Family Friendly Policies and Resources

Family FriendlyPolicies and Resources Renee L. Wallace Associate Vice President Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

FAMILY MATTERS Work-Life Resources andFamily Friendly Policies for Faculty The University of Texas at Austin believes an environment of excellence is synonymous with an environment of wellness, and that wellness starts with balance. We are deeply committed to creating a supportive and productive environment that allows our faculty opportunities to maintain a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives. The University has numerous policies, services and resources to support our faculty and their families. Whether you need time to care for an infant or child, help to find a job for a spouse or partner partner, flexibility to meet the ever changing needs of your family or resources that connect and inspire you, you can know that we are here to help. While no one policy can meet every individual need, there are multiple ways to address different situations. As President and Provost, we fully endorse family friendly policies, and we assure you that their use in no way compromises opportunities for advancement. We encourage you to review our new Web site to familiarize yourself with our work-life policies, the benefits they provide and how they can help you—and your family. William Powers, Jr., President Steven W. Leslie, Provost

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Agenda • Leave Policies and Procedures • Non-leave Policies and Procedures • Recruiting and Retention Programs

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Sick Leave Eligibility • Provided to benefits eligible employees (appointed half-time or more for 4 1/2 months or longer) • Full-time employees accrue 8 hrs/month • Part time employees accrue on a proportional basis

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Sick Leave Usage • May be used for eligible conditions: • When sickness, injury, or confinement due to pregnancy prevent performance of duty. • When employee is needed to care for and assist a member of immediate family who is ill. • If the absence occurs during a normal work day for regular employees, sick leave must be reported even if no classes were missed

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Sick Leave Notification • Faculty member notifies departmentchair when there is a need to be absent for reasons related to sick leave use • Department chair reports use through a monthly report sent to the provost’s office • Licensed practitioner’s certification may be required for extended leave period and for return to work • Department must inform HRS-Leave Management when circumstances suggest FML may apply

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Family Medical Leave • Up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave during any 12-month period • Up to 26 weeks for military caregiver leave • Premium sharingcontinuesduring FML even when the employee is on leave without pay.

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Family Medical Leave Eligibility • Employees with a total of 12 months of state service AND • Who have worked at least 1,250 hrs during the preceding 12-month period

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Family Medical Leave Usage • serious health condition of the employee • birth and care of employee’s child • placement of a child for adoption or foster care with the employee • care of the employee’s spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition • “Qualifying exigency” for military active duty • Care of covered military service member with serious illness or injury sustained during active duty

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Applying for FML • Whenever the department or the employee feels there may be a need for FML, contact Human Resource Services immediately • HRS will provisionally designate the event as FML and send the employee the required paperwork • Employee has 15 business days to return paperwork to HRS • For forms see: http://www.utexas.edu/hr/current/leave/fmla.html

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Family Medical Leave • Employees must apply all available leave unless receiving disability benefits through Workers’ Compensation Insurance • FML may be taken intermittently (i.e., in blocks of time) • The University is responsible for designating leave as qualifying for FML • Certification from a licensed practitioner is required

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Sick Leave Pool • Serves benefits eligible employees who have exhausted all accrued leave to which they are otherwise entitled • Program awards up to 720 hours (18 weeks) from the sick leave pool per condition • Employee or immediate family member must be suffering from a catastrophic illness or injury • Catastrophic = life threatening http://www.utexas.edu/hr/current/leave/pool.html

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Sick Leave Pool • Employee continues to receive a paycheck and benefits • Use of time from SLP is reported either through weekly time reports (staff) or monthly sick leave reports (faculty) • Award is in hours only – salary is from departmental budget http://www.utexas.edu/hr/forms/request_for_sick_leave_pool.pdf

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Sick Leave Pool - Donations • All employees may make annual contributions to the SLP as long as their own balance does not drop below 50 hours • Employees terminating or retiring may donate their entire accrued sick leave balance to the SLP http://www.utexas.edu/hr/forms/sick_leave_pool_transfer.pdf

