All FML Types
What faculty types are eligible for paid FML?
All tenured, tenure-track, and term faculty (teaching faculty, research faculty, and Professors of Practice) are eligible for paid FML. (Visiting and adjunct faculty are eligible for unpaid FML leave under some circumstances; see the FML policy for details.)
Do I also need to take short-term disability (STD) in addition to my FML?
For parenthood FML, if you are the parent who gave birth to the child, then you are expected to initiate a claim for short-term disability (STD) benefits. FML applies concurrently with an approved STD period. STD typically runs for 6 weeks to 8 weeks in the case of childbirth. If you wish to end your STD period earlier than the approved time period, you may do so by completing and returning a Healthcare Provider Release to Return to Work form.
For FML due to your own illness or injury, you are also expected to initiate a claim for short-term disability (STD) benefits if your condition is expected to lead to an absence from work of more than 10 working days.
What about benefits?
The University will continue your flexible benefits during your FML at the same level and under the same conditions as if you continued to be at work during that time. You also keep your ID card, parking permit, etc. during your leave.
Am I allowed to do work while I am on FML?
By federal law, you may not work during the hours, days, or weeks when you are on FML. If you take full-time FML (say, for 12 consecutive weeks), you may not work during those weeks. If you take intermittent or reduced-work-schedule FML, then you may work, but the time you spend working should be roughly what you indicated in your leave request.
If you are on short-term disability (STD), e.g., because you gave birth to a baby or had surgery, then you may not work during the period of your STD.
Can I at least check my email?
Because there is an expectation that you are not performing any work when you are out on FML, we discourage you from checking your email; however, this will not be monitored.
Do the 12 weeks of FML need to be consecutive?
No. Regardless of what type of FML you take (full time, reduced work schedule, or intermittent), you are not required to exhaust your annual FML entitlement all at one time. If your FML leave is for parenthood, you may request to structure the leave as multiple, non-consecutive increments within the 12 months following the birth or adoption of your child. If you take, say, 4 weeks of FML to care for an aging parent, and then a few months later you have a baby, you may take the remaining 8 weeks of FML at that time.
Must I participate in faculty reviews while I am out on FML? May I?
Participating in faculty reviews counts as work, and there are restrictions on whether, when, and how much you can work while on FML; see “Am I allowed to do work while I am on FML?” Your department cannot require you to participate in faculty reviews (or any other work) while on FML. However, it is reasonable for participation in faculty reviews to be one of the responsibilities that you choose to include in your FML work plan, if you and your Chair agree.
Note: R&P 2.2.2.2.4 indicates that all eligible faculty must participate in faculty reviews unless they meet the strict reasons for recusal. FML is not one of the reasons for recusal. However, federal law dictates that you cannot be required to work during an FML, and this trumps R&P. Discussions are currently underway to amend this section of R&P accordingly.
Is there a minimum time period between FML leaves?
No, but you may not take more than 12 weeks of FML leave (or 26 weeks if you are caring for a family member injured while on active military duty) during any 12-month period.
Must I be a Lehigh faculty member for a minimum amount of time before I can take FML?
If you are a tenure-track, tenured, or term faculty member, you are eligible for FML on day 1 of your employment at Lehigh.
Visiting and adjunct faculty members must meet specific eligibility criteria outlined in the FML Policy for Faculty.
FML for Parenthood
What does it mean that I have to be a primary caregiver?
To qualify for FML for parenthood, you must be a primary caregiver for the child. This means you are principally responsible or co-responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. If you and your partner are both responsible for the child’s care most of the time, that means you are a primary caregiver, and you are eligible for FML.
However, if your child is in the full-time care of a professional care provider (e.g., day care or nanny) or another family member, then you are not eligible for FML. (If your child is sometimes in your care and sometimes in the care of another provider, you may still be eligible to take FML under a reduced work schedule or intermittent leave; see above.)
Do I need to provide medical certification?
You do not need to provide medical certification for FML due to the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, but supporting documentation verifying your relationship to the child is required (i.e. a birth certificate or adoption/foster paperwork).
Is there a maximum amount of time between the birth, adoption, or foster placement of my child and my FML?
Your FML must begin and end within one year of the birth, adoption, or placement of the child.
If my spouse or partner and I are both Lehigh faculty members and we have a child, are we each eligible for FML?
Yes, you are both eligible to take FML, and you may choose to do so at the same time or at different times (within 12 months after the baby is born). You are also both eligible to apply for Lehigh Sloan research grants.
If we both take FML, do they need to be in different semesters?
No. You may take FML in the same semester or different semesters, depending on your needs and wishes. (Lehigh used to require such leaves to be in different semesters, but this is no longer true.)
What happens if my child is born or adopted in the middle of a semester, so that my FML would span two semesters?
You are entitled to take FML whenever you need it, even if you have a child in the middle of a semester. Your FML need not fall within a single semester. For example, if you have a baby in the middle of the Fall semester, you may choose to take 6 weeks of FML at the end of the Fall semester, “pause” it during winter break, and take the remaining 6 weeks of FML during the beginning of the Spring semester.
Of course, this might make things more complicated from a teaching point of view, since your department will have to cover your teaching in both semesters (or half of both semesters). The Provost’s office provides funds to help defray the cost of an adjunct during your FML, but only for one adjunct. If your department needs two (one per semester), the department and/or college will need to figure out how to cover the cost, or rely on other faculty members, etc.
There is also the question of whether and what you will teach during the two non-consecutive half-semesters when you are working. This is something to discuss with your Chair. One option is to teach half of a course each semester, with another professor covering the other halves. Another option is to “bank” the two half-semesters’ worth of teaching and then teach an extra class in some future semester. There is no guarantee that these or other options will be feasible, and your Chair has discretion to assign your teaching responsibilities as necessary.
Recent Changes in the FML Policy
The following changes were introduced to Lehigh’s FML policy for faculty in 2025:
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To qualify for FML for parenthood, a faculty member must be a primary caregiver, but need not be the primary caregiver. That means that a faculty member who co-parents may take FML.
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If both parents are Lehigh faculty members, they may choose to take their FMLs concurrently rather than successively.
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Only tenured, tenure-track, and term faculty are eligible for paid FML. Visiting and adjunct faculty may eligible for unpaid FML, if they meet service requirements outlined in the FML policy. (This is not a change in administration, but rather a clarification of eligibility, as it was not clearly defined in prior policy documents.)
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The FML Academic Planning Form now allows the faculty member to choose full-time, reduced work schedule, or intermittent leave. (Previously the form did not have an option for reduced work schedule.)