UW System Administrative Policy 1221

Paid Parental Leave

Policy

Original Issuance Date: May 28, 2024

Last Revision Date: May 28, 2024

Effective Date: July 1, 2024

1.     Policy Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to provide Eligible Employees with up to six (6) weeks of paid time off following a qualifying birth or adoptive event to allow for time to bond with their new child, adjust to their new family situation, and balance personal obligations that result from a birth or adoptive event.

2.     Responsible UW System Officer

Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

3.     Scope and Institutional Responsibilities

This policy applies to the following UW System employees: Faculty, Academic Staff, University Staff, Limited Appointees, and Post Doctoral fellows eligible for absence with pay under UW System Administrative Policy (SYS) 1220, Postdoc Absence with Pay and Legal Holidays.  It does not apply to Employees-In-Training, Graduate Assistants (Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Project Assistants and Program Assistants – Reader/Grader), University Staff Temporary Employees, or Student Hourly employees.  This policy does not apply to employees of UW-Madison.

Institutions must develop their own procedures to operationalize this System policy. Institutions may also develop guidance to support the policy and procedures.

4.     Background

It is the policy of the University of Wisconsin System to provide up to six (6) weeks of Paid Parental Leave to Eligible Employees following a qualifying birth or adoptive event. This Paid Parental Leave Policy (“Policy”) exceeds any legal requirement. This policy will run concurrently with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act leave (WFMLA) in cases where an eligible employee is also eligible for FMLA or WFMLA leave. This means the employee’s Paid Parental Leave time will be subtracted from the total of 12 weeks available under FMLA, and the six (6) weeks available under the WFMLA.

5.     Definitions

Child(ren): A person under the age of 18. For the purposes of this policy, the child’s parent must be an employee of the University of Wisconsin System.

Paid Parental Leave: 240 hours of paid time off from work to enable an employee to care for and to bond with their newborn or a newly adopted child. Employees working less than 1.0 FTE shall receive a prorated amount according to their FTE status. For example, 0.5 FTEs who are approved will receive 120 hours.

Parent: A person identified on a child(ren)’s birth certificate, adoption certificate, certified copy of a foreign adoption order that has been registered with the State of Wisconsin, or other legal document certifying an adoption.

Qualifying event: The birth or adoption of a child under the age of 18 on or after July 1, 2024. For adoption, the date of the event is the date the child is placed with the employee.  An employee receiving a child from a surrogate is considered a qualifying event on the date the child is placed with the employee.  For foreign adoptions the qualifying event is the date the child enters the United States.

6.     Policy Statement

A. Eligibility

  1. To qualify for Paid Parental Leave, the employee must meet the following conditions:
    1. On or after the effective date of this Policy, the employee or the employee’s spouse/partner has given birth to a child or has adopted a child who is under the age of 18. The employee must also meet the eligibility requirements for their employee type:
      1. University Staff
        1. All university staff, except University Staff Temporary employees, are eligible for paid parental leave if they have completed six (6) months of continuous employment with the University of Wisconsin System at the time of the qualifying event.
      2. Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited Appointee

Faculty, academic staff and limited appointees are eligible for paid parental leave once the employee is:

        1. Covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) through employment; or
        2. Expected to work at least 440 hours (21% for annual-basis and 28% for academic year appointment) for at least one year. Employees initially hired on an academic year contract meet the one-calendar-year-duration requirement if they are expected to return the following academic year; and,
        3. Whether qualifying under section 6.A.b.i or 6.A.b.II, above, has completed six (6) months of continuous employment with the University of Wisconsin System at the time of the qualifying event. This includes periods spent on a short work break with an expectation of continuing employment for those employees who are appointed to a C-basis position, or any other 9, 10 or 11 month renewable position.
      2. c.  Post Doctoral Fellows
        1. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible if they qualify for Absence with Pay benefits under UW System Administrative policy 1220 and have completed six (6) months of continuous employment with the University of Wisconsin System at the time of the qualifying event. This includes periods spent on a short work break with an expectation of continuing employment for those employees who are appointed to a C-basis position, or any other 9, 10 or 11 month renewable position.
  2. II.   If the adoption involves a child who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability the age limit of under 18 may be waived.
  3. III.  The Paid Parental Leave will end immediately if the employee no longer meets the criteria for eligibility.
  4. IV.  If both parents of a qualifying event are UWS Employees, each employee receives a Paid Parental Leave benefit.
  5. V.   Eligible employees must provide timely documentation of the qualifying event. Forms of documentation include: a health care certification from a medical doctor, a birth certificate, a certified copy of an adoption order listing the eligible employee as a parent, a certified copy of a foreign adoption order registered in the State of Wisconsin, or comparable official or professional documentation.
  6. VI.  Employees with academic year or C-basis appointments may be eligible to take Paid Parental Leave during their short work break when they hold a summer service or summer session appointment. Paid Parental Leave is available during the dates of their summer contract period.

