Leaves of Absence

The following is an outline of the employee leave benefits; pregnancy, maternity, child care, and Family and Medical Leave.  For eligibility information and to request leave of absence forms, please contact Diane Drake in University Human Resource Services at 285-1036 or lddrake@bsu.edu.

Newborn/Infant Coverage:
The benefits payable for eligible dependent children shall be paid for a sick or injured newborn infant of a member for the first 31 days of life.  To be covered beyond the first 31 days, the newborn must be added to your membership within the first 31 days. Contact Payroll and Employee Benefits (285-8461) to change your insurance options. 

To request customized child care options visit Child Care Resource and Referral.

Family and Medical Leave: 
Visit the Online Training Modules page to view an interactive presentation about the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Employees who have worked for at least one (1) year and have worked for at least 1,250 hours within the last 12 months qualify for 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child in the employee's home.

Pregnancy Leave:
A leave of absence without pay of up to 3 months per "leave year" may be granted to a pregnant employee prior to the time she and her physician determine she is unable to work.  No extension will be granted. Pregnancy Leave and Child Care Leave combined cannot exceed 6 months.

Pregnancy Leave is not leave entitlement under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Benefit plans may be continued during Pregnancy Leave for employees with over 1 year of continuous full-time service.

Maternity Leave:
Maternity Leave is taken at the time determined by an employee and her physician to be when she is unable to work due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions.  It is treated the same as any other sick leave. Vacation days earned and available for use may be taken contiguous to paid sick leave days.

Maternity Leave will be counted against any leave entitlement required under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Benefit plans may be continued during a Maternity Leave.

Child Care Leave:
A leave of absence without pay of up to 6 months may be granted to an employee following the birth of an employee's child and after her physician has declared her able to return to work or following the adoption or foster care placement of a child.  Child Care Leave combined with Pregnancy Leave cannot exceed 6 months in a "leave year."

Entitlement to Child Care Leave will begin on the date of birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child and will end on the last day of the twelfth month following the beginning entitlement date.  Child Care Leave is available to both female and male employees.

If the employee fails to return to work at the university on or before the expiration of the Child Care Leave, the employee will be considered to have resigned from the university.  If the employee fails to return to work at the university at the end of the leave and work for a period of time equal to the length of the leave, he or she must repay the portion of the benefit costs paid by the university during the Child Care Leave.

To the extent that the Child Care Leave is also a Family and Medical Leave qualifying leave, it will run concurrently with Family and Medical Leave.  If sick leave is exhausted, the employee may elect to use accrued paid vacation during Child Care Leave.  Benefit plans may be continued during a Child Care Leave.