MSU Types of Leave & Policies in a Nutshell

New moms may request a maternity leave of absence for pregnancy-related illness, childbirth, and care of a newborn using a combination of sick leave, annual leave, donated sick leave and leave without pay, and may be eligible for FMLA.

See more details on maternity leave in section 1025.00 of MSU Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual.

In accordance with state law, birth fathers or adoptive parents may take a leave of absence of 15 workdays immediately following the birth or adoptive placement.
Employees are eligible for parental leave if they are eligible for sick leave, and may use accumulated sick leave, annual leave or leave without pay. They may also qualify for donated sick leave and FMLA.

See more details on parental leave in section 1030.00 of MSU Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for certain family and medical situations. Subject to the requirements of the policy and the applicable federal regulations, an eligible employee may request and will be granted up to twelve (12) workweeks of FMLA leave during any twelve (12) month period for one or more of the following events:

1. the birth of the employee's son or daughter and to care for the newborn child;
2. the placement of a child for adoption or foster care in the employee's home and to care for the newly placed child;
3. the care of the employee's spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition; or
4. because of the employee's serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the employee's position.

MSU will continue to provide the State contribution towards health insurance benefits for the duration of the FMLA leave.

Please note those eligible for FMLA are required by federal law to be placed on FMLA leave.  Please view the Family Medical Leave Fact Sheet and submit the Family Medical Leave Form to HR Office.  Please contact us at (406) 994-3651 if you need help in determining the eligibility and have questions on the FMLA requirements.

See more details on FMLA in section 1070.00 of MSU Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual.

Employee absences for (birth mother) prenatal appointments should be charged to available sick leave accruals. Sick leave accruals are to be used for the birth mother's medical recovery portion of leave following birth, typically six weeks. You can access your rate of accrual and balance using MyInfo.

See more details on sick leave in section 1015.00 of MSU Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual

Absence needed for foster care placement may qualify for annual leave. Available annual leave hours may be used by either parent following a birth during the bonding period, in accordance with the Paid Absences, the MSU Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual – Benefits and Leave section 1000.00. You can access your rate of accrual and balance using MyInfo.

See more details on annual leave in section 1010.00 of MSU Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual.

The program allows those with leave to donate into a common pool, which eligible MSU faculty and staff can draw on as needed.

This program provides a central reserve of sick leave hours, sustained entirely by voluntary employee donation, and makes those hours available to eligible applicants. Please note: that donated sick leave is limited to circumstances where the employee would otherwise be eligible for sick leave.  Please contact Janet Simon, ADA and Leave Coordinator with questions.

The maximum number of hours of sick leave that may be utilized by eligible employees in any 12-month period is 240 hours.

• Eligible recipients must use all accrued sick, annual leave and compensatory time before they may accept donated time.
• Donated sick leave may be used to take care of members of an employee's immediate family.
• Eligible employees may use up to six weeks of donated sick leave for pregnancy or childbirth-related health conditions.
• Human Resources will deduct sick leave from donor and credit it to recipients in the order donations are received, or on an as-needed basis.
• Administrative tracking of donated time by Human Resources will be done on a rolling calendar, similar to the way Family and Medical Leave recordkeeping is done.
• The appeal/exception process - appeals involving sick leave donation denials must be directed to the Chief Human Resources Officer.

This program operates in tandem with, and is permitted under, the existing Donated Sick Leave policy 1045.00.  The original program (policy 1045.00) remains available for donations direct to specific individuals.

More info:

• How does it work?
• Donated Sick Leave Pool Program
• Donated Sick Leave Pool Departmental Finance Obligation