Updates on Administration of Paid Family Leaves

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June 16, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

As noted in Ramona Allen's May 24, 2021 email, MIT is expanding its paid family leave policies under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA), effective July 1, 2021. As of July 1, most employees will be eligible to take partially paid leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

MIT will now offer three kinds of family leave:

  • Leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition;
  • Bonding Leave (for a new child); and
  • Leave related to a family member in the Armed Services.

Family leaves are generally limited to 12 weeks (total) in a 52-week period (a longer period may apply to care for a servicemember).

Campus employees should request a family leave through Workpartners and may take a continuous or intermittent leave.

Combining "Sick Family" Time with PFMLA Family Leave

To care for a family member with a serious health condition, employees may use up to 5 days of their accrued sick time as "sick family" time, paid at 100%. Sick family time is limited to 5 days per anniversary year. If used, those days count towards the 12 weeks of partially paid family leave. If the employee has used all their sick family leave, or if they choose not to use it, they may be paid for up to 12 weeks at the state formula rate.

Employees may use the State Calculator to calculate their pay at the state formula rate (details on the state formula rate). Pay at the state formula rate is paid weekly or bimonthly through MIT's normal payroll processing.

Timing of Leave Requests

It's important to know that Workpartners requires up to 72 hours (excluding weekends) to process leave paperwork. The timing of an employee's initial leave request, extension of a current leave request, or the late submission of medical documentation may impact or delay the timing of an employee's pay during a sick or family leave. See the Employee Leaves site for details on the impact of timing on pay.

Drop-in Sessions

In July and August 2021, we will hold drop-in sessions about PFMLA processes with Workpartners. If you have questions in the meantime, see the Employee Leaves site, contact your Human Resources Officer, or email leavepolicies@mit.edu.

Best regards

Jennifer

Jennifer Walsh
Director of Human Resources, Special Projects and Compliance
MIT Human Resources Department
77 Massachusetts Avenue - NE 49 - 5th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139