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pay has been exhausted.

Employees, regardless of sex, are entitled to leave without pay for

childcare for up to seven months following the date of delivery.* For
purposes of computing the seven month period of mandatory leave, periods

during which the employee was absent for “disability” or use of leave
credits are included; the mandatory seven month period is not extended by

the granting of disability leave or the use of accrued leave. During a period
of leave for childcare, employees shall be permitted, upon request, to use

annual leave, personal leave and overtime credits before being granted leave
without pay. As is the case with other mandatory leaves without pay (e.g.,

military leave), agencies shall not require that employees exhaust all
appropriate leave credits prior to being granted leave without pay for

childcare.
Sick leave or sick leave at half-pay may be used only during a period of

medical disability (Attendance Rules Sections 21.3, 21.4, 21.5, 28.3, 28.4
and 28.5). Except in the case of continuing medical disability, any leave of

absence beyond the seventh month following childbirth shall be at the
discretion of the appointing authority as provided in Sections 22.1 and 29.1

of the Attendance Rules. An employee who requests a leave for childcare
of less than seven months is entitled to have such leave extended, upon

request, up to the seven-month maximum and may, at the discretion of the
appointing authority, have such leave extended beyond the seventh month.

In certain situations, an employee may not be permitted to return from such
leave until the expiration of the period that such employee requested and

was granted. Generally, such restrictions on early return are limited to

situations where such return would be disruptive of a project or where the
termination of a replacement would occur.
During the seven-month period following childbirth, the granting of leave

for childcare is mandatory upon request from either parent. If both parents

are State employees, leave for childcare is mandatory for one parent at a
time and the parents may elect to split the mandatory seven month leave
into two separate blocks of leave with each parent entitled to one continuous

period of leave but not to exceed a combined total of seven months of leave

and not to extend beyond seven months from the date of delivery.

*See Administrative Services Contract, Article 10.15

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