Growing Your Family
Leave
County employees who are eligible for FMLA leave are entitled to up to 13 weeks of FMLA leave for the birth and care of their newborn child, and for placement of a child for adoption or foster care. Leave for birth of and care for a child, or placement for adoption or foster care must conclude within 12 months of the birth or placement.
Mothers and fathers have the same right to take FMLA leave to bond with a newborn child. A mother can also take FMLA leave for prenatal care, incapacity related to pregnancy, and for her own serious health condition following the birth of a child. A father can also use FMLA leave to care for his spouse who is incapacitated due to pregnancy or child birth.
FMLA Leave for pregnancy, birth and bonding with a newborn should be requested 30 days in advance of the need for leave.
- FMLA
- FMLA Policy
- FMLA Request Form
- Parental Leave Policy
- Parental Leave FAQ
- Family Sick Leave Policy
Health Benefits and Resources
If you plan to add your newborn to your existing County health insurance, you have 60 calendar days from the date of birth or adoption to add the child to your coverage.
Nursing Mothers Topics:
- An employee may use the unpaid break and the paid breaks for expressing milk. If the time needed exceeds the paid and unpaid breaks provided by the county, the employee may use unpaid time or may use annual leave, holiday leave, and compensation time. The employee may also request to work longer days to avoid the use of paid leave or docked (unpaid) leave.
- Employers are required to give a reasonable break time. Reasonable will be determined by the employer after conversations with the employee. The county has many different departments with different functions. Each request will be evaluated on a case‐by‐case basis. Call Human Resources for assistance at 501‐4273.
- Break time used to express milk is not considered FMLA time. Expressing milk at work does not constitute bonding with or caring for a newborn child and is not typically associate with a serious health condition under the FMLA. FMLA leave is not used for reasons not covered by the FMLA.
- Each break is reviewed and must be approved by Human Resources for compliance with applicable laws, rules, etc. Variables such as device used and nature of work factor into the break schedule.
- When not available for work due to pumping, absence will be handled as leave ‐ either paid or unpaid or with flexing the work schedule. Approval from Department and Human Resources is required.
- An employee may be required to postpone the scheduled break time if she cannot be spared from her duties.
- The Virginia House Joint Resolution No. 145 2002 and the FLSA both indicate that breaks for expressing milk is covered for 1 year after the child’s birth.
- Employees cannot be working during the time milk is being expressed. This time is designated as “unavailable” for work duties.
- If an employee’s department does not have a private area, a space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk when needed is sufficient according to the Act. It must be other than a bathroom.
- Both EHS and Fitness and Wellness have designated rooms that are available for pumping:
- To schedule with EHS: The employee would need to call (804) 501-1600. Two rooms are available, by appointment only, Mon-Fri, 8am-3:30pm.
- To schedule with Fitness & Wellness: Employees must contact Sherry Fones via email, [email protected] , to reserve the space.
- Additional space for a Lactation Room is in the Training Center Weight Room office. The designated space is open during county business hours (8am-4:30pm, Monday – Friday). The training center does require a badge for access.
- Employees are responsible for the proper storage of perishable items. If your department has a refrigerator and it is for employee use, you may confirm with your supervisor your use of it.
- If your department doesn’t have a refrigerator, you will have to provide your own storage. Please confirm with your supervisor what is appropriate if you are providing your own storage.
- Employees must notify their department prior to return to work. The notification allows for the department to prepare and allows for smoother transition. A minimum of 5 work days which is the same notification for returning to work after release from a health care provider is acceptable, however, the more time the better.
- Employers are permitted to ask pregnant employees if they intend to take breaks to pump milk upon returning to work, as noted by the federal government.
- Employees will need to notify their department and the Human Resources Employee Relations. A conversation is preferable and will need to include details such as the break times needed to express milk, the likely duration of those times, how you intend on storing the milk, and any other information you believe will be helpful. Your supervisor or Human Resources should follow up with a written document or email. Changes in schedule will need to be communicated to your supervisor to ensure clear understanding.
Foster Care and Adoption
Foster care is a service provided to families that are experiencing a major crisis or difficulty in parenting such as abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental health issues, stress, and/or lack of family support. Foster care is intended to be a short term situation until a permanent placement can be made, preferably back with the biological parents.
Families receive an array of services aimed at correcting problems that brought their child into foster care. Unfortunately, some families are unable to overcome their problems. In these cases, their parental rights may be terminated and their child becomes eligible for adoption.
Adoption is a way of legally uniting parents with children or youth who were not born to them. Adoptive parents provide a permanent, lifelong commitment and have all of the rights and responsibilities as if the child or youth were born to them. The goal of adoption is to provide the child or youth with a permanent, stable, committed family. If a child’s parental rights are terminated, their foster parents have the opportunity to become their adoptive parents.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, please attend a Foster Parent Orientation Session through Social Services. They will tell you about their current needs and allow plenty of time for questions and answers.
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