2024-92

Motion Introduced by: Office of the Provost of the University

Date of First Reading: April 29, 2024

Date of Second Reading: April 29, 2024

Title of Motion: ACD 710: Parental Leave with Pay

Action Requested: Senate to approve changes to ACD 710

Rationale:

All faculty and academic professionals who have been employed at ASU for at least 12 months in a benefits-eligible position and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months

Exception

The 12-month waiting period and 1,250 hours worked requirement is waived for tenured/tenure-eligible faculty and probationary/continuing academic professionals

Policy

Twelve weeks of paid parental leave is available to an eligible employee who is absent from work due to the birth of a child or the adoption of a child.

This paid leave may be used by birth, biological, and adoptive parents and their spouses and domestic partners. If both parents, spouses, or domestic partners are employed by ASU, the paid leave will be increased from 12 to 18 weeks, as long as neither individual takes more than 12 weeks. Additional information is available at the Parental Leave Policy Web site.

This paid leave will not reduce an employee’s balance of accrued time under any other university paid leave program (e.g., sick leave).

Employees will not need to use FMLA to cover this time.

Paid parental leave is available to be used in a single twelve-week block of time within the 12 months following the birth or adoption of the child. Please see above for possible distribution if both parents work at ASU. Paid parental leave is paid at 100 percent of the employee’s regular rate of pay (based upon FTE).

Request for Use

Paid parental leave will be approved if the eligible employee provides a written request to the academic unit head/chair/director requesting paid parental leave at least 60 days before the leave is to begin, if the leave is foreseeable. If the leave is not foreseeable (e.g., for adoption), the employee must provide a written request as far in advance as is possible. All requests should specify an approximate start date and an end date. A Request for Leave of Absence form is available.

Use of these parental benefits shall not adversely affect the faculty or academic professional’s standing or consideration for future salary adjustments in any manner.

Coordination with Other University Policies

Family Leave

Under the family leave policy (ACD 702–03), an eligible employee can request up to 12 weeks of leave for the birth or the adoption of a child. If the employee wishes to take a leave of absence for a period of time beyond the twelve weeks or such lesser amount of pro-rated paid parental leave, he or she must note that request on the Request for Leave of Absence form. Family leave is unpaid, therefore, the employee must utilize accrued sick (ACD 702–02) or vacation (ACD 704–01) hours if he or she wishes to remain in pay status for any time taken beyond the paid parental leave period.

Disability Benefit

Paid parental leave will coordinate benefits with any group disability income replacement benefit policy (e.g., short- term disability insurance), up to 100 percent of the recipient’s base salary. For information on short term disability insurance benefits, see HR Benefits Web site.

Insurance Premiums and Retirement Contributions

Because the employee remains in full pay status during parental leave, the university will continue to pay the

employer’s portion of health insurance premiums for benefits coverage and the employee will remain responsible for the employee’s portion. The employee will continue to earn service credit and will have retirement contributions paid by the university during the paid parental leave.

Stillbirth

Paid parental leave may be used in cases of stillbirth. In such an event, a maximum of twelve weeks of paid parental leave benefits will be paid within the first six weeks of delivery. This form of paid parental leave is used in place of the

university’s bereavement policy (ACD 702–04). Additional time may be used under ACD 702–03, “Family Leave” and ACD 702–02, “Health-Related Leave” when supported by medical documentation.

Probationary Appointments

For faculty and academic professionals on probationary appointments, use of parental leave under this policy shall be considered good cause for extending the probationary period under ACD 506–03, “Faculty Probationary

Appointments” and ACD 507–05, “Academic Professional Probationary Appointments.”

Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical leaves (ACD 705) are intended for professional development and may not be used for parental leave.

Temporary Assignment of Alternate Duties

Should the period of paid parental leave end during the semester, academic unit chairs/directors and deans are expected to accommodate requests for temporary assignment of alternative duties to the end of the academic semester in progress for tenure-track/tenured faculty, or for the ensuing semester for those unable to take advantage of any part of the paid leave due to the timing of the birth/adoption. Alternate duties should be designed to make it more feasible for the employee to remain on full active employment at the university following the birth of the employee’s child or the adoption by the employee of a child. Any reduction in teaching is not to be made up at a later date.

Examples of alternate duty assignments include, but are not limited to, research, course development, curriculum development, working on program reviews or accreditation reviews and related documents, and the mentoring of graduate students.

Failure to Return to Work

If the faculty member or academic professional fails to return to work after the expiration of this leave and/or any other authorized leave period (e.g., family leave) and/or the expiration of a temporary assignment of alternate duties, or returns to work but fails to remain for at least 30 days, the employee agrees to reimburse ASU the salary paid under this policy.

ASU will excuse reimbursement when the failure to return is due to the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition of the employee or the child that would otherwise qualify the employee to leave under the family leave policy, or other circumstances beyond the employee’s control.

Cross-References

For information on leaves of absence from the university, see:

ACD 702–02, “Health-Related Leave”

and

ACD 702–03, “Family Leave.”

For information on salary continuance policies while an employee is absent from work, see ACD 704–01, “Vacation Leave.”

For information on sabbatical leaves, see ACD 705, “Sabbatical Leave.”

Actions

Approved