Becoming a Parent
Leave Planning
UNDERSTAND
Parental leave is time off work you can take to care for and bond with your newborn or newly placed adoptive or foster child. Parental leave can be taken any time during the 12 months following the child's birth or placement.
Your parental leave eligibility, how much time off work you can take, and whether your time off will be paid or unpaid depends on:
- Whether your parental leave will be covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Washington State Family Leave Act
- Whether you are the birth mother
- Your employment program
- Your current leave balances and anticipated leave accrual
Sound complicated? It can be. We want this information to help you understand how parental leave works, but we also suggest you meet with your department’s HR administrator or your unit’s Human Resources Consultant to review your options and help you plan your parental leave.
Federal & State Law
The FMLA guarantees eligible employees up to 12 weeks off work for parental leave. The Washington State Family Leave Act has eligibility and other provisions that are similar to the FMLA. At the UW a prospective parent is covered by both laws if the parent has:
- 12 months of cumulative employment by the state of Washington (state agencies, other state higher educational institutions, etc.).
- Worked for the state for at least 1,250 hours, including overtime, in the 12 months immediately preceding the date the covered leave will begin.
- Not already used the current year's 12-week leave entitlement.
For birth mothers
The state Family Leave Act provides that the 12-week parental leave entitlement is in addition to any time off work due to pregnancy-related illness or temporary disability. The amount of temporary disability leave a birth mother can take depends on her condition and her health care provider's determination about her ability to work. Birth mothers will be asked to have their health care provider confirm the time off needed to recover from pregnancy-related temporary disability. You may download a chart that displays the relationship between the FMLA and the state Family Leave Act.
For eligible parents other than the birth mother
Time off taken under the state Family Leave Act and the FMLA runs concurrently (not one after the other). You may download a chart that displays the relationship between the FMLAct and the state Family Leave Act.
Use of Paid and Unpaid Leave
Your Employment Program
Become familiar with the leave entitlements of your employment program. Each employment program has its own entitlements or provisions that supplement the FMLA and the state Family Leave Act.
- Contract-classified should review their collective bargaining agreement.
- Professional staff should review the Professional Staff Program leave provisions.
- Permanent classified non-union staff who have worked for the state for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period may request up to six months of parental leave in accordance with Department of Personnel Rules. Requests for up to six months of parental leave can only be denied due to operational necessity.
- Librarians may take up to four months of parental leave. Parental leave may be a combination of annual leave, up to 10 days of sick leave, personal holiday, and leave without pay.
Parental Leave Eligibility for Staff and Librarians
| |
Annual Leave |
Sick Leave |
Leave
Without Pay |
Personal Holiday & Holiday Comp Time |
Comp Time (Overtime- Eligible Staff Only) |
Discretionary
Leave |
| Contract classified staff |
Yes |
According to the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, if available. |
N/A |
Classified
non-union staff |
Yes |
For maternal temporary disability. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, if available. |
N/A |
| Professional staff |
Yes |
For the birth mother, available sick leave may be used for the period of temporary disability and for up to 10 days of parental leave.
A parent other than the birth mother may use up to 10 days of sick leave for parental leave |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, if available OT Eligible Professional staff only. |
Yes |
| Librarians |
Yes |
For the birth mother available sick leave may be used for the period of temporary disability and for up to 10 days of parental leave.
A parent other than the birth mother may use up to 10 days of sick leave for parental leave |
Yes |
Yes |
N/A |
N/A |
| Temporary staff |
N/A |
N/A |
For maternal temporary disability and for parental leave if FMLA eligible. |
N/A |
Yes, if available. |
N/A |
Additional Leave Planning Considerations
- Continued leave accrual: An employee’s monthly leave accrual continues as long as the amount of leave without pay used in a month does not exceed 10 days.
- Leave interspersal and FMLA eligibility: If you have a limited amount of paid time off, the ability to intersperse or spread out how you apply paid leave can be important in maintaining employer-paid insurance coverage. If you have questions, contact your department's time keeper or payroll coordinator, or your unit's Human Resources Consultant.
- Holidays: Employees must be in pay status on the day before a holiday in order to be paid for the holiday. You cannot use a single day of paid leave on the day before a holiday just to get paid for the holiday.
ACT
Plan For & Request your Leave
Based on the preceding information, determine your parental leave entitlement and the leave you wish to request. Follow your department's normal leave request process to make your leave request.
Leave Planning Worksheet
If you'd like some help planning your leave, you may download and use the leave planning worksheet to help you calculate the amount of paid time off work you can expect to have when your parental leave starts, and then:
- Decide how much time off work you will want or need.
- Determine the kind of paid leave you may be eligible to use, such as annual leave, sick leave, accrued compensatory time, personal holiday, etc.
- Determine your current leave balances and your monthly leave accrual rates (record these on the worksheet). If your department uses the Online Work/Leave System (OWLS), you can view your current leave balances and leave accrual rates in Employee Self-Service (ESS). Otherwise, contact your department leave coordinator to determine your leave balances.
- Calculate your future leave accrual to estimate your total leave balances when your leave will begin (record on the worksheet).
- If you are pregnant, your supervisor may ask that you submit certification from your health care provider regarding the amount of time off work you will likely need to recover from pregnancy-related temporary disability.
- Note whether you will need to intersperse paid leave to maintain health insurance coverage and plan your leave use accordingly.
EXPLORE
If you need help determining your leave eligibility, talk to your department’s administrator or the Human Resources Consultant (HRC) for your department.
A prospective parent is generally covered by the FMLA if the employee has worked for UW or the State of Washington at least 60 % FTE for at least one year, and has not already used the annual 12 week FMLA leave entitlement.
Specifically, a prospective parent is covered by the FMLA if the employee has 12 months of cumulative state service, has worked for the state for at least 1,250 hours, including overtime, in the 12 months immediately preceding the date the FMLA leave will begin. and has not already used the current year's 12 week FMLA leave entitlement.
