Family leave benefits can be complex. Schedule an appointment to get answers from a benefits expert.
A number of benefits are available to Georgetown employees who have a child or adopt or welcome a child for foster care or legal guardianship. While a number of the benefits below can be used for situations unrelated to a child’s arrival, this page focuses on new parents and growing families.
Paid Parental Leave
Paid benefit through Georgetown University.
- Benefit: A source of income while you bond and care for your new child.
- Duration: Up to 8 weeks per event during a consecutive 12-month period. Birth parents may choose to begin paid parental leave right after their short term disability ends. Paid parental leave can be taken in an 8-week increment or two 4-week increments. You must use paid parental leave within 1 year of your child’s birth or placement with you for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship. Leaves lasting less than 4 weeks don’t qualify for paid parental leave.
- Waiting period: None.
- Extension: None.
- Eligibility requirements: Staff, academic and administrative professional (AAP) and GU-employed postdoctoral and Law Center fellows and 1 year of continuous service at the time of your child’s birth or placement.
Short Term Disability Insurance
Paid benefit through Georgetown University.
- Benefit: Salary replacement paid by Georgetown University when you’re recovering from childbirth.
- Duration: 8 weeks for birth claims without medical complications (1 week in the unpaid waiting period and 7 weeks of paid leave).
- Waiting period: 1 workweek (5 business days).
- Extension: If additional recovery time is required, you may request to extend your disability claim. All short term disability requests require medical certification and review before approval.
- Eligibility requirements: Staff or academic and administrative professional (AAP) scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week.
Family Medical Leave Act
This is an unpaid benefit through the federal government.
- Benefit: Provides you with unpaid job-protected leave and requires that your group health benefits continue during the leave.
- Duration: Up to 12 workweeks during the 12-month period that starts when your child is born or placed with you for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship.
- Waiting period: None.
- Extension: None. However, you can take up to 26 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.
- Eligibility requirements: Work for Georgetown University for 12 months (they don’t have to be consecutive) and complete at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before your leave starts.
DC Family Medical Leave Act
This is an unpaid benefit through the District of Columbia.
- Benefit: Family leave and medical leave during any 24-month period.
- Duration: Up to 16 workweeks for family leave and up to 16 workweeks for medical leave during any 24-month period. However, if you’re having a baby, adopting or welcoming a child for foster care or legal guardianship, you can use DC FMLA only within 1 year of your child’s birth or placement with you.
- Waiting period: None.
- Extension: None.
- Eligibility requirements: Work for Georgetown University for at least 1 continuous year.
Complete at least 1,000 hours of service during the 12 months before your DC FMLA
DC Paid Family Leave
This is a paid benefit through the District of Columbia.
- Benefit: A source of income while you take time away from work to care for and bond with your child. Your DC PFL benefit payment is a percentage of your pay up to a maximum of $1,049 per week.
- Duration: Up to 2 weeks for prenatal care if you are the birth parent. After your child’s birth or placement, up to 12 weeks for bonding whether you are a birth or non-birth parent.
- Waiting period: None.
- Extension: None.
- Eligibility requirement: Spend at least 50% of your Georgetown University work time* in the District of Columbia during some or all of the 52 weeks immediately before your child’s birth or placement with you for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship.
Other Benefits
If you’re a remote employee working outside the District of Columbia, you may be eligible for family and/or medical leave through your primary work state.
Coordination of Paid Leave Benefits
If you’re eligible for Georgetown University short term disability and/or paid parental leave payments and DC or state Paid Family Medical Leave payments at the same time, your Georgetown University benefit payment will be reduced by the amount you’re eligible to receive from DC or your primary work state.
If your DC or state PFML payment is different from what Georgetown University has estimated and subtracted from your short term disability or paid parental leave payment(s), contact fmla@georgetown.edu to correct it.
Applying
You will apply for most leave benefits through MetLife: 1-877-638-8262
Depending on the type of leave you request, you may be able to start it before your child’s birth or placement. Confirm with MetLife when your leave can start.
Faculty
Faculty should contact their administrator for information on paid parental leave through Georgetown.