Page 135 - 2016-2021-ISU

disability after sick leave with pay has been exhausted.

Employees, regardless of sex, are entitled to leave without pay for

childcare for up to seven months following the date of delivery.*
For purposes of computing the seven month period of mandatory leave,

periods during which the employee was absent for “disability” or use of
leave credits are included; the mandatory seven month period is not

extended by the granting of disability leave or the use of accrued leave.
During a period of leave for childcare, employees shall be permitted, upon

request, to use annual leave, personal leave and overtime credits before
being granted leave without pay. As is the case with other mandatory leaves

without pay (e.g., military leave), agencies shall not require that employees
exhaust all appropriate leave credits prior to being granted leave without

pay for childcare. Sick leave or sick leave at half-pay may be used only
during a period of medical disability (Attendance Rules Sections 21.3,

21.4, 21.5, 28.3, 28.4 and 28.5). Except in the case of continuing medical
disability, any leave of absence beyond the seventh month following

childbirth shall be at the discretion of the appointing authority as provided
in Sections 22.1 and 29.1 of the Attendance Rules. An employee who

requests a leave for childcare of less than seven months is entitled to have
such leave extended, upon request, up to the seven month maximum and

may, at the discretion of the appointing authority, have such leave extended
beyond the seventh month.

In certain situations, an employee may not be permitted to return from
such leave until the expiration of the period that such employee requested

and was granted. Generally, such restrictions on early return are limited to

situations where such return would be disruptive of a project or where the
termination of a replacement would occur.
During the seven month period following childbirth, the granting of leave

for childcare is mandatory upon request from either parent. If both parents

are State employees, leave for childcare is mandatory for one parent at a
time and the parents may elect to split the mandatory seven month leave
into two separate blocks of leave with each parent entitled to one

continuous period of leave but not to exceed a combined total of seven

months of leave and not to extend beyond seven months from the date of
delivery.

*See Institutional Services Unit Contract, Article §10.18.

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