Parental Leave Guide

Congratulations on your growing family! Under the CS&S parental leave policy, employees of 6 months or more are eligible for a maximum of 6 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents, beginning from the baby’s date of birth, in addition to 6 weeks of paid family bonding leave. This brings the maximum paid leave period for birthing parents to a total of 12 weeks from the baby’s date of birth.

• All employees requesting parental leave are required to apply for the city, county and state family leave protections, and if applicable, short term disability coverage, for which they are eligible.

• CS&S’s parental leave policy is intended to supplement local and employee-elected coverage, ensuring that eligible employees receive a maximum of 100% of their base pay for 6/12 weeks.

• CS&S does not restrict the duration of parental leave, and you may be eligible for protections that provide wage replacement beyond the 6/12 week period of paid coverage this policy ensures.

• To note for FSP Directors: Consistent with company-wide wage and benefits policies, costs described as “covered by CS&S” refer to your project’s budget.

While all parental leave entails unique considerations due to location, medical condition and benefits elections, the operations team at CS&S is here to support you with any questions you may have along the way.

• Pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents:

  • Coverage is subject to legislation in your area as well as your short term disability insurance policy elections.

  • Wage replacement coverage duration varies, dependent on your medical condition and protections in your area, and on average may be anywhere from 0-4 weeks before the due date and about 6-8 weeks following delivery.

  • Coverage is subject to location-specific elimination periods/”waiting weeks”, which indicate a time period after you have become eligible and before you can receive payments.

    • CS&S’s unlimited paid time off policy will cover gaps presented by elimination periods.

• Family bonding leave:

  • Our family bonding leave policy accommodates up to 6 weeks of paid time off at 100% of your base pay, and can be taken within 1 year of birth or placement of a new child.

• Parental leave for non-US employees is subject to your jurisdiction’s mandates, and further information on what is available to you can be provided by Remote.

Process requirements

While the many conditions and restrictions on parental leave cases can seem overwhelming, keep in mind that there is really just one important step for you to take— submitting your request form to HR at codeforsociety.org— after which you will be guided through your case-specific application and reporting requirements:

• Fill out the TriNet LOA form and e-mail to HR at codeforsociety.org. Approximately 30 days before the first date of your leave (a minimum of 10 business days, to ensure timely payroll processing) you must complete the first 2 pages of the Extended Leave of Absence (LOA) Request form available for download on the TriNet platform by following the path Forms and Policies > Forms > Click HR Button>Extended Leave of Absence Request. Send your completed form to HR at codeforsociety.org who will complete the last page and submit your request.

  • Note that for birthing parents, your last day of work is, understandably, subject to change, and the operations team can make changes to your LOA request after it has been submitted.

Once submitted and approved:

• You will receive a package from TriNet’s Leave of Absence department via post notifying you of:

  • Leave rights

  • Short term disability options

  • Benefits eligibility

  • Requesting supporting documentation from your doctor (if applicable) to determine eligibility for any job and/or benefits protections available to you by city, county or state law

• For more information on your eligibility for disability insurance benefits, you can contact the TriNet Solution Center at 800-638-0461

After receiving this follow-up communication from TriNet:

• You will apply for any and all city, county or state-sponsored insurance benefits for which you are eligible.

  • When applying for coverage, do not indicate that you will be receiving wage replacement from your employer, as doing so will reduce your benefit amount.

• For employees eligible for coverage through The Hartford, submit your claim by calling 888-301-5615 after you have given birth.

• If you receive wage replacement from the government or The Hartford, you will report to CS&S the amount of your coverage to ensure your total compensation matches 100% of your base salary.
  • You must send copies of your benefits determination letters to operations at codeforsociety.org

    • Following the elimination period for eligible birthing parents, CS&S will process payroll at 50% of your base salary until you share your benefits determination letters.

    • Documentation of benefits enables CS&S to calculate and provide supplementary wage replacement, not to exceed 100% of your base salary, and will be backdated if necessary.

    • Failure to provide CS&S with benefits determination documentation may result in underpayment during your leave.

• Depending on location, you may be required to submit weekly claims to receive state-sponsored benefits.

Benefits continuation

Unfortunately, CS&S employees are not currently covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), or most other analogous local laws, because we do not meet the minimum size eligibility requirement of 50 employees. As a result, the schedule of your benefits continuation and COBRA eligibility is subject to your location and leave date.

If your leave is protected by city, county or state law:

• Your benefits eligibility will continue for the duration of your protected leave, then through the end of that month

• You would become COBRA eligible the 1st day of the following month, in which case:

  • You will receive a COBRA enrollment packet from TriNet via post and via email.

  • To enroll, complete and email the packet to [email protected].

  • Enrollment will take 7-10 business days to be processed.

  • Your coverage will be retroactive to your COBRA eligibility date.

• To the extent that you remain on active, company-paid benefits, while unpaid under the CS&S parental leave policy, you will continue to be responsible for any employee-level premiums owed. A repayment for those premiums will be collected upon your return from leave.

For unprotected leaves of absence:

• Your company-sponsored health care benefits will continue for a period of 30 days following the first day of your leave, and will extend through the end of the month in which the 30th day falls.

  • For example, if leave begins on October 3, employer-sponsored benefits would continue through November 30. However, if leave begins on October 23, sponsored benefits would also terminate on November 30 .

• On the 1st day of the following month, employees who have enrolled in company-sponsored benefits will be eligible to continue health care benefits through COBRA .
  • Note that while you will be responsible for remitting the entirety of your COBRA payments, when you return to work you can submit your receipts to CS&S for reimbursement in full.
    • COBRA payments will be reimbursed for the duration of your paid leave period under the CS&S paid parental leave policy; COBRA payments during an extended, unpaid leave period are not eligible for reimbursement.

      • You will need to contact TriNet to request a receipt for COBRA payments.

    • You will continue to be responsible for any employee-level premiums owed. CS&S will reimburse for its standard monthly benefits contribution.

• If you return to work within 30 days of your COBRA eligibility date and have not elected COBRA, your prior elections will be reinstated retroactive to your COBRA eligibility date, as if there was no lapse in coverage.

If you wish to make changes to your benefits elections as a result of the birth, adoption or placement of a foster child (i.e. a qualifying Life Status Change event):

• You have 60 days from the date of birth/placement to process this request

• This is submitted within the TriNet platform following path Benefits> Life Status Change Event

• Note that pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and you would not be eligible for short term disability coverage for a birth if the policy is elected after you have become pregnant.