Dear CU Denver faculty and staff,
I’m writing to let you know about exciting changes to the university’s Parental Leave Policy.
Effective July 1, 2018, university staff and 12-month faculty (including research faculty and PRAs) will be eligible for four consecutive weeks (160 hours) of paid leave within one year of the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child. Only employees who are already on a continuous block of leave for a qualifying event as of July 1, 2018, OR who have a qualifying event that occurs after July 1, 2018, may receive the paid leave portion of this new benefit.
The campus policy including eligible job classifications can be found here.
Supporting our employees and preparing our campuses for the needs of the current and future workforce is a priority, and this policy change is being made by CU administration in response to Staff Council and Faculty Assembly input. Paid Parental Leave was identified as a benefit that would support employees as they grow their families, and we are very pleased to be able to respond to this need. Much work and cross-campus collaboration went into this policy change, and demonstrates CU’s commitment to our employees and their needs.
Parental Leave basics:
- Under current policy, 12-month faculty who have worked for 12 consecutive months in a 50 percent or greater appointment and university staff may take either 12 weeks or six consecutive months of unpaid parental leave (depending on job classification). Pay is received using a combination of vacation, sick leave and (in the case of birth parents) short-term disability, if available.
- Under the new policy, 160 consecutive hours (four weeks) of this leave will be paid by the university – separate from an employee’s accrued sick and annual leave pay.
Parental leave polices will not change for nine-month faculty (who currently receive a more generous parental leave benefit) and for classified staff. CU administration is working with the State to potentially extend the program to classified staff in the future.
The original communication, CU System Policy, Denver | Anschutz Campus Policy FAQs and information on applying can be found on the Human Resources website.
Details on the revised CU System policy can be found on the Office of Policy and Efficiency’s website (click “Draft PDF”).
For questions about parental leave, CU Denver faculty and staff may email HR.ParentalLeave@ucdenver.edu.
To apply for parental leave, please complete the Parental Leave Request form. You will need to log in with your credentials in order to apply.
Best,
Carolyn Brownawell
Associate Vice Chancellor & Chief Human Resources Officer
CU Denver ǀ Anschutz Medical Campus