An ad hoc Working Group on Family Leave for UW-Madison Employees completed an important report on family leave, with detailed research and recommendations. The report has not been widely distributed or publicized but deserves careful study.

The Family Leave Working Group was formed in December, 2016, by Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf, to make recommendations on family leave for university employees, following a separate effort arranged by the University Committee that focused on family leave for tenure-track faculty.

The report, completed in June, 2022, includes detailed research on the state of family leave at UW-Madison and peer institutions. All but one of our peer universities provides paid parental leave.

The report makes a number of important recommendations, including that UW-Madison provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid parental leave to all employees starting at the beginning of their appointment, and provide at least six weeks of fully paid leave after a birth, adoption, or foster placement, separate from other paid leave benefits (such as vacation and sick leave).