Maternity Leave Policy

Publication: Faculty Handbook, Staff Handbook

Policy Statement

An employee requesting leave for maternity related circumstances will be granted that leave.

Policy Procedures

Staff

Leave for staff employees will be granted in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Policy and the Extended Illness Policy. The staff member should put a request for a maternity leave in writing to the appropriate Cabinet Member as soon as possible. The recommended time is three months prior to the beginning of the actual leave. All benefits will continue during this period of leave.

Faculty

A maternity leave for one semester may be granted for a female employee with faculty status. A person on a twelve-month contract may consider a summer as one semester. In conjunction with the policy on Sickness in the Faculty Handbook, the University will continue full pay for three months. At that point, a faculty member may elect to use up to four weeks of their summer vacation for full pay. The University will decrease the pay to seventy-five percent the remainder of the semester or for any period after the original three months that is not taken as vacation and the remainder of the semester. At the end of the semester the pay will be discontinued. This provides a full semester of some pay. The Family and Medical Leave Policy as described above is incorporated in this maternity leave policy. The 12 weeks are included here and are not in addition to the maternity leave.

Option 1

• First three months, full pay
• Four weeks, vacation time at full pay
• Remainder of semester, 75% reduction

Option 2

• First three months, full pay
• May take from one to four weeks as vacation at full pay
• The remainder of the semester that is not taken as vacation and the remainder of the semester, 75%.

The employee will not be entitled to any vacation in the summer that is used for maternity leave. The faculty member should put a request for a maternity leave in writing to the Provost as soon as possible prior to the semester desiring a leave. The recommended time is three months prior to the semester in which the leave is taken. Benefits will continue during this semester. The paid leave is only for faculty who have expressed a desire to continue employment and who do actually continue work for at least 12 months after the leave. Failure to work at least 12 months will result in a reimbursement of salary and benefits on a prorated basis.