Section VII: Leave of Absence

501 Parental Leave Policy

Parental Leave Policy

The College recognizes that staff members may need to be absent from work to care for a newborn child or newly adopted or foster child (referred to as parental leave in this policy).  As such, the College provides parental leaves of absences to all eligible employees in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and any applicable state law.

Eligibility & Guidelines:

1. All full-time employees are eligible for parental leave under this policy, as defined below, for the following reasons:

•    The birth of a child and in order to care for that child (leave to be completed within one year of the child’s birth).

•    The placement of a child for adoption or foster care and in order to care for the newly placed child (leave to be completed within one year of the child’s placement).

2. An eligible employee may take up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave, to run concurrently with FMLA leave, in a 12-month period. 

   *Staff may take an additional four weeks beyond the parental leave (for a total of 12 weeks) by using accrued sick time at 100% of pay first followed by accrued PTO time and short-term disability. 

    If the employee has exhausted the paid options before the 12 weeks are reached, they may be off for this period without pay.

3. Staff who both work for the College and who are both eligible to take parental leave for the birth of a child, adoption or placement of a child in foster care may each take 8 weeks of leave. If one parent is a faculty member and the other is a Centre staff member, the parents are both eligible for the two-course load reduction and 8-week paid leave, as applicable to their roles.

4. If you need to take parental leave for the birth of a child or to care for a newly adopted or foster child, you must provide advance notice in writing to the immediate supervisor and Human Resources. When possible, you should give at least 90 days’ notice of your request for leave to allow sufficient time to review the needs of your department, provide for adequate replacement, etc. Human Resources will respond to all requests for parental leave in writing.

5. No staff member will be subject to any adverse employment action based upon the exercise of any rights under this policy or applicable law. The request for or use of parental leave would not negatively impact or cause any adverse employment actions with regards to promotion or advancement.

6. Because the purpose of parental leave is to provide employees with an opportunity to care for and bond with their children, employees will forfeit parental leave if they accept employment or work for another employer during parental leave provided by the College. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis with the approval of an employee's supervisor and the Human Resources Department. 

502 Pregnancy Accommodation

Centre College Pregnancy Accommodation for Employees Policy

Policy Statement:

This policy aims to ensure compliance with the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act, and to promote a supportive and inclusive environment for pregnant workers at Centre College. Centre is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, preventing discrimination, and fostering the well-being of pregnant employees, consistent with applicable federal and state laws.

Scope:

This policy applies to all employees and applicants for employment who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or have related medical conditions. This Policy also operates in conjunction with and consistent with existing policy and law regarding support for lactating and breastfeeding employees (see Centre College Staff Handbook at Section 610).  In addition, this Policy operates in conjunction with the College’s Parental Leave Policy (see Centre College Staff Handbook at Section 501). 

Definitions:

The term “known limitation” means physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions that the employee or employee's representative has communicated to the College whether or not such condition meets the definition of disability specified in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)

The term “qualified employee” means an employee or applicant who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position, except that an employee or applicant shall be considered qualified if –

(A) any inability to perform an essential function is for a temporary period;

(B) the essential function could be performed in the near future; and

(C) the inability to perform the essential function can be reasonably accommodated. (which may mean that one more essential functions are temporarily suspended and the employee continues to perform the remaining functions of the job).

The terms "reasonable accommodation'' and "undue hardship'' have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111) and shall be construed as such terms are construed under such Act and as set forth in the applicable regulations, including with regard to the interactive process that will typically be used to determine an appropriate reasonable accommodation.

Policy Guidelines:

1.         Non-Discrimination:

a. Centre strictly prohibits any form of discrimination or harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

b. Employees will not be subjected to adverse employment actions or denied employment opportunities due to their pregnancy status.

c. Employees will not be required to take leave, whether paid or unpaid, if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to the known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of the qualified employee.

