TAP No. 23: Leaves of Absence: Family and Medical Leave, Maternity Leave, Parental Leave and Personal Leave
Scope
This policy applies to all eligible (hereafter defined) Duquesne University (“University”) employees.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to identify and define leave available to eligible University employees for reasons protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), as well as paid maternity and parental leave and personal leaves of absence.
I. Family and Medical Leave Overview
In accordance with the FMLA, the University will provide unpaid, job-protected leave time to all eligible employees for qualifying family and medical reasons based on the following:
1. As set forth in the FMLA, to be eligible, an employee must have: (a) been employed
by the University for at least 12 months; and (b) worked a minimum of 1,250 hours
in the immediately preceding 12 months, and (c) work at a location where the University
employs at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
2. Leave will be granted for the following qualifying reasons:
A. A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential
functions of the employee’s job.
B. To care for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition.
C. Because of the birth of a child of the employee or placement of a child with the employee for adoption, foster care, or legal guardianship (leave must be taken within 12 months of birth or placement).
D. A qualifying exigency, as defined by the Department of Labor, arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
E. Care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin with illness or injury incurred in the line of duty while in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard or Reserves.
3. Amount of FMLA
An eligible employee is entitled to up to a total of 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a calendar year for one or any combination of qualifying reasons described in section 2.A through 2.D above. An eligible employee may take up to 26 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave during a calendar year to care for an injured or ill service member as described in Subsection 2.E above. Leave to care for an injured or ill service member, when combined with other FMLA qualifying leave, may not exceed 26 weeks in a calendar year.
Under 2.C above, eligible spouses who both work for the University are limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA family leave in the 12-month period following birth of a child, or placement of a child for adoption, foster care, or legal guardianship.
4. Use of Leave - Continuous or Intermittent
A. Medical Leave/Qualifying Exigency Leave
In addition to continuous leave, when there is a qualified medical necessity or a
qualifying exigency relating to covered military service, FMLA leave as described
above may be taken intermittently in separate blocks of time or on a reduced leave
schedule by working less hours each day or week. Intermittent or reduced schedule
leave may be used for yourself or to care for a family member. If an employee needs
leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical treatment,
the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to
unduly disrupt the University's operations.
B. Leave for a New Child
Non-medical leave in connection with the birth of a child, or placement of a child
for adoption, foster care, or legal guardianship, is to be taken on a continuous basis,
unless the responsible administrator in your department or school, such as a Dean
or Department Head (“Department Head”), expressly agrees to an intermittent leave
schedule.
C. Calculation of Amount Leave Time Taken
Where an employee takes leave for less than a full workweek, the amount of FMLA leave used is determined as a proportion of the employee’s actual workweek. The amount of FMLA leave taken is divided by the number of hours the employee would have worked if the employee had not taken leave of any kind to determine the proportion of the workweek used for FMLA. For example, an employee who is normally scheduled to work 35 hours in a workweek and takes 14 hours of FMLA leave has used two-fifths of a week of FMLA leave.
II. FMLA Benefits to the Employee
A. Health care coverage shall continue during FMLA leave under the same conditions
that it would have if the employee had not taken a leave. The employee is responsible
for the reimbursement to the University for all health benefit costs if he or she
fails to return to work at the expiration of the leave. Employees are responsible
for their portion of medical or other insurance costs that would have been deducted
from their pay had they not been on leave.
B. An employee returning from FMLA leave will be restored to the same or equivalent
position, and the taking of leave will not result in a loss of any benefits which
had accrued before the leave commenced. Vacation and/or sick time will continue to
accrue during your leave unless the employee’s leave is more than 12 weeks.
III. Paid Maternity Medical Leave
All full-time faculty, staff, and graduate doctoral students on a paid assistantship who are the birthing parent and have been employed for at least 6 months with the University are eligible for 4 consecutive weeks of 100% paid maternity medical leave to be used immediately following the birth of a child. This leave will run concurrently with any applicable FMLA leave under Section I of this policy. The birthing parent may also be eligible for additional paid leave pursuant to TAP No. 15 (Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability) and/or TAP No. 17 (Vacation).
IV. Paid Parental Leave
Full-time faculty, staff, and graduate doctoral students on paid assistantships who have been employed by the University for at least six months are eligible for up to two weeks of fully paid parental leave. This leave must be used within 12 months of the birth or placement of a child for adoption, foster care, or legal guardianship.
Paid parental leave runs concurrently with applicable FMLA leave and is generally taken as a single block of time. With supervisor approval, it may be used in increments, provided all time is used within one year of the qualifying event.
Paid parental leave is available to both birthing and non-birthing parents and is offered in addition to paid maternity medical leave for the birthing parent.
