Penn State will begin offering paid parental leave for benefits-eligible staff members, the university informed employees on Thursday.
Beginning July 1, full-time staff will be eligible for four consecutive weeks of paid time off to be used within 90 days of the birth or adoption of child. To be eligible for the paid time off, employees must be in a benefits-eligible position for at least 12 months prior to the birth or adoption.
The university is already required by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to provide 12 weeks of unpaid time off for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, and serious health conditions. According to a university news release, the new paid parental leave will run concurrent with FMLA time.
‘The policy supplements all other available paid time off benefits for family related needs,’ a letter to employees said.
Staff who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement are subject to its terms and not covered by the new policy.
Penn State has already offered paid parental leave to faculty members for 16 years, with six weeks for a a faculty member who gives birth, two weeks for a faculty member whose partner gives birth and six weeks following adoption of a child.
“We are delighted that Penn State is able to provide a paid parental leave benefit to our staff,’ said Lorraine Goffe, vice president for human resources. ‘We understand the bond formed between a parent and a child can have a tremendous impact not only on the health of the child, but on the well-being of the family.”
Prior to the university-wide rollout, a paid parental leave pilot program will be implemented for Applied Research Laboratory staff beginning Feb. 1.
‘The pilot with ARL will help the University in finalizing administrative procedures, evaluating expected utilization, identifying communication opportunities, etc., prior to going live for all benefits-eligible University staff on July 1,’ Penn State spokesman Wyatt DuBois said in an email. ‘ARL is a large enough group that we can collect meaningful data and prepare ourselves to support this on day one for the rest of the University.’
Penn State is Centre County’s largest employer, with about 15,000 full-time employees in the county. University-wide, Penn State has about 32,500 full-time employees.
The university is the latest Centre County employer to recently begin offering paid parental leave. Centre County Government approved a policy in February 2019 offering full-time employees six weeks of paid time off for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child.
In August, Ferguson Township also approved six weeks of paid parental leave for its employees.
