Parental Leave

Parental Leave Quick Links

• Applying for Parental Leave: The Process
• Extended Leave General Information
• Your Rights Under FMLA (PDF)

Leave Approval

These leaves are applied for and approved in the Human Resources Leaves Office, 6400 Uptown BLVD NE, Suite 210 East, Full Staff Listing.

Eligibility

All APS employees are eligible for an APS parental leave of absence.

• Any employee who has worked for APS at least one (1) consecutive year or at least one (1) full contract equivalent, in active status employment immediately prior to the parental leave start date, may extend their parental leave up to one (1) calendar year.
• Any employee who has worked for APS less than one (1) consecutive year or less than one (1) full contract year equivalent, immediately prior to the parental leave start date, is eligible for up to 12 weeks maximum leave (birth of child).
• Non-birth parental leave is limited to 30 days of leave.
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will be granted to employees who have worked for APS for at least twelve (12) consecutive months, or one (1) full contract year equivalent, AND who have worked at least 1,250 hours in the immediate previous twelve (12) months.
• FMLA is limited to 12 weeks of leave per rolling calendar year. Use of available accrued leave balances is required. Paid or unpaid status depends on available and applicable accrued leave balances.
• Intermittent leave will be addressed according to FMLA law. For more information, visit U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, Family and Medical Leave Act. APS does not support intermittent or reduced schedule leave to care for or bond with a healthy child under the parental, adoption or foster care categories.

Childbirth

Time off for recovery from childbirth requires appropriate medical documentation and will be covered from the employee’s available leave balances.

• Use of compensatory time is not allowed.
• Available absence balances will be used in this order, as applicable: sick leave, personal leave, and annual leave.
• Once such benefits are exhausted, the leave will be without pay.
• Parental leave may be extended for up to one calendar year, except for employees who have worked for APS less than one (1) consecutive year, or less than one (1) full contract year equivalent, immediately prior to the parental leave start date (see Eligibility section).

Applying for Leave

1. Complete and sign Form A.
   A-schedule employees (covered by ATF bargaining unit) ONLY – complete/sign Form P. Failure to submit the completed Form P with Form A will result in denial of this additional paid benefit, with no option to revisit and/or revise.
2. Get your medical provider to compete/sign Form E. Include the following:
   • Date on which the health condition occurred
   • Probable duration of the condition
   • Estimate of the amount of time you need to be off work to care for your own health condition (anticipated START and END dates)
   • Confirmation that the nature of the condition warrants you to be away from work to care for yourself
3. Submit completed/signed forms to Extended.Leaves@aps.edu OR fax to (505) 884-0536.

Return to Work

To facilitate your return to work, compete and submit your ‘Letter of Intent’ (form located in your Leave Letter) to Extended.Leaves@aps.edu as early as possible, but no later than the specified due date.

Returning from Leave Early

If returning early from leave, the supervisor's written approval must be provided to the Leaves Office.  It is the employee's responsibility to notify the supervisor of the requested early return date.