Paid Parental Leave

Eligibility

Employee Eligibility

You are an eligible employee if you have completed one year of service and are a staff member, librarian, or postdoctoral fellow who regularly works 20 hours or more per week, or a faculty member employed by Emory at 0.5 full-time-equivalent (FTE) or greater.

An eligible employee does not include medical residents, students, leased employees within the meaning of §414(n) of the Code (including temporary employees), or any party not classified as an employee by Emory University, including employees of Emory Healthcare.

Medical house staff have a separate parental leave policy and should contact the GME office for parental leave matters.

Schools may provide faculty with parental leave benefits that extend beyond those provided under this policy, and faculty should consult with their Dean’s office for these matters.

Amount of Leave

• Effective June 1, 2022, eligible employees who are full-time (scheduled to work 40 hours per week) receive six weeks (240 hours) of paid parental leave when they experience the birth or adoption of a child. Births and adoptions for staff, librarians and postdoctoral fellows occurring between January 1 , 2022 and June 1, 2022 also qualify for six weeks of leave. Births and adoptions occurring prior to January 1, 2022, qualify for three weeks of leave. When both parents are eligible Emory employees, both are entitled to parental leave.
• Eligible employees who are not full-time receive six weeks of paid parental leave for births and adoptions occurring on or after June 1, 2022 (or after January 1, 2022 for staff, librarians and post-doctoral fellows), pro-rated for their work schedule. For example, an eligible employee who is scheduled to work 32 hours per week would receive 192 hours of paid parental leave (for births/adoptions occurring after June 1, 2022).
• The amount of parental leave available is based on the scheduled work hours (or, for faculty, FTE) at the time of the birth or adoption. For example, if an eligible employee is scheduled to work 40 hours per week at the time of the birth or adoption, but reduces the schedule to 30 hours per week after two months, the employee will be eligible for the full 240 hours of leave based on their work schedule at the time of the birth or adoption.

For more details, refer to the Parental Leave Policy.

When you can Take Leave

• Paid parental leave can only be taken after the date of birth or adoption occurs
• Leave must be taken within the first twelve months of the date of birth or adoption
• Leave may be taken all at one time, or intermittently in full or half days only
• Paid parental leave does not apply for foster care placement

How to Apply and Use Leave

You are strongly encouraged to submit the online FMLA request as early as possible (at least 30 days in advance) so that documentation and approval are complete before the birth or adoption occurs.

You are responsible for notifying your immediate supervisor or designee at least 30 days before the leave is expected to begin (when possible). For planning purposes, it is very important for you to be in close communication about when the parental leave will be used.

Using paid parental leave is a two-step process:

Step 1: Applying for the Leave Benefit

Before you can use paid parental leave, you must apply for the benefit. You will be required to provide evidence of birth or adoption. Eligibility for paid parental leave is managed through the online FMLA Leave Request located in Self-Service, even if leave is planned to be taken outside the FMLA period.

To apply for paid parental leave:

• Log in to Self-Service
• Select FMLA and Medical Leave
• Log in using your Net ID and password, and select Make New Request
• Complete the form using the expected date of the birth or adoption
• Once the documentation has been accepted and verified, and after the date of birth or adoption, you will be able to use paid parental leave

Step 2: Tracking Leave Days

• Leave can be requested only after the application has been approved through the process described above.
• Paid parental leave must be used within 12 months of the date of the birth or adoption.
• For monthly paid staff and librarians, leave requests and approvals will be processed through the Exempt Leave Tracking System. You should enter your requested leave days in full or half day increments, in advance of the leave period.
• For biweekly paid staff, leave requests and approvals should be processed through the Emory Timecard Adjustment System (ETAS). You should enter your requested leave days in full or half day increments.
• For post-doctoral fellows, leave is tracked according to departmental practices.

Coordination with Other Benefits

Coordination with FMLA

Emory’s Family and Medical (FMLA) Policy provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child for employees who have been employed for 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year prior to requesting leave. Learn more about FMLA.

You can take paid parental leave during the FMLA period, or any time within the first 12 months after the birth or adoption event. Paid parental leave does not extend or shorten the FMLA period.

If you choose, you can take paid parental leave outside the FMLA period. In this case, paid parental leave must be approved by your supervisor, similar to vacation leave.

Supervisors are encouraged to be flexible in granting approval for parental leave requests not designated as FMLA.

You are strongly encouraged to plan in advance for when you expect to use your paid parental leave, and communicate your plans to your supervisor so they can do the necessary departmental work planning.

Coordination with Short Term Disability

If you are the birth mother and you have enrolled in short term disability, you may receive payments from the insurance provider during the first six weeks after the birth of a child. Disability insurance will not affect your eligibility for paid parental leave.

As the birth mother, you may use paid parental leave days during the short term disability elimination period, or after the short term disability benefit has been used.

Paid parental leave cannot be used while you are receiving short term disability benefits.

Coordination with Sick and Vacation Leave

Eligibility for paid parental leave does not affect the accrual of sick and vacation leave. You will continue to accrue leave during the parental leave.

During FMLA designated leave, sick leave must be used before vacation leave, but parental leave can be used at any time, regardless of whether sick or vacation leave will also be used during the FMLA period.

Outside the FMLA period, parental leave may be used at any time, and there is no specific order for using parental leave, sick or vacation leave. However, sick leave can only be used for eligible reasons according to the Sick Leave Policy.

Coordination with Maven

Maven, the world’s largest virtual clinic for women and families, provides free, 24/7 virtual support for pregnancy, postpartum, and returning to work. You can use their platform to:

• Book on-demand video appointments with specialists
• Match with dedicated Care Advocate
• Provider-led virtual classes, covering topics like breastfeeding, newborn care, postpartum stress management, and more
• Available to University faculty & staff enrolled on the Aetna medical plan