Growing Your Family
Congratulations on your growing family! Whether you are expecting an addition or just looking ahead, we are excited at the prospect of adding another member to the Boxer Nation!
At Pacific University, we want to support you in this exciting transition in your life. We encourage open communication with your supervisor and with Human Resources to establish a plan that is best for your family and your work team.
Human Resources staff can walk you through the leave and benefits processes personally, based on your specific experiences. In the meantime, the following is an overview of the resources available to employees growing their family through birth or adoption.
Parental Leave
The federal Family & Medical Leave Act guarantees 12 weeks of job-protected time off for absences to care for yourself or a family member. This means that both eligible parents in a family are entitled to this leave for the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care.
The Family & Medical Leave Act does not, however, provide for payment for this leave time. At Pacific University, your pay during a family leave is covered through a mix of vacation time, sick leave, and holiday pay.
After following the Family Medical Leave Act process, the Standard Insurance Company will relay your request to the Human Resources Department. Aside from communicating and coordinating the leave with your supervisor, you do not have to take additional steps to inform Human Resources of your absence.
For benefit-eligible staff members, leave will be applied in the following order: vacation leave, then floating holidays, then sick leave.
For faculty members, the university pays for eight weeks, or two months, of your contract pay.
Short-Term Disability
Women who are pregnant and/or give birth are covered by short-term disability insurance. This coverage has a two-week waiting period.
For a regular birth, short-term disability will pay 60 percent of your salary for four weeks, following the two-week waiting period after the birth.
For a C-section, short-term disability will pay 60 percent of your salary for six weeks, following the two-week waiting period after the birth.
If your doctor orders you to stop working prior to giving birth, the waiting period, followed by short-term disability coverage, begins at that date.
Other Coverage
The two-week waiting period for short-term disability coverage, the 40 percent of your salary not covered by short-term disability, and any time off after the covered period, can be paid through a mix of other leave benefits at Pacific. Short-term disability only applies to the parent who is pregnant. Other parents, however, may use this combination of other leave benefits to cover their family leave.
For benefit-eligible staff members, leave will be applied in the following order: vacation leave, then sick leave, then floating holidays.
For faculty members, the university pays for eight weeks, or two months, of your contract pay.
Benefit Updates
Upon the birth or adoption of a child, you will be able to update your family’s benefits through your Paycom Self-Service Account. Within 30 days of the birth or adoption, complete the steps below to adjust benefits for the following:
- Log into Paycom
- Go to Benefits
- Select Add Dependents/Beneficiary
- Enter New Dependent Information and Save
- Then go to Qualifying Events
- Click on the Plus Symbol if on the App or Add if on Desktop
- Select the Type of Event (birth, adoption, marriage)
- Add the Event Date (date of birth, date of adoption, date of marriage)
- Submit
- This will be transmitted to Human Resources for approval. Notify Carmen Castaneda, Pacific University Benefits Specialist (carmen@pacificu.edu), about the qualifying event.
- Once approved, go back into you Paycom Self-Service Account.
- Select Benefits, and then Current Benefits.
- Add Dependent to Current Coverage.
You also may want to update your beneficiary designations on any financial plans.
- Use the beneficiary designation form (pdf) with Human Resources to change beneficiaries for your life insurance.
- Contact your retirement plan representatives directly to make changes.
TIAA-CREF
You also may want to adjust your employee withholding for federal and state taxes to reflect changes to your family.
To adjust your tax withholding, complete the following steps:
- Log into your Paycom Self-Service Account
- Select Payroll
- Choose Tax Setup
- Complete Your Desired Adjustments
- Sign and Update
Returning to Work
FMLA allows parents to take up to 12 weeks of leave within the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of a child. This time does not have to be consecutive. At Pacific, we encourage you to work with your supervisor for a return plan that works best for your family and your team. You may be able to return to work full-time following your leave, use part of your leave to transition back to work on a temporarily part-time basis, or spread your leave over an extended period, based on your position and individual situation.
Breastfeeding & Pumping
Pacific University welcomes breastfeeding mothers to its campuses. Breastfeeding is appropriate anywhere that a mother feels comfortable. Additionally, Pacific has designated spaces set aside for those who wish to breastfeed in private or who are expressing breastmilk. These spaces include a locking door, chair, table, power outlet and mini-fridge. Depending on your work location, you also may identify other spaces that are comfortable and appropriate for you.
Pacific employees are entitled to two 20-minute breaks per day, as well as a lunch break, which can be used for expressing breastmilk or feeding children nearby.
Finding Childcare
Cascade Centers offers Pacific’s Employee Assistance Program. Among the many services available through Cascade Centers is a childcare finder service. The service will identify childcare providers that meet your specifications (location, in-home vs. center, etc.), and will pre-screen those providers, offering you contacts for licensed providers meeting your specifications who have space available for your child.