Family and Medical Leave
The Family and Medical Leave (FML) Policy for Faculty provides full pay for full-time and intermittent leaves for a period of up to 12 weeks (26 weeks for care of a family member disabled while on active duty in the armed services) or its equivalent during any 12-month period. The leave is available to a faculty member for the primary care of a spouse, domestic partner, child, or own parent who has a serious health condition. Medical certification must demonstrate that the patient requires assistance and the faculty member's presence would be necessary or beneficial. In addition to submitting the Human Resources FML Request Form and other required certification to Human Resources, the faculty member should submit the Provost's Office FML Accommodation Form to his or her Department Chair, who will forward the form to the College Dean. The purpose of the Accommodation Form is to assist in academic planning. The FML policy and both forms are available on the Provost's Web site. The faculty member should consult with the Department Chair and, if more information is needed, the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs. The Provost's Office provides up to $7,500 to the department for each FML leave to help defray the cost of adjunct salaries for course replacement. For more information, please see FMLA Faculty Policy.
Tenure Clock Extension for Care of Family Member
An untenured faculty member (assistant, associate, or full professor) may request from the Provost a one-semester or one year extension of his/her appointment for the reasons listed below.
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Primary care of a family member or domestic partner for serious health condition
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Placement of child in faculty member's home for foster care
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A qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's family member or domestic partner is on active military duty or is called to active duty
The faculty member must provide adequate documentation of the situation necessitating the request. Notification must be received by the provost prior to the date on which the faculty member's tenure package is required to be sent to external viewers. Tenure candidates who receive extensions will be evaluated with the same academic standards as candidates who do not receive extensions. The maximum length of the probationary period of a faculty member, with all extensions, is eight years. For more information,refer to the Rules and Procedures of the Faculty section 2 for detailed information or contact the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs.
Lehigh Sloan Research Grants
Pre-tenure faculty who take an FML leave for parenthood or care of a family member are eligible for a Lehigh Sloan research grant. Please see Research Grants for more information.