The University of Iowa 

TO:                  Sue Buckley 

FROM:             Nancy Williams

                        Jennifer Modestou

                        Jane Holland 

RE:                   Parental Leave 

Date:                February 1, 2002 

Earlier this year we were asked by our constituency groups to explore the feasibility of increasing the amount of leave available under adoptive leave.  While addressing this request, Laura Reed and you raised the issue of parental leave for the spouse/partner of a biological mother and asked us to address parental leave while looking at adoptive leave.  

While we do endorse the future development of a parental leave policy for a spouse/partner of a biological mother, given the current financial constraints of the University we are not recommending the development of parental leave at this time.  From the data we reviewed July 2000 through June 2001, the cost of providing parental leave during that timeframe could have approximated $280,000.  We are recommending the following. 

Recommendation

(1)    Reference the Family Medical Leave Act in the Parental Leave Policy section of the

Operations Manual.  See Human Resources, 22.8 Parental Leave.

(2)    Continue to offer seminars that inform eligible spouse/partners of the availability of emergency leave and leave under the Family Medical Leave Act.