Paid Parental Leave Benefit

On Sept. 20, 2019, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved a Paid Parental Leave program for eligible university employees. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will offer a Paid Parental Leave (PPL) benefit, effective as of Jan. 13, 2020, that provides eligible employees dedicated leave time to care for and bond with a newborn or a newly-placed child, under the age of 18, by adoption, foster care placement, or other legal placement.

As of the date of the qualifying event, an eligible UNC-CH employee must meet the following criteria to be eligible for PPL:

• Be in a permanent, probationary, or time-limited SHRA and EHRA Non-Faculty position working at least 20 hours per week;
• Have been continuously employed by the State of North Carolina for the immediate 12 preceding months;
• Have been in pay status for at least 1,040 hours in the previous 12-month period.
• Have a child born, adopted, or placed with the employee through foster care or other legal placement on or after Sept. 1, 2019.

Temporary and part-time (working less than 20 hours per week) employees are not eligible for the PPL benefit. However, temporary employment may count toward the 12 months service requirement so long as the employee is in a permanent, probationary, or time-limited (benefits-eligible) SHRA or EHRA Non-Faculty position at the time of the qualifying event.

Faculty members on 9 or 12 months of service are not eligible for the PPL benefit as they are already covered under the Faculty Serious Illness, Major Disability, and Parental Leave Policy. More information about this policy is available on the Academic Personnel website.

For purposes of this policy, the terms below mean the following:

Paid Parental Leave (PPL) is designed to allow employees paid time off to care for and bond with a newborn child, or a newly-adopted or newly-placed child. PPL will run concurrently with approved unpaid leave under the Family & Medical Leave Act, as applicable by law.

• Eight weeks of PPL for the birth parent, providing the first four (4) weeks for recuperation immediately following the birth and four (4 weeks) for bonding within 12 months.
• Four weeks of PPL for bonding for the non-birth parent, following birth, adoption, foster care, or other legal placement of a child, within the 12 months.
• Leave for part-time employees (working at least 20 hours per week) will be awarded on a pro-rated basis corresponding to the percentage of hours they normally are scheduled to work.

PPL for recuperation
Eligible employees who have given birth may receive a maximum of four weeks (160 hours) of PPL for recuperation during the disability period associated with the birth of a child. This leave must be used as a continuous four-week period of leave commencing immediately following the birth of a child. PPL for recuperation may not be used or extended beyond this four-week period.  The number of children born during a single event does not increase the PPL for recuperation allowance.

PPL for bonding
Eligible employees who are parents of a newborn child or a child under the age of 18 who is placed with the employee through adoption, foster care placement, or other legal placement may receive up to four weeks (160 hours) of PPL to care for and bond with an eligible child.

• Bonding leave must be used as a continuous 4-week period of leave and must be taken within the first 12 months of the birth or placement of the child. PPL for bonding that is not used during the first 12-month period will be forfeited. This leave should be coordinated with the employee’s supervisor to minimize impact to the work unit, if feasible, and to avoid any public safety concerns.

Additional Criteria for Paid Parental Leave
Each hour of PPL will be compensated at 100 percent of the employee’s regular base pay at a straight time rate, excluding any premium pay.  PPL will be paid on regularly scheduled pay dates.

If more than one parent works for UNC-CH, each parent is independently eligible to use PPL; the leave benefit is not shared between parents.

Eligibility for PPL ends if an employee of UNC-CH transfers to an ineligible position or receives an appointment to a non-participating institution. Upon termination of an individual’s employment with UNC-CH, the employee will not be paid for any unused PPL. PPL cannot be donated to other employees.

PPL cannot be used prior to the effective date of birth, adoption, or foster care placement, or other legal placement.

PPL will run concurrently with leave under FMLA. Any leave taken under this policy due to the birth, adoption, or foster care placement, or other legal placement of a child will be counted towards the 12 weeks of available FMLA leave per 12-month period.  All other requirements and provisions under FMLA will apply. In no case will the total amount of FMLA leave (paid or unpaid) granted to the employee exceed 12 weeks during the 12-month FMLA period.

PPL must be applied to absences prior to the employee using any available personal leave (vacation, bonus, sick, etc.), other accrued paid time off, or leave without pay. After the PPL is exhausted, the employee may use the balance of FMLA leave (if applicable), in which case compensation can be provided through a combination of accrued leave (i.e., sick, vacation/bonus leave) and/or Voluntary Shared Leave (if applicable). Upon exhaustion of these leave balances, any remaining FMLA leave will be unpaid.

Paid holidays occurring during a full week of PPL count towards the employee’s PPL entitlement and do not extend the PPL period.  Paid holidays occurring during a partial week of PPL do not count towards the employee’s PPL entitlement and do extend the PPL period unless the employee was otherwise scheduled and expected to work during the paid holiday.

Condition 3 Adverse Weather Closings with pay count towards the employee’s PPL entitlement and do not extend the PPL period.

Employees are eligible to use PPL if it has not been used within the past 12 months even if they have already exhausted their available Family & Medical Leave entitlement

In the event of a stillbirth occurring twenty or more weeks into the pregnancy, a birth parent who is an eligible employee shall be provided up to four weeks of PPL for recuperation commencing immediately following the stillbirth.

If an employee had a qualifying event that occurred on or after Sept. 1, 2019, and met the eligibility requirements as of the date of the event, the employee may be eligible for up to four weeks of PPL for purposes of bonding, beginning Jan. 13, 2020 and expiring 12 months from the time of the qualifying event date. Additionally, a birth parent who is still in the recuperation period may be eligible for prorated PPL for purposes of recuperation.

Eligible employees should provide notice of the request for PPL at least 30 days prior to the proposed date of leave by submitting the required documentation to the Benefits & Leave Administration unit in the Office of Human Resources. If your need for leave is unforeseeable, you must provide notice as soon as practicable.