Congratulations to you! If you are reading this guide, it means you’ll soon have a new child in your life. The first step towards preparing for your upcoming leave is to submit an Extended Absence Request in OneUSG Connect at least one month out from the due date or expected placement date. If you are unsure of which type of leave to select, contact hrweb@uga.edu for assistance.
Leave Types
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The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave for the birth of a child, the adoption of a minor child, or the placement of a minor child in foster care. Eligibility is contingent upon the employee meeting the following criteria: any employee, including part-time and temporary, of the University of Georgia who has been employed by the University System of Georgia for at least twelve total months AND has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the qualifying event date. While FMLA leave itself is unpaid, it can be used in conjunction with other applicable pay or leave types such as Paid Parental Leave, Short Term Disability, Shared Sick Leave, and/or your own leave balance. FMLA leave can be used either continuously over an extended period of time or intermittently over the child’s first year of life or placement.
The only documentation needed to process FMLA leave for the birth of a child is paperwork confirming the child’s date of birth that also includes the employee’s name as a parent or legal guardian (confirmation of birth, birth certificate, etc.). The documentation required for adoption or foster care of a minor child is any official document confirming the date of placement of the child that also includes the employee’s name as a parent or legal guardian. Your leave dates will be processed in accordance with the actual date of delivery or placement once the supporting documentation has been provided. If FMLA leave is needed prior to delivery for the birth of a child, you will need to submit a completed copy of the WH-380-E form (PDF) (PDF) to Absence Management in University Human Resources.If you select to use FMLA leave continuously, a Leave Administrator will enter your leave on your behalf for your entire extended absence once the supporting documentation has been submitted and received. At the time your leave is entered, your Paid Parental Leave eligibility will be assessed and automatically applied to the beginning of your absence if you meet the eligibility requirements. The only exception to this is if an employee is also utilizing Short Term Disability. Please see below section on Short Term Disability for more details.
If you select to use FMLA leave intermittently, FMLA Intermittent absence entitlements will be awarded to you once the supporting documentation has been submitted. You can then enter regular leave requests coded as “FMLA Intermittent” or “FMLA Intermittent – Vacation” for your absences related to caring for and bonding with your child. If eligible, intermittent Parental Leave entitlements may also be awarded to you at that time and will run concurrent with your available FMLA leave balance.*For Teaching Faculty seeking information on FMLA and/or Paid Parental Leave, please speak with your unit’s HR Liaison and then contact a UHR Leave Administrator by calling 706-542-2222 or submitting a ticket via hrweb@uga.edu for further guidance.
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Employees who do not meet the FMLA eligibility requirements of at least 12 total months of service by the University System of Georgia and 1,250 hours worked in the 12-months immediately preceding the qualifying event date will have their parental leave processed as Medical/Non-FMLA leave. The primary distinction is that this type of leave is not job-protected and only covers the employee’s recovery period from delivery. Any leave taken beyond the recovery period should be submitted as regular leave requests routed through your department for approval. Like FMLA, Medical/Non-FMLA can run concurrently with other applicable pay or leave types such as Paid Parental Leave, Short-Term Disability, Shared Sick Leave, and/or an employee’s own leave balance. Since Medical/Non-FMLA leave is not job-protected, please discuss with your department any expectations for your return prior to the start of your maternity leave.
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As of July 1st, 2021, eligible employees can receive 120 hours of Paid Parental Leave for the birth of a child, the adoption of a minor child, or the placement of a minor child in foster care. Eligibility is contingent upon the employee meeting the following criteria: Full-time regular, part-time regular, and temporary employees who have six (6) months of continuous service and have worked a minimum of 700 hours in the 6 months immediately preceding the first requested leave date. This leave can be used either all at one time or intermittently over the child’s first year of life or placement. If an employee is also eligible for FMLA, then the Paid Parental Leave absences will automatically run concurrent with FMLA and count towards the 12 workweeks of job protected leave covered by FMLA.
