Planning, Expecting & New Parents

Johns Hopkins University offers two types of paid family leave for new parents that can help you recover from childbirth and spend precious time with your new addition. The programs offer fully paid time off for full- or part-time faculty, staff, and bargaining unit employees who have been employed at JHU for at least a year. Combined, they offer up to 10 weeks of paid leave for a new parent giving birth.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING PREGNANCY/CHILDBIRTH

To be eligible for birth recovery leave faculty, staff, and bargaining unit members must have been continuously employed in a full- or part-time position for at least a year.  Birth recovery leave begins after the birth has taken place and does not cover pre-birth leave should your physician require that you be placed on restricted work, bed rest, or other pregnancy-related limitation before delivery. For coverage, you may want to consider electing short term disability.

Parental Leave

JHU offers up to four weeks of fully paid leave for full- and part-time JHU faculty, visiting faculty, staff, and bargaining unit employees following the birth of a child or adoption of a child under the age of 12. Parental leave can be taken by any parent—or both, if both work at JHU—as long as they have been employed by JHU in an eligible status for at least a year at the time of birth or adoption placement. Parental leave can be taken all at once or intermittently throughout the year after the child’s birth or adoption. Additional information can be found on this brochure.

Birth Recovery Leave 

JHU offers six weeks of fully paid leave following childbirth for eligible full- and part-time faculty, visiting faculty, staff, and bargaining unit employees. Our birth recovery leave applies only to the parent who gives birth, and must be taken immediately upon the birth of a child. Additional information can be found on this brochure.

Family Leave Policy

Family Leave Policy FAQs

FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE

Family and Medical leave provides eligible employees with at least 12 workweeks of job protected leave in a rolling 12 month period for specified family and medical reasons. During the leave, the university will continue your group health insurance under the same terms and conditions as if you had not taken the leave. Eligible employees in a leave earning status must first exhaust their leave before being placed on unpaid leave.

Short-Term Disability

Short-Term Disability insurance provides income protection if you are unable to work due to illness, injury, or other disability. Full-time faculty, staff and bargaining unit employees have the opportunity to purchase Short-Term Disability insurance upon hire or becoming newly benefits eligible. You may elect or drop Short-Term Disability coverage during annual enrollment.

For information on how FML, Birth Recovery Leave, Parental Leave and Short-Term Disability work together, click here. 

FULL-TIME GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL TRAINEES

The University is supportive of accommodating eligible full-time graduate students and full-time postdoctoral fellows, scholars and trainees (collectively “postdoctoral trainees”) who are expecting a new child. Consistent with grant funding policies that place a limit of 8 weeks for parental leave, all eligible full-time graduate students and postdoctoral trainees shall receive no less than 8 weeks of fully-paid new child accommodations.

Pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, surrogacy, and loss are all major life transitions. Continuing to chest/breastfeed, or exclusively pump, requires extra planning and support. Johns Hopkins’ Lactation Support Program helps make the transition back to work or study easier. Visit the website to request lactation accommodations, register to use a lactation room and explore the resources available to you.

Our Adoption Assistance Plan, open to full-time faculty and staff, reimburses newly adoptive parents up to $16,810 for eligible expenses associated with adopting a child under the age of 12.

Eligibility:

• Full-time faculty, staff, or bargaining unit member with at least 1 year of full-time JHU service immediately prior to initiation of the adoption process and remain employed through the date of adoption;
• Visiting Full-time faculty are not eligible;
• Children covered include any under the age of 12 at the time the process is initiated;
• Adoptions of stepchildren or children of same-sex domestic partners are not eligible if the custodial parent is living.

If the adoption involves a child who is a citizen or resident of the United States, qualified adoption expenses will be eligible for reimbursement if the adoption proceedings are finalized or formally terminated.

Plan Details:

• Single adoption up to a maximum of $16,810 per family;
• Simultaneous adoption of two children up to a maximum of $33,620 per family;
• Limit of one adoption process during any two-year period;
• Requests must be received within 90 days of the adoption;
• Reimbursements paid through payroll.

In accordance with IRS requirements, reimbursements are subject to FICA and Medicare taxes, which will be withheld when paid. Reimbursements are not subject to federal income tax withholding and are also exempt from state income tax withholding in most states, including Maryland. The reimbursement will be reflected in box 12 of your W-2. Because there are income limits associated with the exclusion and possible differences between state and federal regulations, we recommend that employees seek tax advice regarding this benefit. The Adoption Assistance Program is not governed by ERISA.

Reimbursable Expenses:

The following expenses are reimbursable under JHU’s Adoption Assistance Plan:

• Adoption fees – reasonable and customary public and private agency fees that are permitted or required under the law of the state or country having jurisdiction over the adoption;
• Court costs;
• Attorney fees;
• Traveling expenses, including transportation, meals, and lodging; and
• Other expenses which are directly related to, and the principal purpose of which is for the legal adoption of an Eligible Child by an Eligible Employee.

