March 22: C215 Paid Parental Leave
Comment period runs March 22 through April 22. Please send comments to for the Office of the University Secretary to collect and submit to the appropriate committees.
The proposed revision of Policy C215 “Parental Leave” was developed by the Faculty Senate Policy Committee. In addition to placing the policy in the new Faculty Handbook format, the proposed changes include:
- Require that paid parental leave count toward the faculty member’s Family Medical Leave (FML) entitlement and clarify that if parental leave and FML run concurrently the faculty member will be provided full relief from all duties. This aligns with the CBA, UAP Policy 3415 for UNM staff members, and U.S. Department of Labor Guidelines.
- Extraordinary circumstances such as multiple births/adoptions or events involving special-needs children may necessitate additional leave and/or flexibility and shall be referred to the Provost/EVPHS, or their designees, for a determination. Refer to Policy C280 “Leave Without Pay.” This aligns with current CBA language.
- Change policy to state: If both parents are faculty members, each is eligible for parental leave and will be reimbursed at their full salary whether taken consecutively or concurrently. This aligns with a recent MOU pertaining to the CBA.
- Clarify which faculty are eligible for parental leave and add postdoctoral fellows to those faculty eligible. This proposal is endorsed by both the Provost and the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences.
- Add definitions for semester and full salary.