Employees who are using FMLA continuously and meet the Paid Parental Leave requirements will automatically have their 120-hour Paid Parental Leave entitlement applied to the beginning of their FMLA extended absence. The exception to this is if an employee is also utilizing Short Term Disability, wherein only two weeks of the Paid Parental Leave would be applied during the “exclusionary period” if elected and the remaining Paid Parental Leave would be applied at the conclusion of the disability period.
If an employee is not going to be absent on a continuous basis and will instead take time off in increments for their Paid Parental Leave qualifying event, they can request “Parental Leave Intermittent” as the absence type in OneUSG Connect when submitting their extended absence request. In this situation, the employee is awarded 120 hours of Paid Parental Leave entitlements, which can be used by submitting regular leave requests coded “Parental Intermittent” in OneUSG Connect over the child’s first year of life/placement. Paid Parental Leave will automatically run concurrent with FMLA if an employee meets the FMLA eligibility requirements.
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Employees who are enrolled in Short Term Disability coverage have the option of filing a claim for their recovery period following delivery. Short term disability is a salary replacement plan that covers up to 60% of an employee’s gross weekly wages starting on the 15th day of incapacity. The first two weeks of the disability period are known as the “exclusionary period” before disability payments begin on day 15. Employees have the option of using leave for these two weeks, going unpaid for these two weeks, or exhausting their leave balance before receiving any disability payments. It is important to note that the exclusionary period is included in the total number of weeks counted as the disability period. This means that employees who have a vaginal delivery will have a 2-week exclusionary period followed by 4 weeks of disability payments meanwhile, employees who deliver via c-section will have a 2-week exclusionary period followed by 6 weeks of disability payments. Employees are only eligible to receive disability benefits for the 6- to 8-week recovery period that follows childbirth.
While actively receiving disability benefits, employees are in an unpaid status with UGA and are directly billed for their portion of their insurance premiums. If you have any questions about how to pay your portion of your premiums, you can call OneUSG Connect Benefits at 1-844-587-4236. At the conclusion of your disability period, you will automatically resume a paid status with UGA if you have any available leave at that time.
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If employees do not have a significant leave balance and they are enrolled in the Shared Sick Leave Program, they can request to receive Shared Sick Leave hours from the pool once their own leave has been exhausted by completing the Shared Sick Leave Request Form. It is important to note that Shared Sick Leave can only be utilized for the employee’s recovery period from delivery.
Terms To Know
- Recovery Period– The recovery period is the timeframe dedicated to recovering post-delivery. This is typically 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery and 8 weeks for a cesarean delivery.
- Exclusionary Period(also known as the “elimination period”) – The first 14 calendar days of your disability period before your benefits start on the 15th day of disability.
- Intermittent– FMLA Intermittent and Parental Intermittent absence types are used at irregular intervals and are taken to account for a portion of the employee’s regular duties that they are not performing due to their FMLA qualifying event.
Frequently Asked Questions
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To add your little one to your USG benefit plans, you will need to process a life changing event with OneUSG Connect-Benefits. This may be done online at www.oneusgconnect.uga.edu (Manage my Benefits>Change your Coverage> Birth or Adoption) or by phone at 1-844-587- 4236. This must be done within 30 days from the day of birth.
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No, Short Term Disability is a salary replacement plan. Therefore, employees may not receive disability benefits and paid leave for the same dates. While receiving 60% pay from your disability plan, you will be in an unpaid status for UGA’s records.
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Per USG policy, employees can only be in an unpaid status while holding a leave balance if they are actively receiving disability or workers’ compensation benefits. Once your disability period has ended, you will resume a paid status with UGA if you have any leave remaining.