The following expenses, however, will not be eligible for reimbursement under the Plan:

• Expenses incurred in violation of state or federal law;
• Expenses incurred in carrying out any surrogate parenting arrangement*;
• Expenses incurred in connection with the adoption by the Eligible Employee of a child of the Eligible Employee’s spouse or domestic partner;
• Expenses already paid or reimbursed under another employer plan or otherwise paid by any other party; or
• Costs associated with legal guardianship.

Qualified adoption expenses for foreign adoptions will not be eligible for reimbursement under the Plan until the adoption becomes final.

* The University offers a separate, fully-taxable, gestational surrogacy benefit for certain eligible employees outside of the Adoption Assistance Plan.  As with the Adoption Assistance Plan, the University reserves the right to amend or terminate the gestational surrogacy benefit at any time and for any reason.

Participate

To participate in JHU’s Adoption Assistance Plan, submit a completed adoption plan form to Johns Hopkins University, Office of Benefits Services, Johns Hopkins at Eastern, 1101 E. 33rd St., Suite C020, Baltimore, MD 21218, or fax to 443-997-6812.

The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Gestational Surrogacy Program, open to full-time faculty and staff, reimburses gestational surrogacy parents up to $16,810 for eligible expenses associated with the gestational surrogacy.

Gestational surrogacy is an arrangement in which a person carries and delivers a baby for another person or couple. The person who carries the baby is the gestational surrogate, or gestational carrier. This benefit is designed to provide expense reimbursement for a JHU employee who is using the services of a gestational surrogate rather than for those acting as a gestational surrogate for another individual or couple.

Eligibility

To participate in our Gestational Surrogacy Program, you must be a full-time faculty, staff, or bargaining unit member with at least one year of full-time JHU service immediately prior to the initiation of the surrogacy process and remain employed through the birth date of the child. Visiting full-time faculty are not eligible for this plan.

Plan Details

• Single gestational surrogacy up to a maximum of $16,810 per family;
• Simultaneous gestational surrogacy of two children up to a maximum of $33,620 per family;
•  Limited to $16,810 for one gestational surrogacy birth or $33,620 for simultaneous surrogacy births during any two years;
• You can not receive reimbursement through the adoption assistance program and the gestational surrogacy program for the same child;
• Requests must be received within 90 days of the birth;
• Reimbursements paid through payroll.

In accordance with IRS requirements, gestational surrogacy expenses reimbursed by the university are fully taxable and applicable taxes will be withheld from the reimbursement. The reimbursement will be reflected on your W-2 as ordinary income. The Gestational Surrogacy Program is not governed by ERISA.

Reimbursable Expenses

The following expenses are reimbursable under JHU’s Gestational Surrogacy Program:

• Reasonable and customary public and private agency fees permitted or required under the law of the state having jurisdiction over the gestational surrogacy
• Reasonable and customary legal and court fees

Documentation of expenses includes invoices and paid receipts or bank statements of payment made in full.

The following expenses, however, will not be eligible for reimbursement under the Plan:

• Medical expenses for the child, natural mother or parents
• Donations
• Costs associated with legal guardianship

As with the Adoption Assistance Plan, the University reserves the right to amend or terminate the gestational surrogacy benefit at any time and for any reason.

Participate

To participate in The JHU Gestational Surrogacy Program, submit a completed gestational surrogacy affidavit and all supporting documentation to Johns Hopkins University, Office of Benefits Services, Johns Hopkins at Eastern, 1101 E. 33rd St., Suite C020, Baltimore, MD 21218, or fax to 443-997-6812.

Contact Information:

JHH/JHHS Benefits: (443) 997-5400 | [email protected] 

JHU Benefits & Worklife: (410) 516-2000 | [email protected] | [email protected] 

JHH Lactation: [email protected] | (410) 502-3221

Johns Hopkins Resources & Programs:

• Care @ Work
• JH Bayview Perinatal Mood Disorders Clinic
• Johns Hopkins Birthing & Breast/Chestfeeding Classes
• JH Center for Women’s Reproductive Mental Health
• JH Children’s Center: Pediatric Injury Prevention Program
• JH Child Care & Early Learning Center 
• JH Laboratory for Child Development
• JH OB/GYN Perinatal Lactation Team
• JH SON Birth Companions Program
• JHH/JHHS Benefits
• JHU Benefits & Worklife
• JHEAP

External Resources & Support:

• Au Pair in America
• BMMA: Black Mamas Matter Alliance
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
• Creating a Family: National Adoption & Foster Care Education & Support Nonprofit
• LifeMart Discounts
• Maryland 529 – offering free webinars here
• Maryland Breastfeeding Coalition
• Maryland Kids in Safety Seats (MDKISS) – virtual car seat assistance and webinars here
• Maryland EXCELS
• Maryland Family Network: LOCATE
• Mental Health Association of MD: Health New Moms
• Nest Collaborative – virtual breastfeeding support, prenatal education sessions
• NFPA: National Foster Parent Association
• Paths for Families – virtual adoption support group and parent training, virtual telemental health therapy
• Postpartum Support International
• Resolve: The National Infertility Association