246 – Paid Parental Leave

You are here:

I.             Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to promote a family-friendly workplace at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) by providing paid leave to eligible employees to bond and care for a child after the birth, adoption, or foster-to-adopt placement.

II.           Definitions

Rolling 12 – Month Period – a period of 12 consecutive months on a rolling basis, with a new 12-month period starting after the exhaustion of the employee’s previous approved Paid Parental Leave or the last day the employee used Paid Parental Leave.

III.          Policy

The HCSO will provide eligible employees with paid leave to bond and care for a child after the birth, adoption, or foster-to-adopt placement in a manner consistent with the Harris County Paid Parental Leave Policy.

IV.          Eligibility

A.           To be eligible for Paid Parental Leave and Infant Sick Leave, employees must meet the following criteria:

1.            Been continuously employed with the County as a full time, regular employee for at least 180 consecutive calendar days immediately preceding the birth, adoption, or placement for adoption. For purposes of this policy, placement for adoption means foster-to-adopt placement or other placement of a child pending adoption as evidenced by a placement agreement or court action.

2.            Employees who have reached 45 consecutive calendar days of employment but have not reached 180 consecutive calendar days of continuous employment immediately preceding the birth, adoption, or placement of a child for adoption may receive Paid Parental Leave as outlined in the following table.

B.           In addition, employees must meet one of the following criteria:

1.            Be a new parent by birth of a child;

2.            Be the new adoptive parent of a child who is 17 years or younger; or

3.            Be the foster parent to a new foster-to-adopt child who is 17 years or younger and placed with the foster parent; or

4.            Be the prospective parent to a child who is 17 years or younger and who is placed with the prospective parent pending private adoption.

C.           This policy applies to a child who is newly added to the household through birth, adoption, or placement for adoption and not a child who has been a member of the household for over a year. This policy does not apply to the adoption of a stepchild by a stepparent.

D.           If both parents work for the HCSO, then each parent is entitled to their own paid leave.

V.           How Paid Parental Leave Works

A.           Multiple births, adoptions, or placements does not increase the length of Paid Parental Leave. An employee will not receive more than the maximum allotted amount of Paid Parental Leave in a rolling 12-month period, regardless of whether more than one birth, adoption, or placement event occurs within that 12-month time frame.

B.           For child bonding purposes, Paid Parental Leave must be used entirely before other forms of paid or unpaid leave are used after the birth, adoption, or placement of a child.

C.           Approved Paid Parental Leave may be taken at any time during the 12-month period immediately following the birth, adoption or placement of a child with the employee. Paid Parental Leave may not be used or extended beyond this 12-month time frame.

D.           Employees must take Paid Parental Leave in one continuous period of leave, unless:

1.            A schedule of how intermittent leave will be used is provided at the time of the request, and

2.            Their immediate supervisor and the bureau commander (Major or Director) approve the use of intermittent leave.

3.            Intermittent leave may or may not be approved based on department needs.

E.            Paid Parental Leave is compensated at the employee’s regular rate of pay. Any unused Paid Parental Leave is not compensable and will be forfeited at the end of the 12-month time frame or when an employee separates from employment with Harris County or moves to an ineligible position, whichever occurs first.

VI.          Requesting Paid Parental Leave

A.           Employees should notify their supervisor or Department Head of their intention to request Paid Parental Leave as soon as practicable and provide them with the anticipated start date and duration of the leave.

B.           To receive Paid Parental Leave, eligible employees must complete a Request for Paid Parental Leave Form and submit it to Human Resources within thirty (30) days of the birth or adoption/placement

NOTE: The form is available on the Harris County website:  https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/hrrm/documents/HarrisCountyPaidParentalLeaveRequestForm.pdf

C.           The request must include appropriate documentation that shows the employee’s use of Paid Parental Leave is directly connected to a birth, adoption, or foster-to-adopt placement of a child. If the employee is eligible for FMLA leave, the FMLA leave requirements will govern, and the FMLA documentation provided will be used to verify eligibility.