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Eligible spouses working for the same employer are entitled to a combined total of 12 weeks of FMLA for bonding in a 12-month period for the birth, adoption, or placement of a child through foster care. For example, if Jane is requesting 12 weeks of FMLA for the birth of her child and has a vaginal delivery, 6 weeks of her 12-week entitlement are considered her disability period. The remaining 6 weeks are considered ‘bonding’ and are thus deducted from the shared 12 weeks. Her husband, John, would then be eligible to use up to 6 weeks of FMLA to care for and bond with the child. For additional information, please refer to the Department of Labor’s FMLA for Spouses Working for the Same Employer.
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Employees seeking to take leave beyond the 12-week FMLA entitlement should first discuss with their department to see if this can be accommodated. If approved, this time off should be submitted as regular leave requests in OneUSG Connect routed through the department for approval.
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If you are needing FMLA covered leave prior to delivery, you would need to submit a completed copy of the FMLA Medical Certificate (WH-380-E (PDF)). Any FMLA leave used prior to delivery does count towards the total 12 weeks of FMLA allowed for the birth of a child. If you do not need FMLA covered leave prior to delivery, you can enter regular leave requests for any time off prior to birth.
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When submitting your extended absence request, you may indicate your expected return to work date at that time, and we will adjust this based on the actual date of delivery. If you do not plan to take the full 12 weeks allotted by FMLA or if you change your mind on your return date, you can inform your Absence Management practitioner at any point in your absence, and your event will be adjusted accordingly so long as your return is within or immediately upon completion of the 12-week FMLA entitlement.
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Your leave will be entered by the leave administrator based on the supporting documentation (i.e. confirmation of birth, birth certificate), so you do not need to make any changes in OneUSG Connect after submitting your initial request.
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If you are in a paid status, your insurance premiums will continue to be deducted from your paycheck as usual. If you are in an unpaid status on the 1st of the month, you will be billed directly for the employee portion of that month’s insurance premiums via OneUSG Connect- Benefits.
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Employees must be in an active, paid status for 15 days of the month to be eligible for leave accruals. A paid status includes payment for hours worked and/or paid leave
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You have the choice of whether or not you use Short-Term Disability or Shared Sick Leave if you are enrolled in both programs. Like Short Term Disability, Shared Sick Leave is only applicable for the “recovery period” and you would have to exhaust your own leave balances before being eligible to receive from the Shared Leave pool. Please note that Short-Term Disability and Shared Sick Leave cannot be used simultaneously.
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Short Term Disability is not taxable income. Therefore, you do not pay taxes on the disability benefits that you receive.
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If eligible for FMLA, you will still be able to take off up to 12 weeks for the birth of your child, the adoption of a child, or placement of a child in foster care. FMLA itself is pro-rated, so you would be eligible to receive 480 X your FTE of job-protected leave for your FMLA qualifying event. If eligible for Parental Leave, you would be entitled to the full 120 hours, which is not pro- rated.
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Yes! When submitting your extended absence request, you may choose the regular “FMLA Continuous” or “FMLA Intermittent” options as your Absence Type which will first pull from your sick leave balance, or you may select “FMLA Continuous – Vacation” or “FMLA Intermittent – Vacation” which will indicate that you would like to use your vacation leave first. If you would like to use a specific amount of leave from each bucket, please indicate this prior to the processing of your leave event. Once your event has been processed through payroll, no changes can be made to your designation.
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If you are in a paid status the day before and after the holiday, you will receive the Holiday pay rather than use your own leave for that day. Holidays do count towards an employee’s 12- week FMLA entitlement if the entire week is counted as FMLA leave. If you are in an unpaid status due to receiving disability benefits or you exhausted your own leave, you would not be eligible for the Holiday pay. For more information, please see the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #28I.
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If you know that you meet the FMLA requirements, you only need to submit one extended absence request for FMLA in OneUSG Connect. The Absence Management team will automatically assess Parental Leave eligibility when processing FMLA events for the birth of a child, the adoption of a minor child, or the placement of a minor child in foster care.
If you have additional questions that have not been answered here, feel free to call University Human Resources at 706-542-2222 and ask to speak to a representative in Absence Management or email leave@uga.edu.