HR Announcement: Paid Parental Leave Policy

Paid Parental Leave Policy 

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) will provide up to four (4) weeks of paid parental leave to eligible employees following the birth of an employee’s child or placement of a child with an employee through adoption or foster care. The purpose of paid parental leave is to enable the employee to care for and bond with a newborn or a newly adopted or newly placed child. This benefit will run concurrently with any applicable leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This policy will be in effect for births, adoptions, or placement of foster children occurring on or after October 30, 2019. 

1. Eligibility Criteria 

Eligible employees must meet the following criteria at the time of the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child with the employee: 

• Have been employed with the PMA for at least 12 consecutive months. 

• Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the date the leave would begin. 

• Be a full-time regular employee, or a part-time regular employee regularly scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week, as defined by the PMA employee handbook. 

In addition, employees must meet one of the following criteria: 

• Have given birth to a child, or 

• Be a spouse or a committed partner of a person who has given birth to a child; or 

• Have adopted a child or been placed with a foster child (in either case, the child must be age 17 or younger). The adoption of a new spouse’s child is excluded from this policy. 

2. Amount, Time Frame, and Duration of Paid Parental Leave 

Eligible employees will receive a maximum of four weeks of paid parental leave per birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. The fact that a multiple birth, adoption, or placement occurs (e.g., the birth of twins or adoption of siblings) does not increase the four-week total amount of paid parental leave granted for that event. In addition, in no case will an employee receive more than four weeks of paid parental leave in any rolling 12-month period, regardless of whether more than one birth, adoption, or foster care placement event occurs within that 12-month time frame. 

Each week of paid parental leave is compensated at 100 percent of the employee’s regular, weekly pay. 

Approved paid parental leave may be taken at any time during the one-year period following the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child with the employee. Paid parental leave may not be used or extended beyond one year. 

In the event of an employee who themselves have given birth, the addition of paid parental leave will commence at the conclusion of any short-term disability leave provided to the employee for the employee’s own medical recovery following childbirth. 

Employees must take paid parental leave in one continuous period of leave and must use all paid parental leave during the one-year time frame indicated above. Any unused paid parental leave will be forfeited at the end of the one-year time frame. 

Upon termination of the individual’s employment at the PMA, the employee will not be paid for any unused paid parental leave for which they were eligible. 

3. Coordination of Policies 

Paid parental leave taken under this policy will run concurrently with eligible leave under the FMLA; thus, any leave taken under this policy that falls under definition of circumstances qualifying for leave due to the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child will be counted within the 12 weeks of available FMLA leave per a 12-month period. All other requirements and provisions under FMLA will apply. In no case will the total amount of leave—whether paid or unpaid—granted to the employee under the FMLA exceed 12 weeks during the 12-month FMLA period. Please refer to the Federal Family Medical Leave of Absence Policy in the PMA Employee Handbook for further guidance on FMLA. 

Holidays are not paid during a paid parental leave. 

An employee who is on an approved parental leave will continue to be eligible for coverage under the PMA’s group health plan, group term life insurance, and long-term disability plan that is then available to full-time employees of the PMA. 

4. Requests for Paid Parental Leave 

The employee will provide their supervisor and the Business Office with notice of the request for leave at least 30 days prior to the proposed date of the leave (or if the leave was not foreseeable, as soon as possible). The employee must complete all required forms and provide all required documentation as required by the Human Resources department to substantiate the request.