D.           If the employee is not eligible for FMLA leave, proof of the birth or placement of the child must be provided.

E.            The employee’s name must be included as a legal parent on the birth certificate or legal document establishing paternity or establishing adoption/placement.

F.            Documentation of the birth or adoption/placement of a child should be submitted as soon as it becomes available and no later than thirty (30) days after the birth or adoption/ placement.

G.           If the employee fails to provide the HCSO with the required documentation or certification within the specified time period, their supervisor may determine that the employee is not entitled to Paid Parental Leave and may require that the absence be changed to leave without pay or other forms of paid time off.

H.           To validate an absence, appropriate documentation may be required at any time if requested by the HCSO, Harris County Human Resources, or Payroll.

I.             Employees begin their Paid Parental Leave on the date specified in their request unless their child is born or adopted earlier or later. In these cases, employees need to notify their supervisor as soon as possible to be able to begin leave.

VII.         Limitations of Paid Parental Leave

A.           An employee may not use Paid Parental Leave in excess of the employee’s normally scheduled workweek.

B.           Eligible employees are strongly encouraged to plan in advance for when they expect to use Paid Parental Leave and communicate their plans to their immediate supervisor, in order to plan for their division’s operational needs.

C.           Paid Parental Leave must be used only for caring for or bonding with the child. Employees are not allowed to engage in any employment, including any law enforcement or non-law enforcement related extra employment, during the time the employee is taking Paid Parental Leave. Supervisors may take disciplinary action against an employee who uses Paid Parental Leave for purposes other than those described in this policy. Employees may still work extra employment during their normal off-duty hours – e.g., if the employee normally works from 7am to 3pm and is receiving paid parental leave during that time, they may work extra employment outside of those hours.

D.           Recipients of Paid Parental Leave must maintain full-time employment with Harris County for at least 180 consecutive calendar days of continuous service immediately after the expiration of approved leave or reimburse Harris County for the Paid Parental Leave funds received. Under limited circumstances Harris County may elect to waive reimbursement, including when the recipient of paid parental leave involuntarily loses full time employment, such as in a reduction in force.

E.            Harris County will be entitled to recover from the employee any Paid Parental Leave funds received if such employee does not return to work as a full-time, Regular Position Employee for at least 180 days of continuous service after receiving Paid Parental Leave.

F.            Employees out on Workers’ Compensation or Leave of Absence (LOA) are not eligible for Paid Parental Leave.

VIII.        Coordination With Other Leave

A.           Paid Parental Leave is a supplement to the employee’s existing sick and other leave at the time of the qualifying event (birth, adoption, or placement for adoption).

B.           Paid Parental Leave is designed to run concurrently with FMLA and is not intended to extend the 12-week FMLA period. An employee on Paid Parental Leave who meets the FMLA eligibility requirements will be placed on FMLA leave at the start of the Paid Parental Leave. If the employee meets FMLA eligibility during the Paid Parental Leave period, the employee will be placed on FMLA at that time. All other requirements and provisions under the FMLA will apply.

C.           The County will maintain all benefits for employees during the Paid Parental Leave period just as if they were taking any other County paid leave.

IX.          Infant Sick Leave

A.           In recognition of the additional medical care needs of infants after birth, HCSO will provide eligible employees up to 40 hours of Infant Sick Leave to seek medical care for their infants during the infant’s first year.

B.           An employee will not receive more than the maximum allotted amount of Infant Sick Leave in a rolling 12-month period, regardless of whether more than one birth, adoption, or placement event occurs within that 12-month time frame. The Infant Sick Leave expires a year after the birth and also applies to adopted and placement of infants. Eligible employees must provide medical documentation to support the need to use Infant Sick Leave.

Revision

This policy has been revised on the below listed dates:

July 12, 2022

December 11, 2024

Was this policy helpful?
How can we improve this policy?
Previous 245 – Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
Next 247 – Payroll Procedures
Categories
Table of Contents