Carnegie Mellon University

Staff Parental and Maternity Leave Program

Carnegie Mellon University provides eligible staff members with a Staff Parental and Maternity Leave Program.

  • The university's paid maternity leave allows for four consecutive weeks of 100% paid leave to be used immediately following the birth of a child.
  • The paid parental leave allows for two consecutive weeks of 100% paid leave that can be used within 12 months of the birth or placement of a child for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship.

Leaves for the birth or placement of a child for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship that occur on or after July 1, 2019 will be eligible for maternity and/or parental leaves. These leaves will run concurrently with Family Medical Leave.

Staff Parental and Maternity Leave Program
Parental Leave Maternity Leave
Who may use the leave?* All parents (including birth parent**) and legal guardians of children Birth parent**
What is the purpose? Bonding with a new child Physical recovery from childbirth
How long is the leave? Up to two weeks Up to four weeks
When is the leave available? Within 12 months of the birth or placement for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship Immediately following childbirth
When can the leave be used? Must be used as a single block of two weeks within 12 months of the birth or placement through adoption, foster care or legal guardianship; if less than two weeks of parental leave is used, the remaining balance is forfeited Must be used as a single block of four weeks immediately following the birth of a child; if less than four weeks of maternity leave is used, the remaining balance is forfeited
How often may the leave be used? With each birth or adoption event; once every 12 months for foster care and legal guardianship events With each birth event
When does eligibility begin? After six months of employment First of the month following hire date

*The Staff Parental and Maternity Leave program is not applicable to staff members governed by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Pay practices for such staff members shall be governed by the terms of the applicable CBA.

**"Birth parent" is defined as any person who gives birth.

Eligibility

All full-time regular staff, including full-time TES and special faculty who meet the eligibility requirements, are able to use Staff Parental and Maternity Leave. 

  • A birth parent is eligible for maternity leave on the first of the month following hire date.
  • Non-birth parents are eligible for parental leave upon completing six months of service.

Part-time staff members are not eligible for Staff Parental and Maternity Leave.

How to Request Parental and/or Maternity Leave

Expecting parents should contact Leaves Management to discuss their eligibility for maternity and parental leave benefits. Additionally, employees should notify their department of their plans for maternity and parental leaves as soon as possible.

  • For maternity leave, a short-term disability claim must be initiated with MetLife prior to the birth. MetLife can be reached at 866-729-9201. Maternity leave must be used as a single block of up to four weeks of paid leave immediately following childbirth. Short-term disability begins after maternity leave and can last for 2 to 4 weeks, depending on delivery type.
  • For parental leave, a Parental Leave Request Form [pdf] must be completed and submitted to the Office of Human Resources prior to the eligible employee’s expected leave start date. Parental leave must be used as a single block of up to two weeks within 12 months of the child’s date of birth or placement for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship.

Family Medical Leave (FML) will run concurrently during maternity leave, short-term disability and parental leave. FML provides a total of 12 weeks of job and benefit protected leave for new parents, to be used within 12 months of the delivery date, adoption date or foster care placement.

Can I use maternity leave to cover absences related to my pregnancy or prenatal care?
Maternity leave is not available until the child is born. For absences related to pregnancy or prenatal care, you may use other types of time off for which you are eligible, such as PTO, floating holidays, short-term disability and/or family medical leave.

Can maternity leave be used following a miscarriage or stillbirth?
Maternity leave is available for a stillbirth when the staff member has an approved disability claim with MetLife.

The maternity leave is only for four weeks, but I will need to be off work longer than that. How is the rest of my leave covered?
For natural births, the birth parent would take four weeks of paid maternity leave, then two weeks of short-term disability. A birth parent who requires the recommended eight-week physical recovery for a cesarean birth would take four weeks of paid maternity leave, then four weeks of short-term disability. Birth parents with reserve sick days, PTO and/or floating holidays can use those in lieu of short-term disability. In addition, a birth parent may use the parental leave in lieu of the short-term disability.

Short-term disability (STD) is paid at 60% of the eligible employee’s pay rate for the remaining disability period. Available Reserve Sick Days can be used to receive 100% pay in lieu of the 60% STD pay. STD is paid by Carnegie Mellon through the normal payroll process on regularly scheduled pay dates.

I am expecting multiple births. Am I eligible for a longer Staff Parental and Maternity Leave?
No. One leave is available for each birth event associated with a pregnancy, whether single or multiple births.

Can I use Staff Parental and Maternity Leave more than once within a single year?
Yes. Maternity and parental leave are available following each birth event. However, parental leave may only be used once in a 12-month period following foster care or legal guardianship.

I am in the process of adopting/fostering a child. When does my eligibility to use parental leave begin?
You may use parental leave within 12 months of the date the child is placed with you for adoption/ foster. Any time off prior to the placement of the child must be PTO or floating holidays.

When does the availability of parental leave renew for foster care placement and legal guardianship?
Eligible staff may use parental leave once in the 12 months following a child’s placement for foster care or legal guardianship. The availability renews 12 months from the date of placement. For example, if you have a child placed in your care and you are using parental leave starting on August 1, 2023, you would not be eligible to use parental leave again for this type of event until August 1, 2024.

May parental leave be used more than once for the same child?
Parental leave may only be used once per child. For example, a staff member who uses parental leave at the time of foster placement may not request another period of parental leave if the same child is later adopted by the family.

Does parental leave carry over if I have not used the full two weeks by the end of 12 months?
No. You must use the two weeks of parental leave within 12 months of the child’s birth or placement for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship.

Am I still eligible for holiday pay or PTO accrual during Staff Parental and Maternity Leave?
Staff members who are on staff parental/maternity leave on a day observed by the university as a holiday will not be considered observing that holiday for timekeeping purposes. Holidays occurring during staff parental/maternity leave do not extend the leave. Eligible staff members do not accrue PTO during staff parental/maternity leave. If a scheduled leave crosses over a calendar year, any unused floating holidays will be lost.

Can I use Staff Parental and Maternity Leave to receive pay during a period of the year when I would not ordinarily be paid?
No. Staff Parental and Maternity Leave only provides salary replacement during periods when the staff member would ordinarily receive pay.

How does transferring between positions affect a staff member’s ability to use parental leave if one of the positions is not eligible for the leaves?
If you are eligible for parental leave at the time of the child’s birth or placement but later transfer into an ineligible position, your ability to use the leave ends at the time of the transfer. If you are in an ineligible position at the time of the child’s birth or placement but later transfer into an eligible position, you may use parental leave for that birth or placement.

Can a supervisor refuse a staff member’s request or ask them to reschedule their leave?
No. Because these leaves are covered under the Family Medical Leave Act, you do not have the ability to modify or reject a leave request.