To: University of Utah Staff Council and Human Resources

Support the University of Utah in providing Paid Family Leave to all benefits-eligible employees

The University of Utah has a proud legacy of providing robust, industry-leading employee benefits. While that remains true for the most part, there is one stark exception: Paid Family Leave for all benefits-eligible employees. But that will soon change, and we are helping!

We, by the way, are the Staff Council’s ad hoc Paid Family Leave subcommittee, and we’ve spent the last several years doing research locally and among the Pac-12 and our peer institutions to provide information on the needs for and the benefits and costs of providing paid family leave at institutions like ours and in markets like Salt Lake City.

We have made a formal request that the University of Utah provide 12-weeks of Paid Family Leave to all benefits-eligible employees. We would like also like the donated vacation leave policy for new parents to be revisited, as well (thank you to the College of Social Work for their contribution to this solution).

Because there has been increased awareness of the policy differences for tenure track faculty (who get a semester off at 95% of their salary when they have a new child, for example) and other U employees, and various requests for policy changes, we’ve provided this space for all University of Utah employees to come together to show their support for one inclusive policy update -- one that benefits the greatest number of employees and a greater diversity of families (meaning, not just those with new children, but any who need to care for a dependent/family member). All U of U staff and faculty are welcomed to participate.

Why is this important?

The case for providing a 12-week Paid Family Leave policy is as compelling as it is diverse, because not only do these kinds of policies provide employees with the time and space to take care of their health and that of their families, it’s actually good for the employers as well.

There is new research, some even being done by folks at the University of Utah, that dispels the myths about the financial costs to institutions who provide these benefits (typically the biggest hurdle) by illuminating the true costs of recruitment/retention/retraining efforts for businesses/institutions who can’t compete in the workforce for top talent, and by providing several funding models that disperse the cost in ways that minimize the impact on any one particular place.

Additionally, the University is committed to fairness and inclusion. In fact, when the generous maternity/paternity leave policy for faculty was established with the help of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, it was always with the intention that implementation would eventually include staff.

Well, that time is now! So, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for lending your name and support to this important initiative.

UofU Paid Leave Staff Council Committee:
Catherine Scott, Committee Chair
Gabriella Blanchard
Bryce Garner
Marina Gomberg
Jan Lovett
Deb Ma
Whitney Tassie

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