 2.         Reasonable Accommodations:

a. Centre will make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of a qualified employee, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operations of Centre.

b. Upon notification of an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, Centre will engage in an interactive process to determine appropriate accommodations.

c. Accommodations may include, but are not limited to, more frequent or longer breaks, time off to recover from childbirth, acquisition or modification of equipment, appropriate seating, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position, job restructuring, light duty, modified work schedule, and private space that is not a bathroom for expressing breast milk.

d. Requests for reasonable accommodations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the employee’s job responsibilities, medical needs, and Centre’s operational requirements.  Accommodations will be provided unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of Centre.

e.  Centre is permitted to seek additional supporting documentation where it reasonable to determine whether the employee has a physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions and needs a change or adjustment at work due to the limitation.  The additional supporting documentation requested will be limited to situations where the conditions are not obvious and where the documentation is minimally sufficient to (1) confirm the physical or mental condition; (2) confirm the physical or mental condition is related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (together with (1) “a limitation”); and (3) describe the change or adjustment at work needed due to the limitation.

 3.         Confidentiality and Privacy:

a. Centre will maintain the privacy and confidentiality of employees’ pregnancy-related information, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

b. Employees’ consent will be sought before sharing any confidential information with relevant parties involved in the accommodation process.

c. Managers and supervisors involved in the accommodation process will be informed of the need to ensure the protection of privacy and confidentiality.

4.         Communication and Awareness:

a. Centre will provide employees with information about their rights under this Policy, including the right to request reasonable accommodations.

b. The college will establish a clear process for employees to request accommodations, including designating an office responsible for handling such requests.  Centre employees should contact the Office of Human Resources at 859-238-5464.

c. Managers and supervisors will receive training on this Policy, including their responsibilities in providing reasonable accommodations and preventing pregnancy discrimination.

5.         Reporting and Complaint Procedure:

a. Centre encourages employees to report any concerns or complaints related to pregnancy discrimination or the denial of reasonable accommodations.

b. Employees may report concerns to their immediate supervisor or the Office of Human Resources.

c. Centre will promptly and thoroughly investigate all complaints and take appropriate remedial actions as necessary.

6.         Review and Modification:

a. This policy will be periodically reviewed and updated to ensure continued compliance with applicable laws or regulations.

b. Centre will provide ongoing training and educational resources to employees, managers, and supervisors to raise awareness and understanding of the policy.

 

 

Effective as of August 1, 2024

503 Paid Sick Leave

Full-time employees (those who maintain a regular schedule of 35 or more hours per week) earn sick leave coverage at a rate of one day a month at full pay and one day a month at 60% of pay.  The 60% of pay will be referred to as Short-Term Disability (STD).

Part-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work 17 ½ hours or more per week, will receive sick leave at a rate of ½ day a month at full pay and ½ day a month at 60% of pay. Temporary workers and employees working less than 17 ½ hours a week are not eligible for sick leave accrual.

Newly hired employees will become eligible for the program after three months of continuous employment.

Use of Sick Leave - Earned sick days cannot be used for any reason other than:

• the illness of the employee and their child(ren);
• scheduled/ approved medical/dental appointments for employee and their child(ren);
• birth of a child, or placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care;
• in the event of a serious health condition of a spouse/domestic partner and/or parent ordinarily as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In extraordinary cases where the spouse/domestic partner (as defined on page 53), or parent could not provide self-care as provided for under the FMLA, but does not meet the more than 3-day requirement of FMLA, the employee could utilize one to two days of sick leave. (An example would be someone having outpatient surgery and may need transportation on the date of treatment);
• in the event of a serious health condition, as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) above for whom the staff member has power of attorney;
• in the event of a serious health condition, as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) above for the employee’s mother-in-law and father-in-law;
• qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse/partner, child, or parent is on active duty or has been called to active duty status in support of a contingency operation as a member of the National Guard or Reserves;
• you are the spouse/partner, child, parent or next of kin of a covered service member with a serious injury or illness.

