Paid Family Leave for Academic Appointees

Scope

All full-time academic appointees with, at least, one year of service.

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Policy Statement

General Statement

Indiana University supports an environment that offers solutions to the complex issues academic appointees face in balancing their work and family commitments. Family leave provides eligible academic appointees with up to twelve weeks of fully or partially paid leave for either or both of the following events:

• Family formation, which includes the birth or adoption of a child by the academic appointee or the academic appointee’s spouse or domestic partner,

• Family care, which includes the primary care of an eligible family member with a serious health condition.

Family leave is not intended to be a supplemental pay plan. This policy reflects the fact that academic appointees do not accrue paid time off as do appointed and hourly staff and allows an academic appointee to take necessary time off from work without undue financial hardship. People may need variable amounts of leave and it is expected that paid leave periods will vary by need and circumstance and may extend across semesters. An appointee should not be expected to perform duties while on leave, to make up time or work, or to be on call in clinical settings. The leave is intended to relieve the appointee of responsibilities so he or she may attend to the family need. Family leave is separate from and in addition to sick leave, including pregnancy-related leave for the academic employee. Leave taken pursuant to this policy shall fulfill all or part of the requirements of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Eligibility

Both 10-­ and 12-­month academic appointees are eligible for family leave after one year of continuous full-­time Indiana University service. Visiting, adjunct, part-time, post-­doctoral, and intermittent appointees are not eligible for family leave.

This policy applies only to salaries paid by the University; it has no application to salaries or other compensation from other sources, including professional practice plans.

Notwithstanding the foregoing criteria for eligibility, the duties of a clinical faculty member in the School of Medicine shall be governed by the separate family-leave policy adopted by the School of Medicine.

Eligible Family Members

Spouse, domestic partner, parent, dependent child, or dependent child of the appointee’s spouse or domestic partner.

Scope of Coverage

• Leaves for the purpose of family formation shall be at full salary for the duration of the leave period covered by this policy.

• Leaves for the purpose of family care shall be covered at the following amounts for the duration of the leave period covered by this policy:

For eligible academic appointees earning salaries up to and including $125,000 annually, the leave shall be at full salary. For eligible academic appointees earning salaries above $125,000 annually, the percentage of paid leave shall be reduced by 1% for each $2,000 in salary above $125,000. However, the percentage of paid leave shall not fall below 50% of the academic appointee’s salary.

Leave Frequency

Academic appointees may take family leave up to twice every five years, but the appointee must return to full-time service for at least one fall or spring semester between leaves. Appointees in non-­teaching appointments must return for at least five months. Family-­formation leave must be concluded within six months of the birth of the child or the date on which the child is placed in the physical custody of the academic appointee. The first week of any family leave begins the period for calculating both the twelve weeks and five-year eligibility period.

Short Term Absences

Short-­term absences of three weeks or less should continue to be arranged informally within a department.

Break Periods & Vacation Time

All semester breaks (i.e., Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring breaks) count in the leave period. For persons on twelve-­month appointments, any accrued vacation time for which an appointee is eligible does not count in the total twelve-­week eligibility period.

Flexibility and Teaching Assignments

1. When a proposed leave under this policy would prevent an appointee from carrying out his or her regular teaching responsibilities in two consecutive semesters, he or she must reach an agreement with the relevant academic unit that meets the needs of both the appointee and the academic unit. Agreements may include a reduced teaching schedule in one or more semesters, partial-­semester teaching schedules, additional non-­teaching duties, or a combination of paid and unpaid leave. Appointees and academic units are encouraged to be creative and flexible in developing solutions that are fair to both the individual and the University.

2. All agreements must be committed to writing, signed by the appointee and the head of the relevant academic unit, and approved by the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs or Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. It shall be the responsibility of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs or Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs to ensure that all agreements entered into are entirely voluntary and fair to both the appointee and the University.

Relationship to Sick Leave Policy

Sick leave is intended to cover periods of time when the academic appointee is sick or medically unable to perform the duties associated with a position. Pregnancy is treated as any other temporary medical condition for the purposes of granting sick leave. Sick leave, including pregnancy, is separate from family leave.

Tenure Clock

As with sick leaves, the tenure clock stops during a family leave unless the academic appointee requests otherwise. Failure to perform duties during the leave period shall not be considered in the evaluation for reappointment, tenure, promotion, or merit pay.

Implementation

The Vice Provost for the Faculty or Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs shall provide information, interpretation, documentation, and enforcement of this policy on each campus, and shall annually provide a report on the utilization of this policy to the agenda committee of their respective campus faculty councils and shall be available to answer questions of the council concerning the policy.

Effective Date

The change in eligibility from two years of required service to one year is effective beginning  August 1, 2017

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History

Previous versions of this policy were approved by the Indiana University Board of Trustees on June 20, 2008 and December 9, 2011.

Revised August 28, 2019, to provide context for implementation of paid family leave in the academic setting.

Interim provisions to this policy were put into effect on August 17, 2020 to comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

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