B. Leave Provisions

  1. An eligible full time staff employee will be provided up to six (6) weeks (240 hours) of Paid Parental Leave following the occurrence of a qualifying event. Employees working less than 1.0 FTE shall receive a prorated amount according to their FTE status.
  2. The Paid Parental Leave must be taken within 12 months following the birth or adoption. Any Paid Parental Leave remaining at the end of the 12 months is not banked for later use or paid out and cannot be combined with any future Paid Parental Leave.
  3. University benefits (such as, medical, dental, retirement, time off accruals, etc.) in which the employee is enrolled will continue while the employee is on Paid Parental Leave.
  4. The Paid Parental Leave may be taken continuously, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule basis.
    1. Intermittent or reduced schedule leave requires advanced consultation with the eligible employee’s department, for purposes of planning work coverage during the employee’s leave.
    2. Taking the Paid Parental Leave on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis does not extend the 12 months after the birth or adoption in which the leave must be taken.
    3. Employees on intermittent or reduced schedule leave remain eligible for other types of leave when they must be absent from their scheduled work hours. An employee must follow the institution’s normal procedures for requesting time off and calling in absences when on intermittent or reduced schedule Paid Parental Leave. Failure to do so may result in the Paid Parental Leave not being approved for those days.
    4. Paid Parental Leave cannot be donated or transferred to other employees through the Catastrophic Leave Program or any other leave donation program.

C. Notice, Application and Other Considerations

The employee must ordinarily provide a minimum of 30 (thirty) days’ advance notice when the Paid Parental Leave taken under this Policy is foreseeable. If 30 days’ notice is not given, the leave may be denied until 30 days after the notice is received. It is understood that under some circumstances it is not feasible to provide 30 days’ notice. In these cases, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable.  If an employee becomes aware that their original anticipated date for their qualifying event was inaccurate, the employee must update their notice as soon as practicable.  Application for Paid Parental Leave should be made via the Institution’s Application for Paid Parental Leave form, submitted through the institution’s FMLA coordinator.  If the employee is employed in an eligible position at more than one UW System institution, the employee must complete a Paid Parental Leave form for each institution.

The employee must also note whether they intend to use the Paid Parental Leave continuously, intermittently or on reduced schedule. Any request for intermittent or reduced schedule leave requires advance consultation with the employee’s department, for purposes of planning work coverage during the employee’s leave.

If the date of the qualifying event is different from the anticipated date submitted on the application, it is the responsibility of the employee to notify their institution HR department,  no later than three days after the qualifying event.

Regardless of any difference between the anticipated date and the actual date of the qualifying event, employees shall provide notice to their institution HR department that the event occurred as soon as is practical. Notice may take the form of a phone call or email.

D. Record Keeping

All medical information relating to use of Paid Parental Leave, whether verbal or written, including FMLA medical documentation, shall be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible. All medical documents including, but not limited to, medical statements and FMLA medical certifications must be maintained within the Human Resources Department in confidential, secure files separate from personnel files.

