Child Care Leave

Eligible events for Child Care Leave (CCL) are:

• Birth of a newborn (including surrogacy) or
• Placement of a child through adoption or foster care.

The eligible events must occur on or after September 1, 2022. Employees who experienced an eligible event before this date are not eligible for this leave but may use their paid leave accruals or apply for Reduced Paid Leave.

Child Care leave is provided for benefits eligible employees, trainees, birth and non-birth parents. If both parents are employed by MD Anderson, both are eligible to receive their full amount of Child Care Leave (prorated by FTE). The amount of leave is not split between the parents.

The employee must have at least 6 months of service with MD Anderson prior to the eligible event.

• If 6 month’s service is reached within the 4-week period after the eligible event, employees are eligible to receive CCL for the remainder of the 4-week period.
• Employees are not eligible for CCL if the eligible event occurs more than 4 weeks prior to their 6 months of service.
  
  

Approved Child Care Leave may be taken:

• In continuous periods of at least 5 business days to a maximum of 4 weeks.
• From the day of and up to 12 months after the eligible event occurred.

STEP 1: NOTIFY MANAGER:

• The employee must contact his/her manager to advise their need for leave.
• Do not discuss medical information with your manager.
• Follow department procedures for this notification including using the timekeeping system.

If the leave is foreseeable or if leave is not taken immediately following the eligible event:

• Please give your manager at least 30 days’ notice.
• If the requested leave is not taken immediately following the eligible event, make reasonable effort to be considerate of department needs/operations. This includes, but is not limited to, consideration around holidays and staff shortages.
• Managers may negotiate a different leave period due to the business needs of the department. While managers do not have the authority to approve or deny the overall request, they do have the discretion to determine if the requested schedule interferes with the operational needs of the department.

If the leave is not foreseeable: Notify your manager within one to two working days of when you are aware of the need to take the leave.

STEP 2: REQUESTING LEAVE:

• Employee should contact HR Leave & Accommodations or 713-745-3652 after notifying his/her manager.
• HR Leave & Accommodations will explain the required documentation, expectations and pay options while on leave.
• To minimize issues with their paycheck, employees must contact HR Leave & Accommodations at least 7 calendar days in advance of taking CCL. 

STEP 3: PRELIMINARY APPROVAL:

HR Leave & Accommodations will tentatively approve the request pending receipt and review of any required, supporting documentation. The manager is copied on the preliminary approval.

STEP 4: DOCUMENTATION:

The employee is required to submit requested documentation to support the request for leave. Documentation could include, but is not limited to:

• CCL Request form
• Adoption paperwork
• Foster care agreement
• Surrogacy agreement – employees should redact or hide any personal/private information from such agreement prior to submitting the documents.

STEP 5: APPROVING LEAVE:

HR Leave & Accommodations will send a determination for the leave request after reviewing the documentation. If documentation is not received, the leave is denied. Managers are copied on the approval or denial.

STEP 6: CHANGING APPROVED CCL:

If an employee needs to change the leave that is requested and/or granted, they should notify his/her manager and HR Leave & Accommodations at 713-745-3652 in advance if possible. An employee who fails to notify his or her manager and HR Leave & Accommodations to advise of the need to extend or modify approved leave is subject to the provisions of the Attendance Policy (MD Anderson Institutional Policy #ADM0289).  

STEP 7: TIMEKEEPING:

• HR Leave & Accommodations will code CCL and subsequently, any applicable accruals for the duration of the employee’s leave.
• Payment for this leave is funded through an institutional account and does not impact the department budget
  
  

STEP 8: COMMUNICATIONS:
Managers:

• It's important to keep in touch with employees on leave in order to make arrangements for returning to work, plan for the department’s operational needs and enhance potential retention.
• To maintain compliance with the FML law, read How to Talk with Employees on Extended Leave as guidance for talking with employees while on leave.
• While the employee is on leave, do not assign work or expect employees to check their work email.
  
  

Employees:

• Employees are expected to follow managers’ instructions to maintain contact and provide updates during the leave period.
• Do not to perform work during approved leave. This includes but is not limited to, attending meetings or conferences or checking or responding to work-related emails.
   

Please see Return to Work.

• Once the eligible event has occurred, no waiting period is needed to receive CCL. Employees are not required to use any accrued time, including Extended Illness Bank, before receiving Child Care Leave.
• Employees may not use other paid leave at the same time they are receiving CCL. Additionally, Reduced Paid Leave (RPL) and Child Care Leave may not be used for the same eligible event. 
• All applicable accruals will be used after Child Care Leave. If an employee does not use all of the CCL at once, any applicable accruals will be used for any remaining leave period until they return to work.
• All applicable paid leave accruals must be used prior to taking leave without pay.
• Child Care Leave does not count as sick leave for the elimination period for short-term disability. This means, employees with short-term disability coverage are eligibile to apply for these benefits and Child Care Leave at the same time.
• Child Care Leave runs concurrently with unpaid Family Medical Leave (FML) (or Parental Leave if applicable.) If Parental Leave is used, the CCL must be used within the first 12 weeks after the birth, adoption or foster placement of the child. If the employee exhausts or is not eligible for these two leaves, job protection is provided through the period of Child Care Leave.
• Extended Illness Bank (EIB) or Sick Leave (MD Anderson Institutional Policy #ADM0105) can only be used up to 6 weeks for normal delivery and 8 weeks for C-Section delivery from the birth of the baby. Other applicable accruals will be used outside that period.

Please see Insurance While on Leave.

All information relating to requests for Child Care Leave are confidential and are shared only on a need to know basis. All medical information including the medical certification is treated as confidential and HIPAA protected.

HR Leave & Accommodations has the authority to contact necessary parties to clarify or authenticate documents for the leave. Abuse of this leave or falsifying documents may result in disciplinary actions up to and including termination.