Paid Parental Leave Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General FAQs For All Employees

Q: When will the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) benefit take effect?

A: June 30, 2024.

Q: Who will be eligible for Paid Parental Leave (PPL)?

A: All full- and half-time and benefits-eligible employees will be eligible for PPL. 

Q: If I am due to deliver my baby in April or May, will I be eligible for Paid Parental Leave (PPL)?

A: PPL will apply only to births and adoptions that occur on or after the effective date of the policy, June 30, 2024. Since you will deliver the baby prior to the effective date, your upcoming maternity leave will not be eligible for the PPL benefit.

Q: Can I receive Paid Parental Leave (PPL) credit or refund if I give birth or adopt a child prior to the effective date of the policy?

A: No, the PPL policy will not provide retroactive benefits to births or adoptions that occur prior to June 30, 2024.

Q: What does the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) benefit provide?

A: PPL will provide eligible employees 6 continuous weeks of paid leave for baby bonding following the birth of their baby or adoption of a child. PPL is available in one single block of leave equal to 6 weeks for each birth or adoption event.

Q: Does this mean that I will no longer have to use PTO or go unpaid to bond with my new baby/child?

A: Correct! PPL will replace having to use PTO or go unpaid during bonding time with a new baby or newly adopted child.

Q: Can I use 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and then another 6 weeks of Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for a total of 18 weeks of leave?

A; No, PPL will run concurrently with FMLA. It won’t extend FMLA leave. It will simply replace having to use PTO or be unpaid during bonding time.

Q: Do I have to be enrolled in Cook Children’s medical insurance to be eligible for Paid Parental Leave (PPL)?

A: No, you do not have to be enrolled, but must be a benefits-eligible employee in order to be eligible for PPL.

Q: Will I be able to take the 6 weeks of Paid Parental Leave (PPL) in separate blocks of time?

A: No. It must be taken in a single continuous block of time. For example, if you choose to take only 4 weeks of baby bonding leave, then you will receive 4 weeks of PPL and will forfeit the remaining 2 weeks. If eligible for FMLA, job-protected leave would still be available to take at a later time; however, you would have to use available PTO or take that time unpaid.

Q: Can I take the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) before I deliver the baby?

A: No, PPL must be used after your short-term disability ends to bond with your new baby.

Q: Will I be eligible for Paid Parental Leave (PPL) if my spouse/partner does not work for Cook Children’s and delivers our baby?

A: Yes, you would still be eligible for PPL as long as you are a full-time, half-time or benefits-eligible employee.

Q: How much time do I have to take the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) after the baby is born?

A: PPL must be completed within 12 months from the birth of the baby or adoption of a child.

Q: What will the process of requesting Paid Parental Leave (PPL) look like?

A: The request process will remain the same as today. You will submit your request to The Hartford by phone at 877-936-5336 or online at https://abilityadvantage.thehartford.com and provide the supporting document (i.e., proof of birth/adoption paperwork). The Hartford will then issue an approval notice to you and your manager, as well as Cook Children’s Benefits/Leave team to take care of entering the PPL coding to your timecard as soon as administratively possible.

Paid Parental Leave Update: Your Questions Answered!

We have a few more FAQs for you.

Q. If I choose to use STD for 12 weeks at 70% salary and not FMLA, then the PPL can kick in right after for 6 weeks? I am hoping to use 18 weeks if possible.

A. STD will only apply to the disability portion of your maternity leave, standardly, the first 6 weeks following your date of disability (typically the date you deliver the baby). FMLA is simply unpaid, job protected leave, so FMLA will run concurrently with how you get paid while on maternity leave. PPL kicks in after short term disability ends and baby bonding time begins. It simply replaces having to use your own PTO during baby bonding. PPL does not extend the 12 weeks of leave provided under FMLA. You would have to request a Personal LOA for additional leave beyond the 12 weeks of FMLA leave, which is subject to the approval of your leadership team.

