Expanding Shared Leave
UWHR has been working closely with campus partners to expand our Shared Leave Program by allowing eligible employees to donate or receive shared leave for temporary pregnancy disability and parental leave beginning July 1, 2018. This change is in support of House Bill 1434, which was signed into law by Governor Inslee on March 13, 2018.
Additional rules about the program may be written by the State as this change is implemented and/or by the University as we better understand the provisions under the law and subsequent regulations. In the meantime, we want to share what we know about this new benefit.
Unlike other shared leave covered reasons, employees requesting shared leave for pregnancy disability or parental leave do not have to exhaust their time off balances and may maintain up to 40 hours of vacation time off and 40 hours of sick time off.
Employees planning for future birth or placement of a child may want to consider the Shared Leave Program if they do not have time off balances large enough to cover their absence. Consult your leave specialist if you are concerned that a proposed leave donation will have a significant financial impact on your department.
More information can be found on the Shared Leave web pages. The July 11 issue of the UW Insider will alert employees to this policy change.