V. Notice of Leave
If an employee’s need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, the employee must give at least 30 days prior written notice to both the Assistant Director, Benefits in the Office of Human Resources at benefits@duq.edu and the employee’s supervisor. Where practicable, faculty members should provide notice sufficiently in advance to facilitate academic planning for teaching workloads. If 30-day notice is not possible, an employee must give notice as soon as practicable (typically within one to two business days of an employee’s awareness of a need for leave) to both the Assistant Director, Benefits at benefits@duq.edu and the employee’s supervisor. Failure to provide this notice may be grounds for delaying the start of any FMLA-protected leave. Employees are also required to follow their supervisor’s call-off procedures in the event of an unanticipated absence.
After the employee has provided notice as required above, the Assistant Director, Benefits is responsible for providing the employee with the appropriate forms and evaluating the FMLA leave request. Any questions about FMLA leaves should be directed to the Assistant Director, Benefits in the Office of Human Resources at benefits@duq.edu.
VI. Certifications
Employees are required to submit certifications to support a request for leave. Certification forms are available from and should be returned to the Assistant Director, Benefits in the Office of Human Resources.
VII. Use of Sick Days and Vacation Days During Leave
Other than Section IV (Paid Parental Leave) FMLA leave is generally unpaid. However, the University requires the use of paid sick days to run concurrently with an employee’s FMLA leave due to their own serious health condition. For the care of a family member, the University will allow the employee to elect to use up to 6 sick paid sick days if time is available, and available vacation days to run concurrently with their leave.
VIII. Reporting During Leave and Return to Work
To facilitate a smooth return to work, employees should periodically report to their supervisor on their status and intent to return to work. Employees must also promptly notify (within two business days if feasible) both their supervisor and the Assistant Director, Benefits if their need for FMLA leave changes. When an employee takes an FMLA leave due to an employee’s serious health condition as described in Section I.2A above, the University will provide a copy of the staff job description or, for academic faculty, a description of their essential functions (linked below), that the employee must provide to the healthcare provider along with a Return to Work form (linked below). After completion by the healthcare provider, medical documentation supporting the return to work must be provided to the Assistant Director, Benefits, and should not be provided to the supervisor. This documentation should include the completed Return to Work form (linked below).
IX. Approved Unpaid Sick Leave
A. Full-Time employees with less than one year of continuous service who are not eligible for FMLA leave and are medically unable to work for an extended period of time or have frequent intermittent leave may be granted approved unpaid sick leave. The determination of whether or not a position will be held open will be made on a case-by-case basis and based on business needs.
B. All requests for unpaid sick leave should be made to the Department Head and coordinated through the Assistant Director, Benefits at benefits@duq.edu. (The Assistant Director, Benefits is responsible for collecting medical documentation and coordinating the leave through the treating medical provider and the Department Head with the cooperation of the employee.) See TAP No. 12: DUFlex Benefit Plan for an explanation of benefits eligibility during unpaid sick leave.
X. Proration of Vacation
Employees using approved paid or unpaid continuous sick leave in excess of 12 weeks will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work. Vacation time will not be awarded to an employee on leave until the employee returns to work AND the employee reaches the employee’s full-time anniversary date.
XI. Personal Leave
A. Full-time, non-temporary, administrative, clerical/secretarial, Facilities Management, and Public Safety employees may be granted leaves of absence for personal reasons. Leaves may vary in length depending on the circumstances but may not exceed one calendar year. All requests for personal leaves must be made in writing by the employee and submitted to the senior department head and to the Chief Human Resources Officer.
B. The Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for addressing issues arising from a personal leave, such as final payments and the effect of the leave on employee benefits, with the senior department head and the employee. If the leave is then approved by the senior department head and the appropriate Division Vice President, they should provide notification to the Office of Human Resources.
C. Employees taking a personal leave of absence must take all remaining personal days and vacation days before beginning unpaid leave. Employees on leave of absence for personal reasons which exceed 1 month may retain health care coverage under the University's benefits program under COBRA, Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1986, during the leave if the employee remits premiums for coverage.
D. Employees using personal leave will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work.
XII. Americans with Disabilities Act
This Policy will be administered consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). For example, qualified employees with a disability who are not eligible for FMLA leave or who have exhausted their allotment of FMLA leave may be entitled to ADA leave or other reasonable accommodations. Requests for ADA leaves or other reasonable accommodations should be directed to the Assistant Director, Benefits, or to the Office of Disability Services.
XIII. Related Information
TAP No. 12: Benefits - DuFlex Insurance
TAP No. 15, Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits
TAP No. 56, Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for Disabilities
Human Resources webpage entitled, “Leaves of Absence”
Essential Functions of Academic Faculty
XIV. Violations
Violations of this policy will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to formal disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
XV. History
Date of most recent revision: May 2025
XVI. Ownership of Policy
Office of Human Resources