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̨������ֱ��’s Faculty Family Leave is a policy which offers paid childbearing, adoption, and childrearing leaves for eligible faculty.  See the policy.

The policy identifies three types of leave:

1. “Childbearing” leave refers to paid leave provided to eligible faculty members who give birth;
2. “Adoption” leave refers to leave provided to eligible faculty members (regardless of gender identity) following the adoption of a child; and
3. “Childrearing” leave refers to paid leave provided to eligible faculty members (regardless of gender identity) who are at least an equal partner in caring for the child. Childrearing leave must commence within 12 months of the birth or adoption. An eligible faculty member (regardless of gender identity) who takes a childbearing or adoption leave is also eligible for a childrearing leave if they are at least an equal partner in caring for the child.

The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

FMLA is a federally-required unpaid leave for eligible employees; Faculty Family Leave is the University’s paid leave offered for childbearing, adoption, and childrearing for eligible faculty. Paid Faculty Family Leave is counted toward the maximum entitlement of 12 weeks FMLA unpaid leave in a 12 month period but the eligibility requirements are not the same, nor is the length of leave available.

Childbearing and Adoption leaves will be automatically approved after the faculty member provides notification to the designated administrator within the faculty member’s school Dean’s or Faculty Affairs Office and submits documentation to MetLife (see Instructions and Procedures, below). Approvals for childrearing leave will generally be granted to equal partners in childrearing. The Provost’s office has final approval authority over childrearing leaves.

Faculty who do not meet the policy’s eligibility requirements may be eligible for paid medical leave for a period of time medically necessary for a faculty member to recover from childbirth and/or for unpaid leave under the FMLA (see below). Leaves for individuals with Research Faculty appointments fall under a separate policy. If you do not qualify for medical leave or FMLA you may be able to take a personal unpaid leave, arranged with your school dean’s office, and may also qualify for an accommodation through the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance.

Eligible faculty members who have adopted a child may take both paid adoption leave and paid childrearing leave.

Surrogacy and fostering are considered analogous to childbearing and adoption and therefore qualify for these same leaves.

Yes, childrearing leave may be taken consecutively with childbearing leave. The childrearing leave must commence within twelve months of the birth or adoption of your child. For more information regarding the timing of leaves, please refer to Section III of the policy, “Length and Timing of Leaves.”

In the above situation, the faculty member who gave birth to the child is eligible to take paid childbearing leave and paid childrearing leave; the other partner is eligible to take childrearing leave. In the event of an adoption, both faculty members may take both paid adoption leave and paid childrearing leave.

No. ̨������ֱ�� does not consider the employment status of your spouse or partner in determining your eligibility for faculty family leave. As long as you will share equal parenting responsibility with your partner, you are eligible to take paid childrearing leave.

Faculty members who are unable to work due to a medically-certified disability related to pregnancy or childbearing are eligible for paid medical leave, as set forth in the “Medical Leave” section of the Faculty Handbook.

Requests for medical leave must be accompanied by a statement from a physician describing the medical reason for the leave and the estimated duration of the leave. Please contact MetLife either online at metlife.com/mybenefits , or by phone at 1-800-396-8876 to initiate this request.

This medical leave is independent of the leave provided by the Faculty Family Leave Policy and does not affect the amount of Family Leave available. In circumstances where a hospitalization or bed rest immediately precedes the birth of a child, medical leave ends and childbearing leave begins upon the faculty member’s discharge from the hospital following the birth of the baby.

No. One paid childbearing leave is available per birth or adoption event. The number of children involved does not increase the length of paid childbearing, childrearing, or adoption leaves granted for that event. However, you may qualify for additional leave, as discussed below.

Faculty members also may be eligible for additional unpaid FMLA leave, assuming that they meet the FMLA’s eligibility requirements, though faculty family leaves are counted toward the maximum entitlement of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12 month period. For additional information on FMLA leave, please refer to the “Personal Leaves of Absence” provision in the Faculty Handbook.

