The University provides a limited amount of paid parental leave for employees who add a new child to their family by birth or adoption. To qualify for the Staff Parental Leave benefit, you must have been employed in a full-time, benefit-eligible position for the 12 months preceding the birth or placement for adoption.
For detailed information on the leave that applies to you:
- Staff – See Rule 5-200A, Section III.C.
- Academic Campus Faculty – See Policy 6-315
- School of Medicine Faculty – See Policy 8-002
- Post Doctoral Fellows – See Rule 6-309A
- Graduate Students – See Policy 6-409
- Parental Leave Matrix
To apply for Parental Leave for Birth or Adoption and for leave under the FMLA, please complete the form below. Para obtener información y formularios en español, haga clic aquí.
- We recommend that employees read the Parental Leave Rule to confirm all eligibility requirements prior to submitting a formal request for leave.
- Employees will complete the Parental Leave Request Form and obtain their supervisor’s signature before submitting the form to Absence Management.
- Employees will indicate on the request form if they have chosen the 6-week (100% pay) or 12-week (50% pay) option for their Parental Leave. Employees submit the request form to absencemanagement@utah.edu for processing.
- Absence Management team receives request and determines if employee is eligible for FMLA and/or Parental Leave.
- Approval or denial letter is sent to the employee, supervisor, and HR representative regarding the employee’s FMLA and Parental leave request with applicable Tracking Sheet(s). A separate letter will be sent for each type of leave.
- If the employee doesn’t qualify for one type of leave, they may still be eligible for the other; however, they will need to also apply for the different leave type.
- If denied FMLA, the Absence Management team will send appropriate documentation to the employee to begin the request process for other leave types (such as a medical leave of absence) or accommodations.
- All leave types will run concurrently, if applicable.
- Supervisors must enter time on the employee’s timecard while they are on Parental Leave. Time should be entered in Kronos as follows:
- 6-Week Option – The PRL pay code will need to be entered for each full day the employee is out on leave.
- 12-Week Option – The PRL pay code will need to be entered for 50% of the employee’s normally scheduled day. The employee’s own sick time will need to be entered to cover the remaining 50% of each day.
- If the employee has exhausted all of their sick accruals, vacation time will need to be entered for 50% of the day instead. The Unpaid Excused pay code (UPE) may only be entered if the employee has exhausted all accruals, or if the employee has been approved for FMLA and elected to retain 10 days of vacation.
- Employees must complete a Parental Leave Tracking Sheet each pay period if they are taking Parental Leave intermittently. Supervisors must approve an intermittent schedule and confirm with the Absence Management team prior to the employee’s leave start date.
- Employees who don’t use Kronos will need to track their time on the Parental Leave Tracking Sheet to record their time used.
- Supervisors must indicate the costs associated with the employee’s replacement (Replacement Costs) while on leave on the Tracking Sheet for each pay period.
- If the department/team is able to incorporate the absent employee’s work into their own workload, no Replacement Costs would need to be recorded.
- Tracking Sheets must be submitted each pay period regardless of whether Parental Leave was used and/or replacement costs were incurred.
- Employees should enroll their child in their elected University health plan within 90 days of the birth. Employees can make changes to their plan using this to access UBenefits.
- When the 6 weeks of Parental Leave are almost over, the Absence Management team will send a letter to the employee reminding them that their leave is ending soon.
- At the end of the Parental Leave, the employee will continue on whichever additional leave type for which they were approved.
- Employees must follow applicable protocol and procedures for all leaves.
- Employees who give birth and wish to return to work prior to the 6-8-week recovery period will need to provide a doctor’s note stating that they are cleared to work.
- If the employee does not return to work after their Parental Leave/FMLA Leave ends, the employee may be required to pay back any amounts received as a Parental Leave benefit. Requirements to pay back Parental Leave benefits will be determined by the employee’s department on a non-discriminatory basis.
- If the employee returns to work for at least 30 calendar days after their Parental/FMLA leave is over, they cannot be required to pay back the Parental Leave benefit they received.
Parental Leave for Birth or Adoption FAQ:
To be eligible for the Parental Leave benefit, you must have held a full-time, benefit-eligible position (0.75 FTE or greater) with the University for the preceding 12 consecutive months. Your child must be born or placed with you for adoption on or after the date you meet all eligibility criteria to receive the Parental Leave benefit.
If you have exhausted your FMLA or are otherwise not eligible for FMLA, you may be eligible for a type of leave under the ADA. Employees can contact the ADA Specialist at 801-213-1346 or hraccommodations@utah.edu for additional information. Parental Leave can still be taken if you don’t qualify for FMLA leave; however, you must meet all eligibility criteria prior to the child being born or placed with you for adoption.
There is currently a form available on the HR website called the FMLA & Parental Leave Request form. The form needs to be completed by the requesting employee and the employee’s supervisor before the request can be processed.
Parental Leave and FMLA Leave will run concurrently if the employee is eligible. FMLA may continue if not already exhausted, depending on the Parental Leave option the you choose.
Contact the Absence Management Team at absencemanagement@utah.edu for additional assistance.
An eligible employee may take up to 6 weeks of paid leave (100%) or 12 weeks of partially paid (50%) Parental Leave. No employee will be able to take more than 240 hours of Parental Leave time.
Parental Leave is granted per event to eligible employees. If an employee gives birth to a child and then chooses to adopt a child later in the same year, the employee may receive the Parental Leave benefit for both events.
No. The Parental Leave benefit is a University Policy and is not affiliated with the FMLA, nor is there any current state law that requires an employer to give its employees Parental Leave.
Because Parental Leave is a University policy and not a federal law, it does not provide job protection like FMLA does. However, since the policy requires that FMLA run concurrently with Parental Leave, the employee’s job would be protected, if they are eligible for FMLA.
