PSU Human Resources

Pregnancy Disability & Parental Leave

Pregnancy Disability / Bonding Leave

Pregnancy Disability Leave Information

Leave should be requested at least 30 days in advance of your due date.

  1. Use this link to fill out and submit the Protected Leave Notification Form to request family medical leave.
  2. Use this link to download the FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition. Your attending healthcare provider must complete this to establish your pregnancy disability period.
    1. The certification must be received by Human Resources no later than 15 days after the baby's birth.
      1. FMLA provides 12 weeks only of protected leave for any reason and runs concurrently with OFLA.
      2. OFLA provides 12 weeks  of leave for pregnancy disability.
      3. PFML (Paid Family Medical Leave) provides up to 14 weeks of partially paid, job and benefit-protected leave. 12 weeks for bonding and up to 2 weeks of pregnancy disability leave. This runs concurrently with FMLA.

You must start a claim with The Standard 30 days before your anticipated due date.

This should be noted on your request for leave.

Protected leaves stack

  • As the pregnant parent, you are generally entitled to up to 18-20 weeks of combined FMLA/OFLA/PFML protected, unpaid leave including 6-8 weeks of recovery disability following the birth and 12 weeks of parental leave.
  • You may be required to exhaust all paid sick, etc. prior to leave without pay while on protected leave.
  • While receiving PFML paid leave benefits, you may choose to “top off” the benefit from The Standard with sick or vacation leave. Parental leave can be used intermittently, in a block of time, or a combination of both up to the baby's first birthday.
  • If you have enrolled in short-term disability (STD): Pregnancy disability qualifies for use of short-term disability. There is a 7-calendar day waiting period to receive benefits after disability is established, which is normally the day the baby is born. You can choose to use paid sick leave for the first week's waiting period and then hold until STD benefits end. This should be noted on your request for leave.
  • Any leave taken before the establishment of disability (usually the baby's birth) must be taken as paid vacation or leave without pay and does not apply to FMLA/OFLA/PFML.

During your period of pregnancy disability, you may not work at all.

Contact leaves@pdx.edu or book an appointment for a 1-on-1 Informational Session on Protected Leaves

Checklist for before baby is born

  1. 30 days before your due date, submit a Protected Leave Notification form to PSU with the estimated dates of your leave.
  2. 30 days before your due date, submit a claim for Paid Family Medical Leave with The Standard.
  3. Recommended: Book a consultation with a member of the Leaves team to discuss your leave arrangements. 

Checklist for when baby is born

For Pregnancy Disability Leave Only

  1. If necessary, follow up on the medical certification from your doctor.
  2. Initiate a Short-Term Disability claim with The Standard
    1. Call The Standard at 1-800-842-1707.
    2. Advise The Standard that you are from Portland State University and a member of PEBB.
    3. Tell The Standard that you are applying for short-term disability and that the group policy number is 442210-C.
    4. Answer the questions that The Standard asks.

Note: There is a 7-calendar day waiting period before benefits begin. The Standard may take up to 2 weeks to provide a decision and they will ask for information from your treating physician.

For All Parents

  1. Complete the Baby Arrival Form or email HR Leaves (leaves@pdx.edu) within the first week after the baby is born to inform us of
    1. the delivery date,
    2. your last day worked, and
    3. if you are the pregnant parent, how you delivered.
  2. Contact The Standard and update them with the baby’s delivery date and last day worked.
  3. Enroll your baby in benefits coverage within 30 days of birth. Download and complete the Mid-Year Change form and submit it to HR.
    1. Upload the completed and signed form via the HR secure document system.
  4. Complete the FMLA/OFLA Leave Tracking form by the 10th of the month following each month in which you take leave.
  5. Call/email HR within the first week after the baby is born to inform us of the delivery date.
    1. If necessary, follow up on the medical certification from your doctor.
      1. Initiate a Short Term Disability claim with The Standard
      2. Call The Standard at 1-800-842-1707.
      3. Advise The Standard that you are from Portland State University and a member of PEBB.
      4. Notify The Standard that you are applying for short term disability and that the group policy number is 442210-D.
      5. Answer the questions that The Standard asks.

You must complete a FMLA/OFLA Leave Tracking Form by the 10th of the month following each month in which you take leave.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

If you still have questions please contact leaves@pdx.edu