Effective Date: May 1, 2025
Responsible Office: Human Resources
01. Purpose
Southwestern University recognizes that supporting faculty as they balance career and family life ultimately benefits the entire university community. This policy outlines the provisions for Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for eligible tenure-track and tenured faculty members. The policy is designed to allow faculty members to balance their professional responsibilities with family care while ensuring compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and any applicable state laws.
02. Policy Statement
Southwestern University is committed to supporting faculty as they navigate the responsibilities of both family and academic life. This policy provides eligible faculty members with paid parental leave to care for a newborn or newly placed child, ensuring that they can maintain their active employment while balancing their family needs.
Eligibility for Parental Leave begins on the date of birth of the employee’s child, on the date of the adoption, or foster care placement of a child younger than three years of age.
03. Definitions
- Paid Parental Leave: Up to six (6) weeks of paid leave provided to eligible employees, which must be used within sixteen (16) weeks immediately following the birth, adoption, or foster care or kinship placement of a child. During Paid Parental Leave, faculty members are not required to fulfill any professional duties for the university.
- FMLA: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal employment law that provides eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for certain medical and family reasons.
04. Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for Paid Parental Leave, a faculty member must meet all the following criteria:
- Be a full-time, tenured, or tenure-track faculty member of Southwestern University who is not on a short-term or visiting appointment.
- Be the parent of a child who has been born, adopted, or placed through foster care during the leave period.
There is no waiting period for benefits-eligible faculty who wish to take parental leave. An eligible faculty member may also qualify for eligibility requirements for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA Leave requires that the employee must have worked for the University for at least 12 months and have completed 1,250 hours of service during the 12 months prior to the leave to qualify for FMLA. Additionally, employees must meet one of the following criteria:
- Be a new parent by childbirth.
- Be the new adoptive parent of a child under the age of 18.
- Be a parent of a child born via surrogate.
- Be an individual approved to provide foster care or kinship placement and actively parenting the child in their care.
05. Exclusions
Employees who act solely as gestational carriers (i.e., surrogate mothers without legal parental rights) or who serve solely as reproductive donors (i.e., sperm or egg donors with no parental claim) are not eligible for Paid Parental Leave. However, an employee who has a child via surrogacy or who legally adopts a stepchild is eligible for leave under this policy.
06. Use of Paid Parental Leave
Eligible faculty are entitled to a maximum of six (6) weeks of Paid Parental Leave, which must be used within sixteen (16) weeks following the birth, adoption, or foster care or kinship placement of a child.
Faculty members may choose to take Paid Parental Leave as either six consecutive weeks of full-time leave or as a reduced work schedule for up to 12 weeks (e.g., teaching one course instead of a full load). Faculty members requesting a reduced work schedule must submit a proposed work plan for approval by the VP for Academic Affairs and their department chair, ensuring that academic and administrative needs are met. Multiple events (e.g., births, adoptions, foster placements) within the same twelve-month period do not increase the amount of Paid Parental Leave.
07. Compensation
Paid Parental Leave will be paid at 100% of the eligible faculty member’s base salary at the time of leave and eligible faculty will continue to receive their full benefits (health, dental, vision, etc.) during Paid Parental Leave.
During this semester, the faculty member will be free of teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities. There shall be only one PPL entitlement per faculty member per birth/adoption event and it may not be divided. Multiple births or adoptions (e.g., the birth of twins or simultaneous adoption of siblings) constitute one birth/adoption event and do not increase the total PPL granted for that birth or adoption.
The six weeks of leave is paid and is to be taken during the semester in which the child is born, adopted, or placed via foster care.
08. Paid Parental Leave and FMLA
Paid Parental Leave (PPL) runs concurrently with FMLA for eligible employees. Faculty members who qualify for FMLA may take up to 16 weeks of leave, with the first 6 weeks covered as paid leave under this policy. For the remaining FMLA time (if any), faculty may choose to use accrued sick leave or take unpaid leave. If a faculty member does not qualify for FMLA, they will still be eligible for 6 weeks of Paid Parental Leave but may need to request additional unpaid leave separately. Employees may use Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for either adopting a child or fostering a child, but not both for the same child. If PPL is used for fostering, it cannot be used again for adopting the same child.
09. Leave Usage and Limits
Leave must be used within sixteen (16) weeks after the birth, adoption, foster care, or kinship placement.
Paid Parental Leave cannot be donated to another employee.
If a faculty member needs additional time beyond the six weeks of paid parental leave and any accrued leave, the additional time will be unpaid and reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the VP for Academic Affairs.
Employees must use any accrued leave before they can utilize unpaid leave can be utilized.
10. Requesting Parental Leave
Faculty members should provide as much advance notice as possible when requesting Paid Parental Leave, ideally five to six months before the anticipated leave date. However, in cases where advance notice is not feasible due to unexpected circumstances—such as premature birth, emergency foster placement, or unforeseen adoption finalization—faculty should notify the VP for Academic Affairs and Human Resources as soon as possible. The university will work with the faculty member to ensure reasonable accommodations are made while maintaining academic continuity.
Employees are required to provide legal documentation (e.g., birth certificate, adoption decree, foster care placement document) within thirty (30) days of the qualifying event or as soon as it becomes available.
Requests for Parental Leave must be submitted in writing to the VP for Academic Affairs, who will review and respond to the request, with a copy to Human Resources.
In cases where advance notice is not feasible, faculty members should notify the VP for Academic Affairs and Human Resources as soon as possible.
11. Tenure and Sabbatical Considerations
Parental leave will not negatively affect tenure or promotion eligibility. Tenure-track faculty may request a tenure clock extension of up to one year per leave event by submitting a written request to the VP for Academic Affairs. Requests will be granted unless there are extraordinary institutional concerns, which will be communicated to the faculty member in writing. The use of parental leave will not affect eligibility for sabbatical or other types of leave. However, leave under this policy will not count toward sabbatical leave eligibility.
12. Tracking and Reporting
The VP for Academic Affairs is responsible for reviewing and approving requests for Paid Parental Leave and ensuring that the leave runs concurrently with FMLA.
Human Resources will assist in tracking the leave and ensuring that all documentation is collected and properly filed.
13. Forms and Documentation
Faculty members requesting Paid Parental Leave must submit all necessary FMLA forms and provide documentation verifying the qualifying event, such as a birth certificate, adoption decree, or foster care placement letter, within 30 days of the birth, adoption, or placement.
14. Additional Notes
Requests for parental leave, and the use of such leave, will not result in any adverse employment actions.
Parental leave is available only once per qualifying event (i.e., multiple leaves for the same event are not permitted).
15. Contacts
For questions or assistance regarding this policy, please contact:
Human Resources Office
Phone: 512.863.1435
Email: hr@southwestern.edu