Parental Leave is granted per event to eligible employees. If an employee gives birth to a child and then chooses to adopt a child later in the same year, the employee may receive the Parental Leave benefit for both events. The child must be born or placed for adoption on or after the date the employee has met the eligibility criteria for Parental Leave.
Parental Leave should be taken in a continuous block of time. However, as with FMLA leave, an employee may take intermittent time off if the employee’s department authorizes the intermittent leave. Employees seeking intermittent leave will need to have their supervisor submit an email to absencemanagement@utah.edu to confirm their intermittent schedule has been approved.
If the supervisor agrees to allow the employee to take intermittent leave, it is important to note that Parental Leave is only paid at 50% of the time the employee is not working. For example, if the employee works 4 hours and is off 4 hours, only 2 hours will be Parental Leave (PRL) and 2 hours will be recorded as sick or vacation time. If the employee has chosen the 6-week, continuous leave option, all 4 hours the employee was absent would be considered Parental Leave (PRL).
6-Week Option
- 4 hours absent X 100% = 4 hours Parental Leave
- 4 hours paid work + 4 hours Parental Leave = 8 hours
12-Week Option
- 4 hours absent X 50% = 2 hours Parental Leave
- 4 hours paid work + 2 hours Parental Leave + 2 hours accruals (sick or vacation) = 8 hours
If the mother of the child plans to return to work prior to their 6 to 8 week recovery time, they will need to provide a doctor’s note confirming they are clear to return to work.
Employees should submit the Parental Leave request form at least 90 days prior to the proposed start date.
If your child is born prior to or after the expected delivery date, you will need to let the Absence Management team know as soon as possible. Once they know the exact birth date of the child, they will send out a revised approval letter to you and your department. If your child is born prior to meeting the eligibility criteria for Parental Leave, you will not be able to receive the paid Parental Leave benefit, even if you have received a previous approval letter. You may need to contact the ADA Specialist at 801-213-1346 or hraccommodations@utah.edu and apply for protected leave through an accommodation.
If you have chosen the 12-week Parental Leave option, your supervisor or Payroll Reporter will need to enter your Parental Leave (PRL) time into Kronos so you are paid the 50% of your salary/wage. You must use your sick and vacation accruals at half your regular work schedule (if you are scheduled to work 40 hours per week, you must use 20 hours of accruals) to cover the additional time not worked. Once you use all accruals, the balance of your Parental Leave will only be half paid; the other half will be unpaid/excused.
If you have chosen the 6-week option, your supervisor or Payroll Reporter will need to enter in all of your time off as Parental Leave in Kronos. There will be no need to use accruals during this time.
While you are on Parental Leave, you may save up to 10 days of vacation by request. You may also choose to use your personal preference leave.
If you are taking your Parental Leave all at once, you may use the vacation hours when your Parental Leave and FMLA leave have been completed. If you have been approved to use your Parental Leave intermittently, you may use the vacation hours for non-Parental Leave time off. University Policy states that use of vacation, other than during an approved FMLA/Parental Leave absence, must be arranged in advance with your supervisor to prevent disruption of departmental operations and avoid compromising the efficiency of the organizational unit.
Yes. Since you will remain in a paid status while on Parental Leave, you will continue to accrue additional sick and vacation time. If you have run out of accruals before or when your Parental Leave is over, any additional FMLA leave will be completely unpaid. This means employees will not accrue any additional time until they return from leave.
Yes. University Policy provides that if an employee works or receives payment for time (including use of accruals) during the week of a holiday, the employee receives pay for the holiday. The same applies for University Closure Days.
No. Since you will be paid at least 50% of your salary/wage, holidays and University Closure Days will not count as Parental Leave taken. If the University (including just the employee's department) closes and employees are not expected to report for work for one full week or more, the days the department is closed do not count against the employee’s Parental Leave.
While you are using sick and vacation leave, your benefits will continue as if you were actively at work. Since you will be paid at least 50% of your salary while on Parental Leave, your benefit costs will be deducted from your paycheck as they would normally. Once your Parental Leave is over and if your accruals are exhausted, your benefits may be continued by paying a portion or all of the cost of the benefits each month. Contact the Absence Management Team at (801) 581-7447 for information on continuing your benefits during an unpaid leave of absence or dropping coverage.
Tracking forms will need to be submitted each pay period for employees on Parental Leave. Your supervisor will need to indicate any costs associated with your replacement while you are on leave on the form. If you have been approved to take Parental Leave intermittently by your department, you must indicate the Parental Leave taken on the same tracking form that your supervisor completes, even if you don’t take any Parental Leave. Sign the completed tracking form, certifying that the information is correct. After you sign it and your supervisor has reviewed and approved it, send it to the Absence Management Team. If you do not submit a tracking form, all leave taken during that pay period may be designated as Parental/FMLA leave.
When your Parental Leave is over, please confirm with your supervisor and Absence Management that you are beginning the next portion of your maternity/paternity leave. You will need to enter any sick or vacation time in Kronos or with your department to cover your absences.
If you are wanting to return to work before or when your Parental Leave is scheduled to end, please contact your supervisor and Absence Management with at least a two days’ notice. A return to work notice will be required for employee’s taking maternity leave.
If you do not return to work after your leave, you may be required to pay back the Parental Leave pay you received while on leave. Under the policy, your department has the right to make that decision on a non-discriminatory basis. It is important that you contact your supervisor and the Absence Management Team as soon as you know you will not be able to return to work to stop further paid leave and reduce the amount you will be required to pay back. If you return to work for at least 30 calendar days, you will not be required to pay back the Parental Leave benefit.