New parental leave policy

In May 2021, Gov. Kemp signed a new parental leave law for state employees. The new law and University System of Georgia’s (USG) policy on parental leave went into effect Thursday, July 1. USG employees who meet the established eligibility criteria and experience a qualifying life event as defined below may request parental leave.

1. Employee eligibility

An eligible employee is defined as a full-time regular employee, part-time regular employee, or temporary employee who has been employed with the USG for at least six months of continuous service and has worked a minimum of 700 hours over the six months immediately preceding the parental leave qualifying event.

2. Qualifying life event

The following are eligible qualifying life events:

• The birth of a child of an eligible employee
• The placement of a minor child for adoption with an eligible employee
• The placement of a minor child for foster care with an eligible employee

Key provisions of the parental leave policy

• Eligible leave amount: Up to a maximum of 120 hours of paid leave
• The maximum of 120 hours is the same regardless of the number of qualifying events within the year and across USG institutions
• Leave may be used on a continuous or intermittent basis up to 365 days from the qualifying event
• Unused leave does not carry over for future use
• Parental leave has no cash value upon separation

Requests for paid parental leave

• Individuals who have one of the qualifying life events can submit requests for extended absence through OneUSG Connect Employee Self-Service at least 30 days before the proposed leave date (or if the leave was not foreseeable, as soon as possible).
• Individuals may request leave for a qualifying event that occurred up to one year prior to July 1. If you had a qualifying event prior to July 1 and would like to use the new paid parental leave, please call UGA Human Resources at 706-542-2222.

If you have any questions about parental leave, please contact UGA Human Resources.