Parental Leave - Staff

Parental Leave Effective January 1, 2026

Parental Leave Through December 31, 2025

Parental leave is available to benefit-eligible staff. Leave is available immediately following the birth (including through surrogacy) or placement of a child through adoption or foster care. This policy cannot be used, however, in the event of adoption of a spouse’s or domestic partner’s child.

Primary Parental Leave: Eight consecutive weeks of paid leave will be provided to a primary caregiver, to be taken immediately upon the arrival of a child. A primary caregiver is defined as a person who has primary responsibility for the care of a child following the birth or the child coming into the custody, care, and control of the parent for the first time.

Secondary Parental Leave: Four weeks of paid leave (which may be taken intermittently) will be provided to a secondary caregiver, to be used anytime within the first 12 months following the arrival of a child. A secondary caregiver is defined as a person who has parental responsibility for the child but is not the primary caregiver.

Employees should request parental leave in writing to their supervisor as early as possible and no later than 90 days in advance of the requested leave. They must complete the Parental Leave form at the same time - this form notifies Human Resources, who will contact the employee regarding time off and benefits. If eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act, staff also need to submit an FMLA Request form shortly prior to the commencement of their leave. HR will notify the employee if they are eligible for FMLA.

Additional Information

• Medical complications for an employee giving birth may alter the timeline of the leave. Please contact HR to discuss additional leave options and work flexibility arrangements.
• In the case of adoption, leave may begin earlier than the date of placement (e.g., travel to another country to complete the adoption).
• Paid parental leave runs concurrent with FMLA, when applicable.
• Employees who wish to take more time off than the paid parental leave policy allows will use CTO; FMLA (if applicable) will run concurrently. CTO continues to accrue while on parental leave.
• The period of paid leave is not extended for multiple births or in case of adopting/fostering more than one child at the same time.
• For 9-, 10-, 11-month staff who do not work during the summer, primary parental leave will only apply for any balance of the eight weeks that the employee would otherwise have been scheduled to work.
• Benefits and payroll deductions/withholdings continue during the parental leave period as if the employee continued to work.
• Paid parental leave will override paid holidays but will not extend the total paid parental leave.
• In cases where both caregivers are university employees, only one caregiver may be designated as primary for the purposes of this policy.
• If an employee is a gestational surrogate, time off at delivery falls under the Short-Term Disability policy and the 10-day elimination period is waived.

Parental Leave Effective January 1, 2026

The purpose of parental leave is to provide employees with time and support to bond with and care for a child newly joining their family.

Parental leave is available to all benefit-eligible staff who become parents through birth (including through surrogacy) or through the adoption or foster placement of a new child. Eligible employees are entitled to twelve (12) consecutive weeks of paid leave, to be taken immediately upon the arrival of the child.

Employees must complete the Parental Leave form no later than 90-days in advance of the requested leave. Human Resources will then contact the employee regarding time off and benefits. If eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), staff also need to submit an FMLA Request form shortly prior to the commencement of their leave. HR will notify the employee if they are eligible for FMLA.

Additional Information

• Complications: Medical Complications for an employee giving birth may alter the timeline of the leave. Please contact HR to discuss additional leave options and work flexibility arrangements.
• Adoption: In the case of adoption, leave may begin earlier than the date of placement (e.g., travel to another country to complete the adoption). This benefit does not apply in cases involving the adoption of a spouse’s or domestic partner’s existing child, or a child already living in the home.
• Foster Care Placement: Foster parents are eligible for up to one (1) full 12-week benefit per rolling 12 months. Leave begins on the day a foster child is legally placed in the employee’s care (official foster documentation will be used to establish start date of leave) and is taken as consecutive days, allowing the parent dedicated time to bond with and care for the child. If the foster care placement ends prior to the end of the 12-week period, the employee is required to immediately notify HR, and the leave concludes on that day. If another foster child is placed within the same 12-month period, the employee may use any remaining leave from the original 12 weeks starting on the new placement date.
• FMLA: Paid parental leave runs concurrently with FMLA, when applicable. If both parents are employed by the university, each eligible employee may receive up to 12 weeks of concurrent FMLA leave, subject to their individual eligibility and any leave used within the prior 12 months.
• CTO continues to accrue during parental leave.
• Multiple Children: The period of paid leave is not extended for multiple births or in the case of adopting/fostering more than one child at the same time.
• For 9-, 10-, 11-month staff whose primary position is not scheduled to work during the summer, parental leave will only apply for any balance of the 12 weeks that the employee would otherwise have been scheduled to work.
• Benefits: Benefits and payroll deductions/withholdings continue during the parental leave period as if the employee continued to work.
• Holidays: Paid parental leave overrides paid holidays, which do not extend the total paid parental leave.
• Two-Employee Parents: If both parents of a new child are employed by W&L and are eligible for parental leave, each parent will receive their own parental leave; the leave time does not need to be shared.
• Surrogacy: If an employee is a gestational surrogate, time off at delivery falls under the Short-Term Disability policy and the 10-day elimination period is waived.
• Outside Employment: Employees are prohibited from working at outside employment while on paid Parental Leave and/or Family Medical Leave without approval from Human Resources.
• Return to Work: Employees must notify Human Resources as soon as reasonably possible if their plans for returning from parental leave change.

Please contact Human Resources with any questions.