Maternity Leave
Maternity leave is absence by a pregnant employee for the birth of her child. Leave of absence for other child care needs is Family Care Leave of Absence. Faculty should review the Faculty Leave webpage for more information.
Eligibility
Staff members who have at least a year of service at Northwestern University AND who have worked at least 1,250 hours within the past continuous 12 months, are eligible for The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to coincide with their maternity leave. FMLA provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave.
Staff members who are not eligible for FMLA should contact Human Resources Benefits to discuss their options. In some instances, they may be referred to our Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance to request maternity leave as an accommodation under the Americans with Disability's Act.
Provisions
Holding the job
For FMLA eligible employees, the job is held for up to 12 weeks following the birth of the child. If department operations permit, the employing department may agree to hold the job beyond 12 weeks.
Pay
Benefits-eligible staff who have at least six months of continuous service with Northwestern University are eligible for Extended Sick Time (EST) benefits to cover the disability period of their maternity leave. The disability period for maternity leaves is typically six to eight weeks depending on the types of birth. EST pays out at 100% of the employee's salary, after satisfying a seven consecutive day waiting period. Incidental Sick Time, vacation, and personal floating holiday time can be used to cover the seven day waiting period.
Benefits eligible staff with at least one-year of continuous service at Northwestern University may qualify for additional paid time through our Birth and Adoption Parental Leave (BAPL). BAPL provides an additional four weeks of paid leave to eligible staff. This benefit pays out 100% of the staff member's salary and would apply after the disability period. For more information visit birth and adoption parental leave (BAPL).
Staff members are also able to use any available vacation and personal floating holiday time to cover any additional time off following the period of disability within their approved leave period.
If an employee is not eligible for EST, they may use their own Incidental Sick Time, vacation, and personal floating holiday time to receive pay during their leave. Once this time is exhausted, the remainder of their leave would be unpaid.
Below are some typical pay breakdowns for FMLA eligible maternity leaves:
|
Vaginal Birth |
C-Section |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Without BAPL |
Week 1: Incidental Sick Time Week 2-6: Extended Sick Time Week 7-12: Personal floating holiday and vacation Time (and/or unpaid) |
Week 1: Incidental Sick Time Week 2-8: Extended Sick Time Week 9-12: Personal floating holiday & vacation Time (and/or unpaid) |
|
With BAPL |
Week 1: Incidental Sick Time Week 2-6: Extended Sick Time Week 7-10: Birth and Adoption Parental Leave Week 11-12: Personal floating holiday and vacation time (and/or unpaid) |
Week 1: Incidental Sick Time Week 2-8: Extended Sick Time Week 9-12: Birth and Adoption Parental Leave |
Benefits
An individual on a paid maternity leave will continue to receive benefits. The University continues to pay the employer contribution during this time. If enrolled in the dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA) this benefit is frozen until the individual returns from leave. The dependent care FSA can only be used when the employee is actively at work. Commuter benefits are temporarily terminated when on a leave of absence. This only be used when the employee is actively at work. The deadline to make changes to commuter benefits is the 5th of the month prior. Please make any necessary changes prior to that deadline. For additional question on the commuter benefits, visit the Commuter Benefits page.Unpaid leave
An individual on an unpaid leave will be billed for benefits coverage. The employee does have the option to waive some or all benefits while on an unpaid leave. This is done in myHR after the leave of absence is entered into the system and processed. The dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA) is temporarily frozen during a leave of absence. Commuter benefits are temporarily terminated when on a leave of absence. This benefit can only be used when the employee is actively at work. The deadline to make changes to commuter benefits is the 5th of the month prior. Please make any necessary changes prior to that deadline. For additional question on the commuter benefits, visit the Commuter Benefits page.How to apply for a maternity leave
Application
On January 1, 2025, Northwestern transitioned the administration of leave benefits to MetLife. Faculty and staff with a leave beginning before January 1, 2025, will continue to work with The Hartford for their Extended Sick Time (EST), Long-term Disability (LTD), and Birth/Adoption Parental Leave (BAPL) claims. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Military Leave claims will be tracked by MetLife starting January 1, 2025, even if your leave began before this date.
Leave Starting Before January 1, 2025
The faculty and staff member must contact The Hartford to apply for FMLA and/or EST/BAPL benefits as soon as possible. Instructional faculty should also inform their Dean's office of their leave requests for academic planning purposes. You can reach The Hartford at 1-888-541-7283. View the step-by-step process of applying for a leave. Once your claim has been assigned to a claim administrator at The Hartford, you can request to speak to this person directly by scheduling an appointment online. The Hartford will manage your EST/BAPL even if the benefit is paid in calendar year 2025. You will not need to contact MetLife unless you need FMLA in 2025 that has not been approved by The Hartford by the end of this calendar year.
Leave Starting After January 1, 2025
The faculty and staff member must contact MetLife to initial their leave request, even if they have already contacted The Hartford prior to 1/1/2025. You can contact MetLife to initiate your claim by calling 1-800-396-8876 or online via MetLife’s MyBenefits website at mybenefits.metlife.com. See MetLife guide on how to file claim online.