POLICY ON ReDUCTION IN DUTIES FOR THE BIRTH OF A CHILD

Draft Printed: 11/12/2003

 

A Reduction in Duties for the birth of a child is available to Active Status faculty members who are pregnant and awaiting delivery and to Active Status faculty members whose domestic partners have delivered a living child. Unless the University is experiencing a Financial Exigency, upon submission of a request and proper documentation from a physician, the faculty member will automatically be granted a Reduction in Duties according to the following provisions:

 

  1. Requests for this Reduction in Duties are made by the faculty member to the AVP through the appropriate Dean.

 

  1. The Reduction in Duties will be one of the following, both involving full pay and benefits for the faculty member.
    1. Change from Active Status to On Leave Status: While On Leave, the faculty member has no duties at the University; or
    2. Reduction in Teaching Load: The faculty member has normal duties, except for a 6-hour reduction from the faculty member’s regular teaching load. For Library Faculty this is to be interpreted as a reduction to half-time duties. (Regular Teaching Load is to be interpreted as the number of hours the faculty member would have taught had the Reduction not been granted.)

 

  1. A faculty member who is pregnant may choose to have a Reduction in Duties for either one semester or two semesters. If a faculty member requests a Reduction for one semester, she may choose either the change to On Leave Status for that semester or the Reduction in Teaching Load. If she requests a Reduction in Duties for two semesters, one will be a change to On Leave Status and the other will be a Reduction in Teaching Load, and the faculty member may choose the order for these reductions in consultation with the appropriate department chair. The two semesters of reduced duties must be concluded by the one-year anniversary of delivery. If a premature delivery occurs during an official regular fall or spring semester in which the faculty member’s status is not the On Leave Status, this matter will be handled under the University’s normal procedures for emergency absences.

 

  1. In the case of a faculty member whose domestic partner has delivered a living child, the faculty member will be granted a Reduction in Teaching Load for one semester. Normally, the semester of this Reduction will be the semester following the birth of the child; however, with approval of the Academic Vice President, the semester of the Reduction may be the semester in which the birth is to occur.

 

  1. After a faculty member has invoked this policy twice, additional Reductions in Duties under this policy are no longer automatic but must be approved by the Academic Vice President.

 

  1. A faculty member who intends to invoke this policy must consult with the appropriate department chair as soon as is practicable, so as to allow the University a reasonable opportunity to provide for coverage of the duties of the faculty member during the period of reduced duties.

 

  1. Administrators must exercise due care to ensure that the granting of a Reduction in Duties under this policy does not simply increase the workload of the other faculty members in the department; that is, visiting faculty and/or additional part-time faculty should be hired as appropriate to cover the responsibilities of the faculty member granted the Reduction in Duties.

 

  1. If two JCU active status faculty members qualify for this Reduction in Duties as a result of the same child, only one at a time will be granted a reduction.

 

A visiting faculty member may be granted a Reduction in Duties under this policy as the situation warrants; however, these reductions are not automatic and must be approved by the Academic Vice President.                                                                                                                                                     11-04-03