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Parental Leave • Up to 12 wks of unpaid parental leave for employees who are ineligible for Family and Medical Leave coverage for the birth of a child or for the adoption or foster care placement of children under 3 years of age

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Parental LeaveEligibility • Employees with less than 12-months of state service or 1,250 hours of work in the preceding 12 months • Employees are required to use all accrued and available annual leave, floating holiday, and sick leave when applicable, while taking parental leave

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Parental LeaveEmployer premium sharing • The University will continue to contribute its share of premiums for an employee’s insurance during the time that an employee is using available and appropriate leave accruals • The employee is responsible for the total cost of insurance premiums while on Leave Without Pay

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Foster Parent Leave • Paid administrative leave for a foster parent to a child under the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services conservatorship to attend meetings in accordance with state law • Applies to regular employees appointed half-time or greater for 4 1/2 mo or longer

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Additional Leave Policies • Assistance Dog Training • Emergency Leave • Jury Duty • Voting in National, State or Local Election • Blood, Organ, or Bone Marrow Donation • Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave • Witness Service See HOP Human Resources - Leave for details.

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Non-leave Policies • Extension of the Probationary Period • Modified Instructional Duties

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Extension of Probationary Period • Available to tenure-track faculty members who determine that certain personal circumstances may impede normal levels of productivity • Personal circumstances may include: • Childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement • Primary caregiver of a preschool child • Primary caregiver of family member who is disabled, elderly, or ill

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Extension of Probationary Period • All professional accomplishments achieved during the period are included in dossier • No distinction is made during promotion review between those who have and have not had an extension

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Extension requests • Automatic for childbirth upon formal notification to the department chair , dean and provost’s office • In all other instances, the faculty member is responsible for providing appropriate substantiation for why circumstance creates unreasonable burden to make adequate progress • Extensions are for one academic year; designated year does not count toward maximum probationary period • No more than two extensions may be granted • Deadline: May 31 preceding up or out year.

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Modified Instructional Duties • Allows for equivalent academic service when certain personal circumstances prevent a faculty member from being able to perform their classroom teaching duties, AND when such modifications are found to be in the best interest of the University’s instructional programs • MIDs are for the period of one long session semester • MID does NOT affect the tenure clock

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Modified Instructional Duties • Applies to all members of the faculty appointed full-time on the instructional budget in a long session semester; and • who are caregivers of a healthy pre-school child (or children), or who are required to care for or assist a member (or members) of their immediate family who, although not ill or disabled, needs the help and attention of the faculty member

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Modified Instructional Duties • Requests should be submitted prior to the semester in which the modification is needed • Request should explain the need and describe the work to be done in place of normal classroom responsibilities, including a method of evaluation by the department chair or dean • Examples of work: coordinating a conference, completing manuscript for publication, completing a curriculum revision project for a required course in the major

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Recruiting and Retention Programs • Dual Career Hiring • Child Care

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Dual Career Hiring • Academic career • Facilitate the hire of qualified partners of T/TT recruits into faculty positions • Department of principal hire initiates discussions with partner’s prospective department • When partner is viable candidate for T/TT position and endorsed by all levels of approval required for rank, funding is split 3 ways between the two departments and administration • Nonacademic career • Provost’s Office has contracted with a placement firm • Department Chair makes recommendation to Dean who forwards to Provost • Available for important strategic hires • Financial arrangements are case-by-case

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Child Development Center • 12 spaces set aside annually to assist in faculty recruitment and retention in which child care is an issue • Decisions for each fall are made by May 1st of the preceding spring on a first-come, first-served basis • If recruit declines, department assumes financial responsibility for tuition until another child is enrolled or for period NTE 6 months • Vice Provost Neal Armstrong, Coordinating Administrator 232-3305 or neal_armstrong@mail.utexas.edu http://www.utexas.edu/provost/policies/childcare/

Family Friendly Policies and Resources