The following email was sent to the HR Network on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
Dear HR Network colleague:
As many of you are aware, in accordance with New York State law, Columbia recently began offering paid prenatal leave. We encourage you to read Columbia's Prenatal Leave Policy for complete details, but this email will highlight some of the key provisions of the policy and will outline our process.
What You Should Know
- Employees may use up to 20 hours of Prenatal Leave in a 52-week period.
- Prenatal Leave may be taken for doctor visits, screenings, and diagnostic tests. This includes fertility treatment or care appointments (including in vitro fertilization) and end-of-pregnancy care appointments. It does not include post-natal care.
- This policy applies to all employees, including Officers of Instruction (Faculty), Officers of Research, Officers of the Libraries, Officers of Administration, and Non-Union Support Staff.
- Staff covered by a collective bargaining agreement are governed by the provisions of their respective contract.
- This leave is only available to employees directly receiving the prenatal health services. It is not available to spouses, partners, or other support persons of a pregnant person.
How to Record Time Taken as Prenatal Leave
- For TLAM users, Prenatal Leave time should be recorded using the "Other" category. We have prepared a Job Aid to explain how employees should record this leave time, and how managers and Departmental Time Administrators can track this time taken by employees.
- Departments that still use paper trackers should also use the "Other" category and note that the time is being taken as Prenatal Leave.
If after reading the policy and the job aid, you still have questions, please feel free to contact me.
With best regards,
Ursula Bollini
Sr. Director, HR Compliance
