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5.6 Parental Leave

  1. A pregnant permanent employee shall be entitled, upon request, to an unpaid leave of absence for purposes of pregnancy, child birth, recovery therefrom or care for the newborn child for a period not to exceed one (1) year, including any leave granted under the FMLA. The employee shall provide medical substantiation to support their request for pregnancy leave. The request must include the beginning and ending dates of the leave and must be requested no later than 30 calendar days after the birth of the child. Any changes to the leave, once approved, are permissive and subject to approval of the department head or designee.

    If the initial request for parental leave is less than the maximum period allowed, subsequent requests to extend the leave to the maximum one-year time frame are permissive and may be considered by the department head or designee. If the request for parental leave is made more than 30 calendar days after the birth of the child, a permissive unpaid leave of absence may be considered by the department head or designee, in accordance with existing laws and rules

  2. The spouse, co-parent, or effective April 1, 2002, domestic partner as defined and certified with the Secretary of State’s office in accordance with Family Code Section 297, who is a permanent employee, shall be entitled, upon request, to an unpaid leave of absence for a period not to exceed one (1) year to care for their newborn child. The employee shall provide medical substantiation to support their request for parental leave. The request must include the beginning and ending dates of the leave and must be requested no later than 30 calendar days after the birth of the child. Any changes to the leave, once approved, are permissive and subject to approval of the department head or designee.

    If the initial request for parental leave is less than the maximum period allowed, subsequent requests to extend the leave to the maximum one year time frame are permissive and may be considered by the department head or designee.

    If the request for parental leave is made more than thirty (30) days after the birth of the child, a permissive unpaid leave of absence may be considered by the department head or designee in accordance with existing laws and rules.

  3. During the period of time an employee is on parental leave, they shall be allowed to continue their health, dental, and vision benefits. Except as provided under the FMLA, the cost of these benefits shall be paid by the employee and the rate that the employee will pay will be the group rate.