Starting July 1, employees of the Diocese of Arlington who are approved for family medical leave will receive full pay for the first eight weeks of their absence, a family-friendly change.
The current policy protects an employee’s job for 12 weeks as required by law, but the leave is unpaid unless the employee has enough sick or vacation time to cover the absence, or in the case of an employee’s own medical condition, if he or she qualifies for short-term disability.
“We know this is the right thing to do,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who said he sees the change as a pro-life move to support families, as well as “a way we can show our great appreciation to our diocesan employees for their dedicated service and the many ways they share their gifts and talents.” In November, Bishop Burbidge was elected chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
He said he has “witnessed the stress and financial challenges faced by working mothers and fathers following the birth or adoption of a child, employees dealing with their own serious medical conditions and employees needing to care for ill loved ones or aging parents.”
While their jobs have been protected under the current policy, Bishop Burbidge said that “many of these employees have found themselves without sufficient pay protection to cover their entire absence. As you can imagine, this financial insecurity has created additional stress, and situations where some have felt no choice but to return to work prematurely.
“I believe there should be a better benefit for our employees, one where they can focus on their health and well-being and that of their loved ones without the worry of loss of income,” he said.
Terri D’Elia, diocesan director of human resources, said a growing number of organizations now cover paid parental leave, but the family medical leave policy goes beyond birth and adoption. “It covers the whole spectrum of life, from birth to death, really,” she said.
D’Elia estimated that about 3,000 of the diocese’s 4,500 employees would be eligible for family medical leave under federal law. To be eligible, they must have been employed for at least a year and worked 1,250 hours in the past year, which she said translates to about 24 hours a week. “They don’t have to be employed full time,” she noted. Diocesan employees include teachers and staff at 50 diocesan Catholic schools and 70 parishes in 21 counties. Based on a review of benefit information available online, none of the public school jurisdictions within the Diocese of Arlington provide paid extended leave to employees, including teachers, who after exhausting vacation or sick leave balances are allowed to utilize the federally-mandated Family Medical Leave Act protections.
D’Elia said the policy covers parental leave (by mother or father) for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, an employee’s own or a family member’s health conditions, and military families preparing for their own or a spouse’s deployment. If an employee needs more than eight weeks, pay for additional leave would come from the employee’s sick leave, vacation leave or disability (if applicable) or would be unpaid. She added that leave need not be taken all at once. For example, an employee dealing with a chronic condition, or that of a family member, might need “a day here or there” for treatment or therapy, and that is permissible under the policy.
She said of the 185 family leave absences in 2022, about a third (32.4 percent) were related to the birth or adoption of a child, while about two-thirds (67.6 percent) were related to an employee’s or family member’s serious medical condition.
“These are stressful things, and while we can’t take the stress away, if we can make that period of time any easier, that’s what we want to do,” she said.
While the updated family medical leave policy does not apply in the case of death of a family member, beginning July 1, the diocese’s bereavement and compassionate leave policy will likewise extend an employee’s leave. Under the new policy, leave will increase from three up to 10 days for the death of an immediate family member. The policy will also apply to parents who suffer the death of a miscarried child.
Under both the family medical leave and compassionate leave policies, leave may be consecutive, nonconsecutive or intermittent.
The updated policies, D’Elia said, means “we’re providing support for our employees through times of great joy and great sorrow.”
Staff Writer Anna Harvey contributed to this story.
