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Parental Leave

Welcoming a new child into your home and life can be exciting and overwhelming, whether a newborn infant or an adopted or fostered child. American University provides leave benefits that allow you to enjoy and adjust to your new family.

Short term medical leave for birthing parents

Eligible full-time staff and faculty can take Short Term Medical Leave (STML) to recover from childbirth. 

Full-time staff and faculty may receive up to 100% of their pay offset by any amount received from DC Paid Family Leave for medical leave.* Short Term Medical Leave runs concurrently with the DC and the Federal Family Medical Leave (FMLA), which provide unpaid job protection. Short Term Medical Leave is used before Parental Leave begins. 

AU automatically enrolls eligible full-time staff and faculty in Short Term Medical Leave coverage at no cost to you.

*DC Paid Family Leave pays a percentage of your salary. Use the DC Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator to estimate your weekly benefit. 

Parental leave for child bonding 

Parental leave is used for bonding with a newborn infant or child placed in a household through adoption or foster care. 

Full-time staff and faculty with at least one year of continuous service are eligible for Parental Leave. They may receive up to 100% of regular pay offset by any amount received by DC Paid Family Leave for parental leave*. Parental leave starts after Short Term Medical Leave for birthing parents.  Eligible full-time staff and faculty may extend their leave through an approved Federal and/or DC Family and Medical Leave (FML) for up to 8 more weeks, or 16 weeks in total.  

Leave process

  1. Complete the American University Leave Request form 30 days before the start of the requested leave, if known, or as soon as possible for emergency situations.

  2. Contact Prudential Insurance to start a claim 30 days before the start of the requested leave, if known, or as soon as possible for emergency situations. See the Prudential Reporting an FMLA Absence or Disability brochure.

  3. Apply for DC Paid Family Leave benefits on the DC Department of Employment Services website as soon as possible AFTER the qualifying event occurs.

    The AU leave plans that coordinate with the DC Paid Family Leave (PFL) require that you apply for leave under PFL in order to receive the university-provided benefits. Employees who qualify to receive a PFL benefit will have their university-provided leave benefit payments offset in an amount equal to the payment received from the District of Columbia. The DC PFL benefit will run concurrently with other applicable FMLA benefits. Additional details can be found below.

Short term medical leave for birthing parents

Full-time staff and library faculty with six or more months of service are eligible for Short Term Medical Leave (STML) to recover from childbirth. 

  • Full-time staff and library faculty receive 6 or 8 weeks of STML, depending on the type of birth. You will receive 100% of pay offset by any amount received from DC Paid Family Leave for medical leave* after a one-week waiting period. 

  • You may use accrued sick or annual leave during the one-week waiting period to receive pay. 

  • Short Term Medical Leave runs concurrently with DC and Federal Family Medical Leave (FML) which provide unpaid job protection. 

  • Short Term Medical Leave is used before Parental Leave begins. 

AU automatically enrolls you in Short Term Medical Leave coverage at no cost to you after six months of full-time employment.

*DC Paid Family Leave pays a percentage of your salary. Use the DC Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator to estimate your weekly benefit. 

Parental leave for child bonding 

Parental leave is used for bonding with a newborn infant or child placed in a household through adoption or foster care. 

  • Full-time staff and library faculty who have at least one year of continuous service are eligible to receive Parental Leave. 

  • Eligible full-time staff and library faculty receive 8 weeks of paid leave. You will receive 100% of your regular pay offset by any amount received by DC Paid Family Leave for parental leave*. 

  • Parental leave starts after Short Term Medical Leave for birthing parents. 

  • Parental leave needs to be continuous and cannot be used intermittently. 

  • Eligible full-time staff and library faculty may extend their leave through an approved Federal and/or DC Family and Medical Leave (FML) for up to 8 more weeks, or 16 weeks in total. FML is job protection and does not offer any paid benefits, so staff and library faculty can use their accrued sick leave or annual leave to receive pay while on their extended FML. 

Short term medical leave for birthing parents

Full-time faculty are eligible for Short Term Medical Leave (STML) to recover from childbirth on their first day of full-time employment at AU. 

  • Full-time faculty receive 6 or 8 weeks of leave, depending on the type of birth. You will receive 100% of pay offset by any amount received from DC Paid Family Leave for medical leave*. 

  • Short Term Medical Leave runs concurrently with DC and Federal Family Medical Leave (FML) which provide unpaid job protection. 

  • Short Term Medical Leave is used before Parental Leave begins. 

AU automatically enrolls you in Short Term Medical Leave coverage at no cost to you. Coverage begins on your first day of full-time employment if you are a full-time faculty member. 

*DC Paid Family Leave pays a percentage of your salary. Use the DC Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator to estimate your weekly benefit. 

Parental leave for child bonding 

Parental leave is used for bonding with a newborn infant or child placed in a household through adoption or foster care. 

  • Full-time faculty who have at least one year of continuous service are eligible to receive Parental Leave. 
  • Eligible full-time faculty receive up to one semester of paid leave. You will receive 100% of your regular pay offset by any amount received by DC Paid Family Leave*. 
  • Parental leave starts after Short Term Medical Leave for birthing parents. 
  • Parental leave needs to be continuous and cannot be used intermittently. 
  • Faculty or staff must apply for leave under PFL, FMLA and/or DCFMLA in order to receive university-provided Parental Leave. Additionally, employees who qualify to receive a parental leave benefit under PFL will have their university-provided Parental Leave benefit payments offset in an amount equal the payment received from the District of Columbia.

DC Paid Family Leave

Part-time staff are eligible to apply for paid benefits under the DC Paid Family Leave for:

  • Twelve (12) weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child, including adopted and foster children;
  • Twelve (12) weeks of family leave to care for a sick family member; and
  • Twelve (12) weeks of personal medical leave.

A maximum of 12 weeks of combined leave is available in a 52-week period.

*DC Paid Family Leave pays a percentage of your salary. Use the DC Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator to estimate your weekly benefit. 

The DC Paid Family Leave benefit runs concurrently with FMLA benefits, if applicable.  

Part-time staff may supplement the DC PFL benefit by using accrued sick leave during recovery from childbirth.

DC Paid Family Leave

Adjunct faculty are eligible to apply for paid benefits under the DC Paid Family Leave for:

  • Eight (8) weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child, including adopted and foster children;
  • Six (6) weeks of family leave to care for a sick family member; and
  • Two (2) weeks of personal medical leave.

A maximum of 8 weeks of combined leave is available in a 52-week period.

*DC Paid Family Leave pays a percentage of your salary. Use the DC Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator to estimate your weekly benefit. 

The DC Paid Family Leave benefit runs concurrently with FMLA benefits, if applicable.  

 

 

 

As with all benefits, you should refer to the appropriate section of the Faculty Staff Benefits Manual, applicable policy, or the official plan documents for more extensive information concerning your benefits plans. In the event of any conflict between the information on this website or the appropriate descriptive sections of the Faculty/Staff Benefits Manual and the official plan documents, the plan documents will govern.

AU Leave Request

To request medical, family, or parental leave, complete the AU Leave Request form.

Request leave at AU

Report an FMLA absence or disability

Report an FMLA absence or disability by calling Prudential at 877-367-7781, or visiting the Prudential Workplace Benefits website. Follow the instructions to Report Time out of Work.

Leave policies

Supervisor leave resources