Parental Leave Definition

Term Definition
An excused absence from work by an employee to care for a child or to arrange to care for a child. This may be paid or unpaid time, depending on the company’s guidelines and policies.

Extended Definition
Parental leave may fall under the requirements of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), when the employee is qualified and invokes this right to take time off from his or her job to care for a family member, in this case a child. However, many human resource departments provide for parental leave as a simple benefit to the employee, or parental leave that is not FMLA eligible may be governed by the company’s sick time policy.

Related Article
When Can an Employee Take Parental Leave?