As set forth in the policy, faculty members on childbearing, adoption, and childrearing leaves are not required to fulfill University service responsibilities, such as membership on committees, during their leave. Faculty on childbearing leave may retain responsibility for any necessary supervision to students pursuing such work as undergraduate senior honors, masters, or doctoral research or make other arrangements for supervision during the leave. Faculty on adoption and childrearing leave are expected to retain responsibility for any necessary supervision to students pursuing such work as undergraduate senior honors, masters, or doctoral research.

During the academic year in which the leave is taken, eligible faculty members receive a reduction in their annual teaching load corresponding to the length of the leave. It is assumed that no faculty member’s teaching load will be reduced to less than one course per academic year because of childbearing/adoption and/or childrearing. The faculty member’s School or Department is responsible for identifying and hiring replacement teaching assistance as necessary, with the cost for the replacement to be borne by the respective School. Any questions regarding teaching reduction should be directed to one’s School or Department.

Childbearing, Adoption, and Childrearing leave are fully approved leaves and Faculty will not be asked to make up for these leaves with teaching, course preparation, or service activities at any subsequent time.  

While a faculty member is on paid leave, ̨������ֱ�� will continue to pay its share of health insurance premiums, and the faculty member will continue to be responsible for their portion of premiums. Additional information regarding benefits is available at the Human Resources Website.

Concerns about actions of a department chair should be directed to the school dean. If your concern involves actions at the level of the school dean, you should discuss it with the Associate Provost for Faculty assoc-prov-faculty@northwestern.edu.

Faculty members are encouraged to discuss any questions or issues relating to the Family Leave policy with their respective Department Chairs, designated administrator within the faculty member’s school Dean’s or Faculty Affairs Office, and/or the Office of the Provost. See the contact list at the beginning of this document.

Faculty members are encouraged to explore the services and resources offered by ̨������ֱ��’s Work Life, Child & Family Resources Office. Additional information is available online at: /hr/work-life/faculty.html

Support for new parents is also available through the Women’s Center (847) 491-7360 or (312) 503-3400 and through the .

Unpaid leave is available through the University’s Family Care Leave of Absence (as designated by the Family Medical Leave Act, FMLA). Family care leave can be used for a serious health condition affecting a spouse, parent, or child who is under 18 years of age. It is available for the care of those over the age of 18 if they are incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability at the time FMLA leave is to commence. For more information, see the.

FMLA applies to employees who have worked for at least 12 months and have at least 1,250 hours of work during the 12 month period immediately preceding the leave. Visit the  for details.

Yes, because eligibility requirements differ. For example, if you are a benefits-eligible instructional faculty member with more than one year but less than 3 years of service (and not in a three year appointment), you may qualify for FMLA but not Faculty Family Leave.

If you require an immediate leave, please contact MetLife, either online at , or at 1-800-396-8876. Please also contact your school dean’s office directly, if possible. While MetLife will notify HR Benefits and your dean’s office regarding your request, the sooner your dean’s office is notified of the leave, the sooner appropriate planning for your academic responsibilities can take place.

Faculty members may request extensions of their pre-tenure probationary period due to the birth, adoption, or rearing of a child. A one-year extension is granted to faculty who give birth, and to parents following adoption. An additional one-year extension for childrearing may be granted to a parent who is at least an equal partner in caring for a child. Extensions of the probationary period for childbirth, adoption, and/or childrearing are limited to a total of two years within a faculty member’s pre-tenure probationary period, regardless of the number of children.

Subject to the above two-year limitation, requests to stop the tenure clock for a one-year period following childbirth or adoption are automatically approved. Extension requests related to childrearing require the approval of the Provost, based upon the recommendation of the Dean. Such requests will generally receive favorable consideration, depending upon the faculty member’s specific circumstances.

All requests for an extension of the probationary period must be made by the faculty member in writing to the faculty member’s Dean and should be submitted prior to the beginning of the tenure review. If the request is granted, the faculty member’s Dean will provide written confirmation of the extended probationary period. Read more on extension criteria and the procedures for requesting extensions.

Family leaves and extension of the probationary period are independent of each other: a faculty member may take a leave and not stop the clock, or may stop the clock without taking a leave.