Medical Maternity Leave

Medical maternity leave for female employees will be granted up to the date the mother is able to return to work, according to the advice of the attending medical provider. A total leave of eight weeks for prepartum and postpartum care recovery will be considered normal. More or less time will be granted, based on the advice of the medical provider.

Maternity leave is deducted from accrued sick and/or vacation leave, or it may be granted as leave without pay. The mother may also be eligible for unpaid family/medical leave, unless eligibility is exhausted. (For more information about family/medical leave see Coordination with Family/Medical Leave Policy and Family/Medical Leave of Absence Policy, both in Section 108).

The provision for reducing a managerial/professional employee's paid sick leave by the amount required to compensate a substitute shall not be exercised in cases of medical maternity leave.

Paternal Leave to Provide Care/Assistance to Mother and/or Child

Paternal leave of up to five days will be granted to the father to provide care and assistance for the newborn child and/or the mother.

Paternal leave is deducted from sick and/or vacation leave, or it may be granted as leave without pay. The father may also be eligible for unpaid family/medical leave, unless eligibility is exhausted. (For more information about family/medical leave see Coordination with Family/Medical Leave Policy and Family/Medical Leave of Absence Policy, both in Section 108).

The provision for reducing a managerial/professional employee's paid sick leave by the amount required to compensate a substitute shall not be exercised in cases of paternal leave.

Adoption Leave

An employee who is the primary care giver of an adopted child will be granted eight weeks of Adoption Leave. An employee who is not the primary care giver of an adopted child will be granted five days of Adoption Leave. Adoption Leave begins when the child is placed in the physical custody of the employee for purposes of adoption or when the employee leaves his or her home for the purpose of obtaining physical custody of the child.

Adoption leave is deducted from sick and/or vacation leave, or it may be granted as leave without pay. The parents may also be eligible for unpaid family/medical leave, unless eligibility is exhausted. (For more information about family/medical leave see Coordination with Family/Medical Leave Policy and Family/Medical Leave of Absence Policy, both in Section 108).

The provision for reducing a managerial/professional employee's paid sick leave by the amount required to compensate a substitute shall not be exercised in cases of adoption leave.

Adoption Leave does not apply if the child being adopted is: a special needs child over eighteen years of age, a child who is over the age of eight and is not a special needs child, a step child being adopted by his or her step parent, a foster child being adopted by his or her foster parent, or a child who was originally under a voluntary placement for purposes other than adoption without assistance from an attorney, physician, or other individual or agency which later results in a petition for adoption of the child by the person with whom the voluntary placement was made.

Coordination with Family/Medical Leave Policy

All regular academic/administrative, managerial/professional and office/service employees of the University of Nebraska with an FTE of .50 or greater, are eligible for family/medical leaves of absence for the birth or adoption for a child. Medical maternity leave, paternal leave, and/or adoption leave are by definition qualifying events, and all such leave will be counted toward the twelve weeks of eligibility for family/medical leave. For more information see Family/Medical Leave