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Leaves
Employee Benefits
Contact Info
Family Friendly
Related Policies
Resources
Work Schedule Options
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Pregnancy/Birth of a Child
Female employees who give birth
Leave requests up to twelve weeks for the birth of a child must be
granted under FMLA if the employee meets the eligibility requirements.
The leave may be taken anytime during the first year after the birth.
A woman who gives birth to a child may use accrued disability leave for
the period of time during which she is medically unable to work before
and/or after the birth. Use of disability leave will normally be
approved for six weeks following a birth without requiring a doctor’s
certification. Longer use of disability leave is appropriate if the
mother has a serious medical condition as defined by the FMLA; it
requires a doctor’s certification of medical necessity. If a woman does
not have enough accrued disability leave to cover the period during
which she is unable to work, she may use any accrued annual leave* or
compensatory time, and/or request a leave without pay. Leave requests
for more than twelve weeks require the supervisor’s approval. In unusual
circumstances where the woman is medically unable to work for more than
six months, she should apply for long-term disability benefits.
If a woman would like leave to care for the infant beyond the period
during which she is medically unable to work, she may use annual leave
or compensatory time. When annual leave and compensatory time are
exhausted, she may request leave without pay for up to one year (12
weeks for employees in the Police Unit). Extensions of unpaid leave
beyond this limit may be approved under some leave policies.
For faculty members, time spent on leave without pay for personal
reasons will not count toward the probationary period for tenure unless
mutually agreed in writing by the university President and the faculty
member.
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Checklist for pregnancy and the period after childbirth
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Remember
to apply for Family and Medical Leave. This
applies to both the father and the mother.
Contact the Employee Benefits office for appropriate
forms. |
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If
the mother has Short Term Disability, apply for this
benefit as well. Contact the Employee Benefits
office for appropriate forms. |
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Remember to add the newborn to your health plan as
soon as possible after birth. You have 31 days
after birth to add the child to your plan. The
social security number of the child can be provided
later, so do not delay because you do not have this
information. If you have the Point of Service
plan, the physician ID for the child’s Primary Care
Physician does need to be provided right away. |
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Other benefit changes such as life insurance may be
made within 31 days after birth. |
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The
Advantage Account can be changed within 31 days
after childbirth. The Day Care Advantage
account can also be changed within 31 days of
placing a child in Day Care or because of changes in
Day Care providers. |
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Work
with your supervisor for approving leave for
appropriate absences such as doctor’s appointments
or various personal or medical needs as they arise.
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If
you have dental insurance and you cover dependents,
the policy requires that you cover all eligible
dependents. A child must be added to your
dental plan when eligible at age two. |
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Employees who are spouses or domestic partners
Leave requests up to twelve weeks for the birth of a child must be
granted to a spouse under FMLA if the employee meets the eligibility
requirements (the Family and Medical Leave Act does not cover domestic
partners). The leave may be taken anytime during the first year after
the birth.
Upon birth of a child, a father or domestic partner may use disability
leave (within policy limitations), annual leave, compensatory time,
and/or leave without pay.
The employee may use disability leave only for the time period during
which the employee is needed to provide family care due to the birth
mother’s disability. The father may use up to ten days of disability
leave each year for absences resulting from the birth of a child to care
for family members without being required to provide a doctor’s
certification. Longer use of disability leave – up to a total of 20 days
annually for faculty and professional employees, and up to half the
total of accrued disability leave for classified employees – is
permitted when the employee’s presence is needed to care for the
mother’s serious medical condition. Such extended use of disability
leave requires a doctor’s certification of medical necessity. Disability
leave may be supplemented by annual leave*, compensatory time, or leave
without pay if approved.
Annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay may also be used
beyond the period for which disability leave is appropriate, up to six
months for Service & Maintenance and Police Unit employees and up to one
year for all other employees.
Adoption
Either parent may request leave at the time of adoption of a child. The
FMLA provides all employees with up to twelve weeks of leave following
adoption or placement of a child. For faculty and professional
employees, up to 20 days of accrued disability leave may be used for an
adoption that requires the employee’s presence (such as foreign travel
for an international adoption, or agency requirements that a parent
remain home with a child after placement). All employees may use annual
leave, compensatory time, and leave without pay during the adoption.
Placement of a foster child is treated like adoption for purposes of
employee leave requests.
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* Faculty with academic-year appointments and professional staff
whose appointments do not require work during periods when the
university student population is absent do not accrue annual leave.
Requesting
Family Medical Leave
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Office of Human
Resources, 5717 Corbett Hall, Orono, ME 04469
Please send comments or suggestions about this page to hrweb@umit.maine.edu
A Member of the
University of Maine System
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