Faculty Leaves

Childbirth leave (maternity leave) covers time that a faculty member cannot work due to:

• Prenatal care
• Childbirth
• Recovery from childbirth

MIT generally assumes a period of incapacity of eight weeks for childbirth and recovery; that period may be longer if supported by appropriate medical documentation.

Childbirth leave, like other sick/medical leaves, is paid at 100% of the faculty member’s regular pay.

Full policy at Section 7.5.2 Sick and Family Leaves for the Faculty.

If at least six weeks of an eight-week (or longer) childbirth leave falls during an academic semester, the faculty member may request "Administrative Teaching Relief" for the weeks of the semester before and/or after the childbirth leave. The faculty member should first talk with their department, which then makes the request to the Dean’s office on behalf of the faculty member. The Dean's office will normally grant such requests from the birth parent.

During the Administrative Teaching Relief period, the faculty member continues their research and advising duties, and is relieved of teaching and administrative duties. Note that during the actual medical/childbirth leave, no work-related duties are required.

Administrative Teaching Relief may be requested on behalf of any faculty member – male or female – who is out for at least six weeks during a semester due to their own serious health condition. Full policy at Section 7.5.3.

Administrative Teaching Relief is paid at 100% of a faculty member’s regular pay.

In addition to the medical/childbirth leave and any Administrative Teaching Relief, the birth parent is also entitled to parental leave, as described below.

New birth parents are automatically granted a one-year extension of their tenure clock.  Note that the birth of twins or multiple children results in a one-year extension (not a multi-year extension). The faculty member may choose to opt out of any automatic extension.

Other parents by birth (spouse or partner) or adoption are granted a one-year extension of the tenure clock if they meet the following conditions:

• For at least six months within the first twelve months of the child’s birth or adoption, the faculty member:
  1. will be the child’s primary or equal caregiver, and
  2. will spend the majority of their academic time on caring for the child

As with birth parents, the birth of multiple children at the same time (twins, triplets, etc.) results in a one-year extension, not a multi-year extension. The same is true for parents who adopt more than one child at the same time; the adoption event results in a one-year extension.

Tenure clock extensions for foster parents are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Note that other faculty leaves, such as for a different serious medical condition or for other family reasons, may result in extensions of the tenure clock, as described in Policies & Procedures Section 3.2.1 Extension of Tenure Clock for Leaves.

Continuous Bonding Leave generally does not count as service for eligibility for sabbaticals; a case-by-case review may be done if the faculty member takes a very short Continuous Bonding Leave (that is, far less than the full 12 week leave). On the other hand, a semester of Teaching Relief, where research and thesis advising continue, does count as service for eligibility for sabbaticals. Where a birth parent spends part of a semester on medical leave and part on Administrative Teaching Relief, the semester generally counts towards the sabbatical clock; however, in unusual circumstances (such as a prolonged medical leave during the semester), a case-by-case determination will be done.

The PFMLA defines a serious health condition as a physical or mental condition that prevents one from doing their job either because they are unable to, or because they need time to get treated or recover from treatment. A Serious Health Condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves (a) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical facility; or (b) continuing treatment by a Healthcare Provider.

The term Serious Health Condition includes any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care, and for childbirth and recovery from childbirth (childbirth/maternity leave).

When leaves are paid at the state formula rate, the payment is calculated based on a formula applied to the staff faculty member's actual past wages. In 2024, the maximum weekly benefit rate is $1,149.90.

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (which oversees the PFMLA) has an online calculator that allows employees to estimate the amount of gross pay they will be paid under the state formula, based on the employee’s earnings over the prior four quarters. This calculator is a helpful tool for employees looking to see what their rate of pay would be for any MIT family leave that is paid at the state formula rate. Because the calculator only provides an estimate, the final gross amount may differ.

Deductions will be taken from the gross pay at the state formula rate for items like taxes, your share of health premiums, and other deductions regularly taken from your paycheck. Deductions that are based on a percentage of pay, like a 401(k) contribution, will be reduced if your paycheck is reduced because you are paid at the state formula rate.

For leave purposes, a Family Member is the spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, or parent of a spouse or domestic partner of the employee; a person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a minor child; or a grandchild, grandparent, or sibling of the employee.

Note that the federal and state laws governing sick/medical and family leaves – including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Massachusetts Earned sick time law, and the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) – have different definitions of the term "family member." MIT’s sick and family leave policies for faculty and staff use the PFMLA definition, which is the broadest. 

For leaves for faculty, a health care provider is defined as follows:

In all cases, the professional (doctor, nurse practitioner etc.) must be licensed by the state in which the individual practices.

• Doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy
• Dentist
• Podiatrist
• Clinical psychologist
• Optometrist
• Nurse practitioner
• Nurse midwife
• Clinical social worker
• Physician assistant
• Chiropractor, but only for treatment consisting of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation as demonstrated by X-ray to exist) for subluxation of the spine
• Certain Christian Science Practitioners listed with the First Church of Christ, Scientist
• Health care provider listed above who practices in a country other than the United States, who is authorized to practice in accordance with the law of that country, and who is performing within the scope of his or her practice as defined under such law.
• For leaves under the FMLA only, any health care provider from whom an employer or the employer's group health plan's benefits manager will accept certification of the existence of a serious health condition to substantiate a claim for benefits.

Note that cosmetic surgery is not covered by MIT's leave laws nor by the PFMLA.