Faculty Medical Leaves, Family Leaves and FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)
Faculty Medical Leave
Northwestern's Faculty Medical Leave Policy explains the benefits and eligibility for medical leave. For instructions on how to file a Faculty Medical Leave of Absence, including procedures with The Hartford, view the Guide to Filing a Faculty Medical Leave and FAQs.
Faculty Family Leave
Northwestern's Faculty Family Leave Policy establishes faculty family leaves for purposes of birth, adoption, or care for a child after birth or adoption.
Explore Benefits by Faculty Category
Different leave policies will apply depending on the faculty category.
Tenure-track and full-time, long-term, instructional/clinical faculty
These faculty include tenured and tenure-track faculty as well as full-time, benefits-eligible, non-tenure-track faculty with at least three years of continuous full-time service or who are currently serving in an academic appointment with an appointment length of three years or longer. These faculty are eligible for faculty family leave as defined in the Policy on Faculty Family Leave and the Faculty Handbook, and may be eligible for FMLA. These faculty are also eligible for medical leave provided that they are benefits-eligible and have at least 6 months of continuous benefits-eligible service.
- Policy on Faculty Family Leave
- Faculty Family Leave and FMLA FAQs
- Faculty Handbook
- See also the Policy on Extending the Probationary Period for Tenure-Track Faculty
Other Instructional Faculty
Non-tenure-track faculty with less than 3 years of continuous benefits-eligible service and who are serving in appointments of less than 3 years in length. As noted in the Faculty Handbook, instructional faculty are eligible for up to 6 weeks of paid leave for childbearing (or longer as medically-necessary) provided they have at least 6 months of benefits-eligible service, but not for adoption or childrearing leaves. Instructional faculty may also be eligible for FMLA.
Research Faculty
Includes the following titles: Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Assistant Professor, Senior Research Investigator, Research Scientist-Professor, Research Scientist-Associate Professor, and Research Scientist-Assistant Professor. Research Faculty are indicated in the University’s myHR system with a position type of FAC and a position category of RES.
Full-time, benefits-eligible Research Faculty who are salaried through Northwestern University and have at least 6 months of continuous benefits-eligible service are eligible for up to 6 months of paid leave for medical reasons. A Research Faculty member who meets these eligibility requirements and gives birth to a child is eligible for up to 6 weeks of paid leave for maternity, or longer as medically-necessary. A Research Faculty member with at least 3 years of continuous full-time benefits-eligible service, or who is serving in an appointment with an appointment length of 3 years or longer, is eligible for 4 weeks of paid parental leave. For a mother, this is in addition to the up to 6 weeks of maternity leave mentioned above. NOTE: In cases of parental leaves, the allocation of the salary charges during the leave will be based on the individual’s funding source(s). Research Faculty may also be eligible for FMLA.
- Faculty Family Leave and FMLA FAQs
- Research Faculty Leave of Absence FAQs
- Feinberg Research Faculty Leave of Absence FAQs
Librarian Faculty
Librarian Faculty are indicated in the University’s myHR system with a position type of FAC and a position category of LIB. For information regarding Librarian Faculty leaves of absence, please consult the Librarian Faculty Terms of Appointment as well as the Northwestern University Staff Handbook.
Responsible Office: Human Resources
Who Needs to Know This Policy: Northwestern Faculty
Contacts: Different leave policies will apply depending on the faculty category. See relevant policies and definitions of faculty categories. If you have questions about which policy applies to a given scenario, please contact facultyrecords@northwestern.edu.
Dated: November 10, 2021