregnancy for prenatal care, birth of a child and any related serious health condition.
    2. To care for a family member, defined as a spouse, qualified child, parent, covered servicemember or covered veteran, who has an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves in-patient care or continuing treatment by a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy or other health care provider.
    3. Family leave after the birth of a qualified child (leave must be taken within 12 months after the date of birth).
    4. Placement of a child with an employee for adoption or foster care (leave must be taken within 12 months after placement), including events and activities that are necessary prior to the placement of the child.
    5. A qualifying exigency, as defined by the Department of Labor, arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.
    6. Care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin with illness or injury incurred in the line of duty while in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard or Reserves.
  4. Duration of FMLA

    An eligible employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a calendar year for reasons described in a, b, c, d, and e above. An eligible employee may take up to 26 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave during a calendar year to care for an injured or ill service member as described in f above. Leave to care for an injured or ill service member, when combined with other FMLA qualifying leave, may not exceed 26 weeks in a calendar year.

    Eligible spouses who both work for the University are limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA family leave in the 12-month period following birth, adoption or placement of the child.
  5. Use of Leave - Continuous or Intermittent
    1. Medical Leave

      In addition to continuous leave, when there is a qualified medical necessity, FMLA leave as described above may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. Intermittent leave is FMLA leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason. Intermittent leave may be used for yourself or to care for a family member. If an employee needs leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the University's operations.
    2. Family Leave

      Non-medical leave in connection with the birth, adoption or placement of a child is to be taken on a continuous basis, unless the department expressly agrees to an intermittent leave schedule.
  6. The total amount of FMLA leave, whether paid or unpaid, granted to the employee may not exceed 12 weeks during the 12-month FMLA period.

II. FMLA Benefits to the Employee

  1. Eligible employees are entitled to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any calendar year. (Up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during a calendar year to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin with illness or injury incurred in the line of duty while in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard or Reserves.)
  2. Health care coverage shall continue under the same conditions that it would have if the employee had not taken a leave. The employee is responsible for the reimbursement to the University for all health benefit costs if he or she fails to return to work at the expiration of the leave. Employees are responsible for their portion of medical or other insurance costs that would have been deducted from their pay had they not been on leave.
  3. An employee returning from Family or Medical Leave will be restored to the same or equivalent position, and the taking of leave will not result in a loss of any benefits which had accrued before the leave commenced. Vacation and/or sick time will not accrue during any paid or unpaid leave that is more than 12 weeks in duration.

III. Paid Maternity Leave

All full-time faculty, staff, and graduate doctoral students on a paid assistantship, who are the birth parent and have been employed for at least 6 months with the University, are eligible for 4 consecutive weeks of 100% paid maternity leave to be used immediately following the birth of a child. This leave will run concurrently with any applicable Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave under Section I of this policy. Birth parents may also be eligible for additional paid leave pursuant to TAP No. 15 (Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability) and/or TAP No. 17 (Vacation).

IV. Paid Parental Leave

  1. All full-time faculty, staff, and graduate doctoral students on paid assistantships, who have been employed with the University for at least 6 months are eligible for 2 consecutive weeks of 100% paid parental leave that must be used continuously within 12 months of the birth or placement of a child for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship. The purpose of paid parental leave is to enable the employee to care for and bond with a newborn or a newly adopted or newly placed child. This paid leave will run concurrently with any applicable Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave under Section I of this policy and is to be used in a single block of time.

    Paid parental leave is available to the birth parent in addition to paid maternity leave.

V. Departmental Procedures and Requirements

Once the employee or the employee's supervisor or Human Resource representative identifies the need for Family Medical Leave, Maternity Leave or Parental Leave, the Disability Claims Manager in the Office of Human Resources should be contacted and the appropriate forms should be requested. If the employee and the supervisor are unsure if the circumstance qualifies for Family Medical Leave, the Disability Claims Manager should be contacted for further review.

VI. Medical Documentation

Employees are required to submit a medical certification to support the request for leave. This must show the reason for the leave and the dates needed for treatment. A form is available from the Disability Claims Manager in the Office of Human Resources if the leave is requested because a family member is ill. If the employee is ill, a form will be provided by the Disability Claims Manager.

If leave is granted for the care of a family member, generally this leave is considered unpaid leave. However, the University will allow the employee to use some paid time off benefits that may be available. Non-exempt employees may use personal days and up to 6 sick days if time is available through TAP No. 15 Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits. Employees may also use vacation time if available with supervisory approval.

If the leave is granted for an illness, injury, impairment or a physical or mental condition of the employee, that employee must utilize applicable sick days, if available, which must be counted as part of the leave time.

Employees are required to periodically report to their supervisor on their status and intent to return to work.

A 30-day advance notice is required where the necessity for leave is foreseeable.
Employees will be required to obtain medical certification of the dates of treatment and the duration of such treatment for the purpose of informing the University as to when they will be away from their jobs and how long the absence is expected to last.

VII. Approved Unpaid Sick Leave

  1. Full-Time employees with less than one year of continuous service, who are not eligible for Family Medical Leave and are medically unable to work for an extended period of time or have frequent intermittent leave, may be granted approved unpaid sick leave. The determination of whether or not a position will be held open will be made on a case-by-case basis and based on business needs.
  2. All requests for unpaid sick leave should be made to the Department Head and coordinated through the Disability Claims Manager. (The Disability Claims Manager is responsible for collecting medical documentation and coordinating the leave through the treating medical provider and the Department Head with the cooperation of the employee.) See TAP No. 12: DUFlex Benefit Plan for explanation of benefits eligibility during unpaid sick leave.

VIII. Proration of Vacation

Employees using approved paid or unpaid continuous sick leave in excess of 12 weeks will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work. Vacation time provided will not be awarded until the employee returns to work AND when employee reaches the full-time anniversary date.

IX. Personal Leave

  1. Full-time, non-temporary, administrative, clerical/secretarial, Facilities Management, and Public Safety employees may be granted leaves of absence for personal reasons. Leaves may vary in length depending on the circumstances but may not exceed one calendar year. All requests for personal leaves must be made in writing by the employee and submitted to the senior department head and to the Chief Human Resources Officer.
  2. The Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for addressing all applicable issues, such as final payments and the effect of the leave on employee benefits with the senior department head and the employee. If the leave is then approved by the senior department head and the appropriate Division Vice President, the Office of Human Resources should be notified.
  3. All remaining personal days and vacation days must be taken before unpaid leave begins. Employees on leave of absence for personal reasons which exceed 1 month may retain health care coverage under the University's benefits program under COBRA, Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1986, during the leave if the employee remits premiums for coverage.
  4. Employees using personal leave will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work.

X. Related Information

TAP No. 12: Benefits - DuFlex Insurance

TAP No. 15, Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits

TAP No. 17, Vacation for Full-time, 12 Month Clerical/Hourly Paid and Administrative/ Professional Employees

XI. Violations

Violations of this policy will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to formal disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

XII. History

Date of most recent revision: March, 2020.

XIII. Ownership of Policy

Office of Human Resources