1. Policy Statement
1.1. Oregon State University (university) provides eligible academic faculty and professional faculty employees with up to 120 hours of paid family and medical leave. Family and medical leave may be taken for family, medical, and Safe Leave as described by law and university sick leave policy, administered by University Human Resources.
2. Reason for Policy
2.1. The university is committed to being a great place to work, learn, and flourish; and to creating and sustaining healthy environments that enable employees to live productive, balanced, and engaged lives. To support this commitment, the university provides academic faculty and professional faculty with paid family and medical leave to remain an employer of choice, offer care to employees for extenuating circumstances, and ensure that employees are successful in work-live integration efforts.
2.2. This policy enhances the existing benefit of paid and unpaid leave programs: accrued sick leave; advance of unused sick leave; vacation leave; and leave provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), and Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave (OPFML).
3. Scope & Audience
3.1. This University Policy applies to all Eligible Employees.
4. Definitions
4.1 Domestic Partner: An Eligible Employee s partner in a registered domestic partnership as defined under ORS 106.310, or unmarried partner of the same or opposite sex that meets the requirements of OAR 101-015-0026.
4.2. Eligible employee: An academic or professional faculty member who:
4.2.1. Has an appointment of 0.50 FTE or greater;
4.2.2. Has been employed for at least 180 calendar days; and,
4.2.3. Has a qualifying reason to take family and medical leave, described in the Protected Leave Handbook.
4.3. Safe Leave: Paid time off for Eligible Employees who are survivors of, or whose minor child or dependent is the survivor of, sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, bias crimes, or stalking.
5. Responsibilities & Procedures
5.1. General Guidelines for Paid Family and Medical Leave
5.1.1. The university provides Eligible Employees with paid family and medical leave for qualifying reasons. Eligible Employees must provide medical certifications for serious health conditions or documents that confirm the birth or adoption of a child in the eligibility determination process.
5.1.2. Paid family and medical leave is paid at 100% of the employee s regular rate of pay.
5.1.3. Paid family and medical leave is not available for the adoption of a spouse s or domestic partner's children.
5.1.4. Family and medical leave can be used with other paid leave benefits (e.g., sick or vacation leave) to support the length of accrued paid leave when used. Paid family and medical leave will run concurrently with other protected leave benefits.
5.1.5. Department operations will be managed so paid family and medical leave requests offer Eligible Employees the ability to effectively perform their work and manage new or existing family responsibilities.
5.1.6. Eligible Employees receive 120 hours of paid family and medical leave over a 12-month period. The 12-month period begins on the date the Eligible Employee first uses family and medical leave. Leave eligibility is subject to requirements under applicable policy, law, and collective bargaining agreements.
5.1.7. If the care is for a child and both parents qualify as Eligible Employees, both parents are entitled to paid family and medical leave. Parents may take their leave at the same time (concurrently) or at different times (independently).
5.2. Use of Leave
5.2.1. Paid family and medical leave may be used continuously or intermittently as described by law, University Policy, collective bargaining agreements, or other rules.
5.3. Coordination with Other Paid and Unpaid Leave Benefits
5.3.1. Paid family and medical leave runs concurrently with other leave benefits under FMLA, OFLA, and OPFML. An Eligible Employee is not required to file an OPFML claim to utilize paid family and medical leave. If the amount of available leave under FMLA, OFLA or OPFML is less than the amount of paid family and medical leave needed, paid family and medical leave may be granted as specified in this policy.
5.3.2.Short-term disability leave benefits may be used to supplement paid family and medical leave. The amount of short-term disability benefits will be determined by the rules of the university's plan provider.
5.4. Failure to Return to Work
5.4.1. The Eligible Employee may be required to reimburse the university for the paid family and medical leave benefit paid under this policy when:
a. The Eligible Employee fails to return to work after the expiration of this leave period or any authorized leave period (e.g., FMLA, OFLA, OPFML extended leave of absence); or,
b. The Eligible Employee returns, but fails to meet minimum expectations of work for at least 30 calendar days.
5.4.2. The university will not require reimbursement if the Eligible Employee does not return to work because of the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition affecting the Eligible Employee or a family member that would otherwise qualify for leave under FMLA, OFLA or OPFML, or due to another circumstance beyond the employee s control deemed as a qualifying circumstance by the university.
6. Related Policies, Procedures, or Information
6.1. Effective September 16, 2020, Eligible Employees are entitled to up to 120 hours of paid family and medical leave under this University Policy. This updated leave provision replaces the previous University Policy, which allowed 60 hours of paid parental leave for Eligible Employees.
6.2. Protected Leave Handbook: In the Handbook, Eligible Employees may find additional information about family leave, medical leave, and serious health conditions.
6.3. Family & Medical Leave.
6.4. Request Leave in EmpCenter.
6.5. EmpCenter Protected Leave Guide.
6.6. Leave Administration Manual.
6.7. Advance of Unused Sick Leave.
History
Adopted: Oregon State University adopted University Policy 05-035 Paid Family and Medical Leave for Faculty on December 2017.
Revised: University Policy 05-035 Paid Family and Medical Leave for Faculty received housekeeping amendments on January 3, 2018 and September 16, 2020. The policy was reviewed and revised on April 14, 2026.
Next scheduled review date: April 2031.
Contacts
Office of Human Resources
541-737-3013 or [email protected]
http://hr.oregonstate.edu