E. Relation to Other Leave

  1. Paid Parental Leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave, if the employee meets the eligibility requirements of the FMLA. The concurrent use of Paid Parental Leave and FMLA leave will decrease, in whole or in part, the amount of FMLA leave available to an employee.
  2. Paid Parental Leave will run concurrently with WFMLA leave, if the employee meets the eligibility requirements of the WFMLA. The concurrent use of Paid Parental Leave and WFMLA leave will decrease, in whole or in part, the amount of WFMLA leave available to an employee.
  3. Paid Parental Leave hours may be used in conjunction with other forms of paid or unpaid time off available to the employee, including but not limited to sick leave, vacation leave, banked (formerly sabbatical or ALRA) leave, holiday leave, personal leave and unpaid time. An employee may be eligible to receive leave donations through the Catastrophic Leave Donation program after their Paid Parental Leave hours are exhausted, assuming they meet the other requirements for participation.   For child bonding purposes, Paid Parental Leave must be used entirely before other forms of paid and unpaid leave may be used after the birth or adoption.  This restriction does not prevent an employee from taking other paid leave prior to the exhaustion of Paid Parental Leave if the other leave is taken for a reason other than child bonding purposes.  (For example, an employee who is taking PPL for child bonding becomes sick and requires three days of hospitalization.  The employee may use sick leave for those three days, and resume their PPL leave upon return home from the hospital.)
  4. If an official UWS Legal Holiday occurs during the Eligible Employee’s Paid Parental Leave, the Eligible Employee will receive holiday pay in lieu of a Paid Parental Leave day, provided that the Eligible Employee is in a paid status the day before or the day after the official UWS holiday.
  5. While using Paid Parental Leave, an Eligible Employee will continue to accrue other paid leave balances, including sick leave and earned vacation leave.
  6. Any time off prior to the birth or adoption or in excess of the six weeks of Paid Parental Leave must be requested separately, either;
    1. By completing the appropriate FMLA request form, if the employee is eligible for FMLA and has FMLA leave available, or
    2. If the employee is not eligible for FMLA or has no FMLA remaining, by requesting the use of accrued paid time off (personal holiday, vacation, comp time) or leave without pay subject to the discretion of the institution. Sick leave may also be used in this circumstance if the reason for the request qualifies as an authorized use of sick leave.

F. Reinstatement

  1. At the conclusion of the Paid Parental Leave, the employee will return to the same position held at the time the leave began or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and working conditions; provided the employee can perform the essential functions of the position.
  2. An employee on a Paid Parental Leave is still subject to a layoff or reassignment that would have occurred otherwise had the employee been working.
  3. A fitness for duty exam may be required should the employee experience a serious health condition during the Paid Parental Leave.
  4. The University’s obligation to reinstate the employee to the same or equivalent position ceases if and when the following take place:
    1. The employment relationship would have ended if the employee had not taken Paid Parental Leave.
    2. The employee informs the UWS of their intent not to return to work at the end of the Paid Parental Leave.
    3. The employee fails to return to work at the end of the Paid Parental Leave.

G. Limitations

  1. Foster care, Kinship Care, Guardianship, and other child welfare placements are not qualifying events under this policy.
  2. Sperm donors do not incur a qualifying event under this policy.
  3. Employees receiving a child from a surrogate incur a qualifying event under this policy. An employee serving as a surrogate does not incur a qualifying event under this policy.
  4. In the case of multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.), all children are treated as one qualifying event. In the case of multiple children being adopted within a 12-month period, all children are treated as one qualifying event.
  5. The adoption of a stepchild (a child of the employee’s spouse from a previous relationship) by an employee does not qualify for a benefit under this policy.
  6. One qualifying event every 12 months. In the case of multiple qualifying events by an employee in the same 12-month period, the eligible employee will be entitled to only one instance of paid parental leave.
  7. University Staff Temporary employees are excluded from this policy.
  8. Upon termination of employment, the employee shall not be eligible for payment for any unused Paid Parental Leave balances.

7.     Related Documents

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act

SYS 1213, Wisconsin and Federal Family and Medical Leave Acts

Paid Parental Leave Request Form pdf

8.     Policy History

First approved: May 28, 2024

9.     Scheduled Review

July 2029