Use of 60% of Pay (STD) -

• employees will accrue one day a month at 60% of pay up to 65 days in their account at the end of the calendar year.  It is accrued at the end of each month worked, after 3 months of continuous employment;
• employees eligible for accruing time at 60% of pay may request the use of Short-Term Disability once they have exhausted all of their 100% days.
• the waiting period for Short-Term Disability is 5 work days.  An employee may use PTO days to cover the five day waiting period before Short-Term Disability begins.

Refer to the Short Term Paid Sick Leave, Section VI: Benefit number 405 for more details.

504 Other Paid Leaves

The regular base pay of a staff member who serves on a jury in any state or federal court will be continued. A copy of the court summons should be promptly provided to the employee’s supervisor, and then forwarded to Human Resources.

Days required for U.S. Armed Forces Reserve or National Guard annual training will be paid to participating employees as required by state and federal law not to exceed two weeks per year. The employee’s benefits will be continued on a normal basis during this training.

505 Unpaid Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and other applicable law, the College grants eligible employees up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave during any 12-month period, and up to 26 weeks of leave in any 12-month period for military caregiver leave (defined below).

Eligibility:

To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee must: (1) have worked for Centre College for at least 12 months, though it need not be consecutive; (2) have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 month-period immediately preceding the date when leave is to commence; and (3) be employed at a location where 50 or more employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles of that location.

Leave Entitlement:

An eligible employee may take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period, which is measured using a "rolling" method as defined below, for any of the following reasons:

• the birth of a child and in order to care for that child (leave to be completed within one year of the child’s birth);
• the placement of a child for adoption or foster care and in order to care for the newly placed child (leave to be completed within one year of the child’s placement);
• to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition;
• to care for the employee’s own serious health condition, which renders the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee’s job; or
• a qualifying exigency of a spouse, son, daughter or parent who is a covered military member on covered active duty or called to covered active duty (referred to as qualifying exigency leave).

An eligible employee may take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for a family member who is a covered military member and who has experienced a serious injury or illness related to active-duty service (known as military caregiver leave).

*The College also permits the following reasons for absences under sick/FMLA which are not part of the required FMLA guidelines:

• To care for a family member, in the event of a serious health condition, as defined under FMLA for whom the staff member has power of attorney, and for the employee’s mother-in-law and father-in-law.
• In extraordinary cases where the spouse/domestic partner (as defined on page 53), or parent could not provide self-care as provided for under the FMLA, but does not meet the more than 3 day requirement of FMLA, the employee could utilize one to two days of sick leave. An example would be when the spouse/partner or parent was having outpatient surgery and may need transportation on the day of treatment, or another example would be when they needed chemo treatments and needed someone to drive them.

"Rolling" method:

An eligible employee may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a 12-month period. The College uses a "rolling" method, which measures the 12-month period backward from the date that an employee uses any FMLA leave for any reason.  In other words, each time that an employee takes FMLA leave, the remaining leave entitlement is the balance of the 12 weeks which has not been used during the immediately preceding 12 months.

Both Spouses Employed by Centre College:

Spouses who both work for the College who are both eligible to take leave for the birth of a child, adoption or placement of a child in foster care, should refer to the Parental Leave Policy. Spouses who both work for the College who are both eligible to take military caregiver leave or a combination of military caregiver leave and certain types of other FMLA leave may only take a combined total of 26 weeks of leave.

Procedure for Requesting Leave:

Any employee requesting FMLA leave must provide notice with an explanation of the reason(s) for the leave to their supervisor and Human Resources. If the employee’s need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, the employee must give the College at least 30 days’ prior notice. If this is not possible, or where the need for leave is not foreseeable, the employee is expected to notify the College as soon as practicable, generally within one to two business days, of learning of the need for leave, except in extraordinary circumstances.

The College may require that an employee’s leave to care for the employee’s covered family member with a serious health condition, or due to the employee’s own serious health condition, be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the employee or the employee’s family member.

The College may also require that an employee’s leave because of a qualifying exigency or to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness be supported by a certification.

If the College has reason to doubt the validity of a medical certification, it may require the employee to obtain a second medical opinion at the College’s expense. In the event of conflicting opinions, the College may require the employee to obtain certification from a third health care provider, again at the College’s expense, which opinion will be final and binding.

