Graduate Employee Leave Options

Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave

Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave is a State of Oregon mandated program that ensures individuals, employers, and families — of every kind — have the time and support they need to care for themselves and their loved ones when life's important moments affect their health and safety. Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave serves most employees in Oregon by providing paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, an employee's or a loved one's serious illness, or if an employee experiences sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, or stalking. The University of Oregon's program is administered by The Standard. 

Visit the Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave webpage for more information.

Requesting Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave

  1. Provide notification to your department thirty days prior to the date of requested leave, when possible.
    • In the case of an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, the GE must give a verbal notice within twenty-four hours of the qualifying leave event.
  2. For paid leave through Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave, please follow instructions located here. 
     

GE Family and Medical Leave

When a graduate employee (GE) will be absent for a period of greater than five consecutive working days (one week), they may be entitled to the family and medical leave as described in article 29, section 8 of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA). GEs are not required to take ORPFML; however, if they take ORPFML, it will run concurrently with the GEFML. At the request of a GE, unpaid parental leave can be utilized before paid sick days.

Eligibility

To be eligible for unpaid family and medical leave, you must have been employed by the University of Oregon in a GE position for at least one term in the twelve months preceding the term in which the leave is requested is eligible for leave.

Graduate employees are not eligible for the Federal Medical Leave Act or the Oregon Family Leave Act.

Qualifying Events

If eligible, you are entitled to a total of sixteen (16) work weeks of unpaid leave during any twelve-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

  1. Birth of a child and in order to care for such child.
  2. Placement of child with GE for adoption or foster care.
  3. To care for a spouse (or equivalent in accordance with Oregon state law), partner, child, or parent of the GE when a serious health condition exists.
  4. Your own serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your GE duties.

Provisions of Leave

  • Accrued sick leave must be used prior to entering unpaid status, except in the case of parental leave. Days of paid sick leave count toward the 16 weeks of unpaid Family and Medical Leave, except in the case of parental leave (Article 29, Section 8).
  • In cases where such leave is five (5) weeks or longer in a single term, such leave may be taken in conjunction with an academic leave of absence.

Additional information regarding benefits retention, job protection, and academic leave of absence can be found in the Family and Medical Leave article in the CBA.

Requesting Leave

  1. Provide notification to your department thirty days prior to the date of requested leave, when possible.
    • In the case of an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, the GE must give a verbal notice within twenty-four hours of the qualifying leave event.
  2. For paid leave through Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave, please follow instructions located here. 
  3. For additional unpaid leave, complete the Request for Leave Form.
  4. Receive eligibility notification from Human Resources.
    • In the case of a serious health condition, the university may request medical verification from a healthcare provider, and the GE must provide such verification within fifteen days of the request.

Questions & Assistance