April 27, 2020

Catholic University is adding paid parental leave for mothers and fathers as a benefit for full-time employees beginning May 1.

President John Garvey announced the new benefit in a letter sent to the campus community, acknowledging the importance of the benefit for a “Catholic institution that values the important role of family in our lives and society.”

The benefit will offer “eligible employees a full eight (8) weeks of paid parental leave to care for a newborn child, newly adopted child, new foster care child, or a child newly placed in their legal custody,” he wrote. Pay and benefits will continue at 100% during the leave.

The full policy and FAQs are available online. (See links below.)

According to the FAQ, the benefit is available to “all permanent full-time employees who have worked at Catholic University for at least 12 months, and worked 1,000 compensable hours.” The leave must be initiated within four months of the birth of your child, or placement of your adopted or foster child, and it must be continuous.

“This benefit would not have happened without the help of the Employee Benefits Committee, our Human Resources team, and our General Counsel,” Garvey concluded. “I look forward to continuing our efforts to make Catholic University an even better place to work.”

Lynn Mayer, vice provost for teaching and dean of undergraduate studies, and the chair of the Benefits Committee, said the committee “was happy to support the development of a parental leave policy. It is a policy we felt was important to the University community and we were happy to help move it forward.”

Parental leave FAQ

Parental leave policy