UW–Madison presents paid parental leave policy to Board of Regents
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The University of Wisconsin–Madison will be implementing a new policy to provide eligible employees with up to six weeks (240 hours) of paid parental leave within a 12-month period for the birth or adoption of a child. The new policy will be effective July 1, 2024.
Although it does not go into effect until July 1, 2024, UW–Madison’s policy is currently available on the Policy Library. Additional information, including FAQs, is available on the new Paid Parental Leave web page.
Over the next few weeks, campus leaders will be discussing the policy with stakeholder groups, including shared governance. These discussions are designed to provide the opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions and provide comments regarding the policy. These comments and questions will be used to provide additional clarifying information and details to stakeholders before the policy effective date.
“Following presentation of the policy to the Board of Regents, we are now in position to have a paid parental leave policy in place on July 1, 2024, before the start of our next academic year” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin says. “I want to thank the many teams and shared governance groups on campus who worked together to navigate these complexities and arrive at a policy that brings UW–Madison closer in alignment with our peer universities, local government agencies, and private sector employers.”
The Paid Parental Leave Policy, UW-5054, will provide eligible employees:
- Up to 6 (six) weeks of paid time off every 12 (twelve) months when they experience a qualifying birth or adoptive event covered by the policy. The benefit is prorated based on Full Time Equivalent or FTE.
- When an employee experiences multiple events that would qualify for Paid Parental Leave in the same 12-month period, the eligible employee will be entitled to a total of 6 (six) weeks of Paid Parental Leave.
- Qualifying events include a birth or adoptive event.
- Employee eligibility is detailed in the policy and is not dependent upon gender or family relationships.
Concurrently with the implementation of the new policy, UW–Madison will also make updates to the existing Postdoc Absence with Pay & Legal Holidays policy. This policy provides Absence with Pay (Parental) to eligible Employee-In-Training appointments (research associate, postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral trainee). The updates to this policy will be shared with postdoctoral stakeholder groups prior to implementation.
Information about the Paid Parental Leave policy can be found on the new Paid Parental Leave web page. This page contains an overview of the policy — including eligibility, qualifying events, and more — as well as answers to frequently asked questions. Additional details, including a Parental Leave Request Form and language translations, will be added before the policy effective date of July 1, 2024.
Individuals who may be requesting parental leave in the future are encouraged to review this information carefully. DDRs are trained to work with employees who wish to request paid parental leave under the new policy; they can also assist with other leave entitlements and options an employee may have. Employees are encouraged to consult with their Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) for confidential assistance with any needs.
Tags: employee news