Q. We had our son the month I came to Cook Children’s, and I had to use my 40 hours added on PTO. Can get those 40 hours back in this policy? Like grandfathered?

A. No, the PPL policy will not provide retroactive benefits to births or adoptions that occur prior to June 30, 2024.

Q. Once short term and PPL have been used, are we able to use PTO after to extend our 12- week leave?

A. In order to extend your leave beyond the 12 weeks provided under FMLA, you would need to request a Personal LOA, which is subject to the approval of your leadership team. If approved, you would use your remaining available PTO at that time.

Q. My due date is June 22. If I deliver on time, will I get the normal maternity leave pay and after June 30 I’d start to get 100%?

A. No, PPL will apply only to births and adoptions that occur on or after the effective date of the policy, June 30, 2024. If you deliver the baby prior to the effective date, your upcoming maternity leave will not be eligible for the PPL benefit.

Q. My due date is June 23. I have filed with Hartford for that due date. If my due date moved and the baby came late, would I be eligible for paid leave? Also, since short-term disability will come first, then the 6 weeks of paid leave, would I be eligible to receive the paid leave since I wouldn’t need it until after June 30?

A. PPL will apply only to births and adoptions that occur on or after the effective date of the policy, June 30, 2024. If you will deliver the baby prior to the effective date, your upcoming maternity leave will not be eligible for the PPL benefit. If you deliver the baby on or after June 30, 2024, you will be eligible for the PPL benefit since it will apply to births and adoptions that occur on or after the effective date.  

Q. If an individual’s due date is late June and they take a week or two of PTO after the birth of their baby to hit the June 30^th mark, could they then apply for PPL? Or is it all dependent on the date of the delivery of the baby?

A. No, PPL will apply only to births and adoptions that occur on or after the effective date of the policy, June 30, 2024. If you will deliver the baby prior to the effective date, your upcoming maternity leave will not be eligible for the PPL benefit.

Q. I am due with my first baby early August. I already began a claim with The Hartford. Do I need to make any updates or modifications to the claim or will this automatically go into effect when I deliver in August?

A. You do not need to make any updates or modifications at this time to your leave claim. Once you report the birth of the baby to The Hartford, they will update your leave claim and issue an approval notice accordingly at that time.

Q. In the FAQs, it states “Correct! PPL will replace having to use PTO or go unpaid during bonding time with a new baby or newly adopted child”, however, in the scenarios, it states PTO is to be used for the first week of leave, followed by STD for 5 weeks, then PPL for 6 consecutive weeks. Is utilizing the first week of PTO mandatory, vs. taking STD for 6 weeks, followed by 6 consecutive weeks PPL?

A. Our STD plan has a 1 week waiting period, which is why you are required to use available PTO to complete your Workday weekly FTE. Your disability period will still be 6 weeks, but since the first week is a waiting period, your actual STD pay will be for 5 weeks.

Q. The first week of PTO is to be used until STD kicks in?

A. Correct.

Sample Scenarios

Jane Jones (JJ) has been a full-time employee at Cook Children’s for 3 years. She and her partner have just found out that they are expecting their first child. They are thrilled. JJ is planning on taking her full 12 weeks of FMLA and wants to understand how that works with Cook Children’s Short-Term Disability (STD) policy and new Paid Parental Leave (PPL) policy.

Assuming JJ has a “normal” pregnancy and delivery and works up to the time she goes into labor, the following will be the schedule she can count on regarding compensation (assuming she submits all required documentation and is approved by The Hartford).

•  Week 1 will be paid from JJ’s PTO time bank up to her Workday weekly FTE.
• JJ will then move into Short-Term Disability (STD), which The Hartford will pay her directly, equal to 70% of her base pay and FTE in Workday as of her date of disability for the next 5 weeks.
• After STD ends, JJ will move into Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for baby bonding, which Cook Children’s Payroll will then pay her equal to 100% of her base pay and FTE in Workday for the next 6 weeks.  

