At its quarterly meeting held Monday in Roanoke, Virginia, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved a resolution that will implement Commonwealth of Virginia Executive Order Twelve (2018), Parental Leave for Commonwealth Employees, which was signed by Governor Ralph Northam in late June.
Passage of the resolution will enhance the university’s leave benefits to include eight weeks of paid parental leave to eligible salaried employees following the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child younger than 18 years of age. The parental leave will be paid at 100 percent of the employee’s salary.
If both parents work for the university and meet eligibility requirements, each employee shall receive parental leave, which may be taken concurrently, consecutively, or at different times.
Employees can use paid parental leave in addition to other leave benefits offered by Virginia Tech.
“We appreciate Gov. Northam taking action to adopt this important benefit for state employees,” said Lisa Wilkes, interim vice president of human resources. “This additional leave option supports and allows employees and their families important bonding time upon the birth or placement of a child. The adoption of this resolution is further evidence of Virginia Tech’s commitment to being a great place to work for current and future employees.”
“Virginia Tech had been working to implement a similar enhancement to our many family-friendly benefits for university faculty,” said Jack Finney, vice provost of faculty affairs. “By offering this benefit in addition to – not in lieu of – already available leave options, we further our commitment to employees to help them grow, both professionally and personally.”
Additional information about Virginia Tech’s paid parental leave, including eligibility and other requirements, is available in Presidential Policy Memorandum No. 304, which was executed by President Tim Sands following the board’s resolution. The Presidential Policy Memorandum can be found on the Virginia Tech Policies page under the “New + Noteworthy” section.
— Laurie Stacey