If the employee requests an extension of the leave period, the College may require recertification.

Reporting While on Leave:

If the employee takes leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a covered relative, the College requests that the employee report periodically to his/her supervisor and Human Resources regarding the employee’s status and intention to return to work. In addition, the employee must give notice as soon as practicable if the dates of leave change or are extended or initially were unknown and become known.

Unpaid FMLA Leave; Substitution of Paid Leave; Concurrent Leave:

FMLA leave is unpaid. Employees are required to substitute any accrued, unused paid vacation leave and any accrued, unused paid sick leave (in accordance with existing sick leave policies) for unpaid FMLA leave.

The term “substitute” as used in this section means that the paid leave provided by the College, and accrued pursuant to the College’s policies, will run concurrently with unpaid FMLA leave.

The use of accumulated paid leave does not extend the 12 or 26 weeks (whichever is applicable) of the FMLA leave period. In no case can the use of paid leave result in an employee’s receipt of more than 100% of their salary. FMLA-qualifying absences that exceed an employee’s accumulated paid leave allotment will be unpaid. An employee’s FMLA leave runs concurrently with all other types of applicable leave to the extent permitted by the College’s policy and applicable law.

Health Benefits:

During approved FMLA leave, the College will maintain the employee’s health, dental and vision plan benefits (and life insurance coverage for those eligible) as if the employee continued to be actively employed. Employees are responsible for paying their portions of premiums. Arrangement for payment of premiums should be made through the payroll office.

Intermittent and Reduced Schedule Leave:

If certified as medically necessary, FMLA leave occasioned by a serious health condition may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. If an employee needs intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule that is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment for the employee, a family member, or a covered service member, including during a period of recovery from the employee’s own serious health condition, a serious health condition of a spouse, parent, son, or daughter, or a serious injury or illness of a covered service member, the College may require the employee to transfer temporarily, during the period that the intermittent or reduced leave schedule is required, to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified and which better accommodates recurring periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position.

Returning From Leave:

If the employee takes leave (except for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule) because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee is required to provide medical certification that the employee is fit to resume work. The employee will not be permitted to resume work until such certification is provided.

Upon returning from approved FMLA leave, the College will restore the employee to their former job or an equivalent position, subject to the terms, limitations and exceptions provided by law.

506 Other Unpaid Leaves

Under extreme circumstances and when the leave is in the best interest of the employee and the College, an unpaid leave of absence, with the length of the leave to be determined by the College, may be granted. Requests for leave should be submitted in writing to the employee’s supervisor outlining the reason for and duration of the leave. The appropriate Senior Staff member and Vice President of Human Resources will review the request and make a determination.

507 Administrative Development Leave

Members of Centre’s salaried staff who have served full-time for at least fifteen consecutive years, may request a four to six week paid leave of absence to pursue study or professional development. Normally, these leave of absences would occur during the summer months. Such a request should go to their immediate supervisor and then to the senior staff for discussion and possible approval. Relevant consideration are: the maintenance of orderly work in the area without the necessity of hiring replacements, the relevance and value of the project proposed, the quality of the individual’s record of work performance, and the timing of such a leave in such a way as to minimize disruption of service.

508 CentreTerm & Summer/Study Abroad Assistant Program Director Policy

Centre College Staff occasionally have the opportunity and need to participate in study abroad opportunities that do not align directly with their normal job responsibilities. 

A ‘call’ will go out to the campus community from the Off Campus Programs Committee (OCPC) asking those staff members who are interested to complete an application. The staff member must apply to accompany a course and be approved by the OCPC.

Please speak with your supervisor before applying for this opportunity. At the time of application, the employee should communicate with the supervisor, the HR Committee chair, and HR that they have submitted an application. This communication is to assist the conversation, if necessary, on handling workloads in the office while the employee is away.

If a staff applicant is selected and approved to go on a CT or Summer course as an Assistant Program Director, they will not be required to use PTO days.  Employees cannot apply to accompany another course for four (4) years.