Maternity, Paternity, or Adoption Leave

Updated November 2018

Eligibility

Regardless of gender, all full-time employees who have been employed by Cambridge College for at least three (3) consecutive months are eligible to apply for an unpaid leave of absence, of up to twelve (12) weeks, for the birth or adoption of a child, or placement of a child in the home of an employee through foster care.  

Employees are allowed to use accrued vacation or sick time in order to continue their pay while out on leave.  

If both parents are employed by the College, the two employees are permitted to take combined parental leaves totaling up to twelve (12) weeks. 

Procedure

An employee is required to notify the Office Human Resources and submit a written request for leave at least two (2) weeks prior to the commencement of such leave.   The request for leave should include: the anticipated start date and end date, and the employee’s expected return to work date.  The Office of Human Resources will advise the employee if the leave has been approved or denied.

While on leave, employees are obligated to notify the Office of Human Resources, as soon as possible, if their anticipated return to work date has changed or if they do not intend to return to their position at Cambridge College.  At the end of the leave, Cambridge College will reinstate the employee to the same position or a comparable one of the same level of responsibility, salary, and benefits.

Cambridge College will apply its leave policy concurrently with all applicable state and/or federal laws pertaining to maternity/paternity/adoption leaves of absence.  

Massachusetts

In accordance with the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act, full-time employees, regardless of gender, who have been employed by the College for at least three (3) consecutive months are eligible for an unpaid leave of absence of up to eight (8) weeks for the purpose of giving birth or for adopting a child under the age of eighteen or for adopting a child under the age of twenty-three if the child is mentally or physically disabled.  If both parents are employed by Cambridge College, they shall be entitled to only eight (8) weeks of leave combined.

In accordance with the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Cambridge College will seek to reasonably accommodate all female employees who need to express breast milk while scheduled to work.

California

In accordance with the California Family Rights Act (CRFA), an employee may take an unpaid leave up to twelve (12) weeks for the birth of a child for purposes of bonding, for placement of a child in the employee's family for adoption or foster care, for the serious health condition of the employee's child, parent, or spouse, and for the employee's own serious health condition.  

Puerto Rico

In accordance with the Working Mothers Act, a pregnant employee is entitled to a paid leave of up to eight (8) weeks for the birth of a child.  Employees may choose to commence the leave as early as four (4) weeks prior to delivery and remain out on leave for the duration of the eight-week period. 

Similarly, a female employee seeking to adopt a pre-school age child is entitled to eight (8) weeks of maternity leave.  The employee is required to provide 30-day notice of her intention to adopt a child, request maternity leave, and indicate a proposed return to work date