Parental Leave

August 11, 2016

Dear BGSU Faculty Colleagues:

In this eighth joint communication on implementing our new collective bargaining agreement, we wanted to share information about changes to the parental leave policy.

Parental leave was introduced in the first collective bargaining agreement with support from both the Faculty Association and the administration as important to work-family balance and faculty and University success. During the first contract, we also signed a memorandum of understanding to provide greater clarity and direction for the interpretation and implementation of this leave policy.

During the most recent negotiations, the bargaining teams incorporated and expanded the spirit of the MOU, which resulted in an enhanced parental leave policy that balances the needs of bargaining unit faculty members with the needs of their academic units. For example, the updated parental leave policy clarifies the process for taking leave, and offers more flexibility in extending the leave beyond the five weeks of paid parental leave and the concurrent twelve weeks of family medical leave to accommodate the faculty member’s needs and the design of the academic calendar. In addition, the newly established joint Labor-Management Committee is developing a parental leave form to assist faculty members in their applications for parental leave.

If you will be experiencing the birth of a child or the adoption or foster care placement of a child who is less than six years of age, please refer to Article 21, Section 11 of the collective bargaining agreement.

This joint communication will be archived on the Provost website.

Best wishes for a safe and productive summer.

Rodney K. Rogers, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President

David J. Jackson, Ph.D.
President, BGSU Faculty Association