JJ’s partner, JP, also works for Cook Children’s as a full-time employee and has been employed for 4 years and plans to take 6 weeks of leave to bond with their new baby. As the non-birthing parent, JP wants to understand how their leave will be covered under PPL.

Assuming JP submits all required documentation and is approved by The Hartford, the following will be the schedule they can count on regarding leave and compensation.

• JP is eligible for 12 weeks of FMLA, which is an unpaid benefit that simply protects their job. In terms of pay, JP is also eligible for PPL and if requested and approved for baby bonding by The Hartford, JP is eligible for 6 weeks of pay equal to 100% of their base pay and FTE in Workday.
• If JP decides to take another 6 weeks of FMLA leave at a later time (within 12 months of the birth of the baby), JP would be eligible to do so under FMLA using available PTO or going unpaid. 

Mary Newby (MN) is a full-time employee and has been employed at Cook Children’s for 6 months. Mary has given birth and is ineligible for FMLA since she has been employed less than a year. MN is planning on taking 12 weeks of leave, but wants to understand how that works with Cook Children’s Short-Term Disability (STD) and new Paid Parental Leave (PPL) policy.

Assuming MN had a “normal” pregnancy and delivery and worked up to the time she went into labor, the following will be the schedule she can count on regarding compensation (assuming all required documentation is received and approved by The Hartford).

• Week 1 will be paid from MN’s PTO time bank up to her Workday weekly FTE, if available.
• MN will then move into Short-Term Disability (STD), which The Hartford will pay her directly, equal to 70% of her base pay and FTE in Workday as of her date of disability for the next 5 weeks.
•  After STD ends, MN will move into PPL for baby bonding, which Cook Children’s Payroll will then pay her equal to 100% of her base pay and FTE in Workday for the next 6 weeks.  

John Doe (JD) is a full-time employee and has been employed at Cook Children’s for 4 months. His wife just delivered their baby and wants to take 6 weeks of leave to bond with their new bundle of joy and wants to understand how that works with Cook Children’s new Paid Parental Leave (PPL) policy.

• JD is eligible for baby bonding leave under Personal Leave of Absence (LOA). In terms of pay, JD is also eligible for PP; if requested and approved for baby bonding by The Hartford. JD is eligible for 6 weeks of pay equal to 100% of their base pay and FTE in Workday.

Sam Star (SS) is a full-time employee and has been employed at Cook Children’s for 2 years. His wife just delivered their baby and only wants to take 3 weeks of leave to bond with their new bundle of joy now and take 3 more weeks in a few months. He wants to understand how that works with Cook Children’s new Paid Parental Leave (PPL) policy.

• SS would request 3 weeks of leave under FMLA. In terms of pay, he will be paid 3 weeks of PPL only. In a few months, when SS requests another 3 weeks of FMLA for baby bonding, SS would use available PTO, then go unpaid for his remaining leave. PPL would not be available for the second 3 weeks of leave, as it must be used in a single continuous block of time.

Maggie Miller (MM) has been a full-time employee at Cook Children’s for 2 years. She is pregnant and 2 weeks away from her expected due date; however, her doctor has placed her on bedrest until she delivers the baby. MM plans to take 12 weeks of leave after the baby is born and wants to understand how that works with Cook Children’s new Paid Parental Leave (PPL) policy.

Assuming MM delivers the baby via normal birth 2 weeks after being placed on bedrest, the following will be the schedule she can count on regarding compensation (assuming all required documentation is received and approved by The Hartford).

• Week 1 will be paid from MM’s PTO time bank up to her Workday weekly FTE.
• MM will then move into Short-Term Disability (STD), which The Hartford will pay her directly, equal to 70% of her base pay and FTE in Workday as of her date of disability for the next 7 weeks.
• After STD ends, MM will move into Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for baby bonding, which Cook Children’s Payroll will then pay her equal to 100% of her base pay and FTE in Workday for the next 6 weeks.
• Note, MM’s leave will be approved under FMLA for the first 12 weeks and personal LOA for the remaining 2 weeks.