OAK LAWN PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD POLICY
PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY
The Oak Lawn Public Library will provide up to eight (8) weeks of paid parental leave to eligible employees following the birth of an employee’s child or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with adoption or foster care. The purpose of paid parental leave is to enable the employee to care for and bond with a newborn or a newly adopted or newly placed child.
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible employees must meet the following criteria:
- Have been employed with the Library for at least 12 consecutive months
- Be a regular employee in either a full-time position or a Level 2 part-time position (Level 1 part-time, temporary or seasonal employees are not eligible for this benefit)
In addition, employees must meet one of the following criteria:
- Have given birth to a child (including the employee’s children born using gestational surrogacy)
- Be a spouse or committed partner of a person who has given birth to a child (including the employee’s children born using gestational surrogacy) and able to demonstrate such with documentation if requested
- Have adopted a child or been placed with a foster child (in either case, the child must be age 17 or younger) and able to demonstrate such with documentation if requested. The adoption of a child by a new spouse is excluded from this policy
AMOUNT, TIMEFRAME, AND DURATION
Eligible employees will receive a maximum of eight (8) weeks of paid parental leave per birth, adoption or placement of a child. The fact that a multiple birth, adoption or placement occurs (e.g., the birth of twins or adoption of siblings) does not increase the total amount of paid parental leave granted for that event. In addition, in no case will an employee receive more than eight weeks of paid parental leave in a rolling 12-month period, regardless of whether more than one birth, adoption or foster care placement occurs within that 12-month period. Furthermore, spouses employed by the Library will receive no more than eight weeks of paid parental leave per qualifying reason and within any rolling 12-month period.
Approved paid paternal leave may begin no earlier than the birth or placement of the child/children and end within 12 months immediately following birth or placement. Any unused paid parental leave will be forfeited at the end of this period. The leave may be taken intermittently, but should be taken in full week increments where possible.
Upon termination of employment, the individual will not be paid for any unused paid parental leave for which they were eligible.
Paid parental leave is compensated at the employee’s current regular rate of pay based on the employee’s regularly scheduled hours. Paid parental leave will be paid on regularly scheduled pay dates.
COORDINATION WITH OTHER POLICIES AND BENEFITS
The Library will maintain all benefits for employees during the paid parental leave period just as if they were taking any Library paid leave such as paid vacation or paid sick leave. Accordingly, the employee will be expected to continue to pay their portion of the benefits (i.e. medical, dental, vision, etc.) through payroll deduction.
If a holiday occurs while the employee is on paid parental leave, such day will be charged to holiday pay.
After the paid parental leave is exhausted, the remainder of the leave may be compensated through the employee’s applicable earned benefit time. Upon exhaustion of applicable earned benefit time, any remaining leave will be unpaid. During unpaid portions of the leave, the employee is expected to continue to pay their portion of the benefits (i.e. medical, dental, vision, etc.) to the Library.
REQUESTS FOR PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
The employee should provide their supervisor and/or the Library Director with notice of the request for leave at least 30 days prior to the proposed date of the leave) or if the leave was not foreseeable, as soon as possible). The request should include the reason for the leave, the date on which you wish or believe the leave will begin, the date on which you expect to return to active employment and any documentation supporting your need for leave. This request should be signed and dated by the employee.
Adopted: 07/15/25
Revised : 08/19/2025