Faculty, staff feedback prompts updates to paid parental leave, bereavement leave benefits

The University's Executive Policy Review Group has approved changes to the University's paid parental and bereavement leave benefits. The approved changes are effective July 1.

"The approved changes are responsive to feedback that Human Resources has received from faculty and staff over the past year that our current leave policies are rigid and not family-friendly," says Trent Klingerman, interim vice president for human resources. "I believe that the changes provide more time and more flexibility for employees to attend to these important family events." 

Updates to the policies are as follows:        

Paid Parental Leave

The updates to the Paid Parental Leave (policy VI.E.3) align leave benefits for all parents. For births or adoptions that occur on or after July 1, all eligible employees can receive up to six weeks of paid parental leave. The alignment of leave benefits also eliminates the need for leave "sharing" provisions that currently apply when both parents were eligible Purdue employees.  Those provisions are eliminated under the new policy. 

Parent: A male or female faculty or staff member, graduate student employee, or postdoc who is a birth mother; a father of the birth child; a same-sex domestic partner of the birth mother; a same-sex domestic partner of the birth father; an adoptive mother or father; a same-sex domestic partner of an adoptive mother or father.

Bereavement Leave

The University's Bereavement Leave (found in policy VI.E.2) is increased from three to five days for immediate family members and relatives living in an employee's home. Greater flexibility is given for employees to take bereavement leave over a longer period of time. Finally, bereavement leave for fellow employees is increased from one-half day to a full work day.

Immediate family: Employees are eligible for up to five workdays of paid bereavement leave over six consecutive calendar months for the death of the employee's spouse/same-sex domestic partner, parent, child, grandparent,  great-grandparent, grandchild or sibling, and corresponding in-law, or step-relative of employee's spouse or same-sex domestic partner.

Relative living in employee's home: Employees are eligible for up to five workdays of paid bereavement leave over six consecutive calendar months for the death of the employee's uncle,  great-uncle, aunt,  great-aunt, niece,  great-niece, nephew,  great-nephew, cousin or corresponding relative of the employee's spouse or same-sex domestic partner if the relative lived in the employee's home.

Fellow employee: Employees are eligible for up to one workday of paid leave to attend the funeral of a fellow employee, subject to the staffing needs of the employee's department as determined by the head of the department.

All other policy provisions for both policies remain unchanged. Human Resources will continue to communicate the changes in multiple ways throughout June and early July. 

Questions may be directed to Human Resources-Customer Service by calling 49-42222.