For eligible employees, Ames provides:
- Maternity Leave: 6 weeks of 100% paid maternity leave
- Paternity Leave: 1 week of 100% paid paternity leave
- Adoption Leave: 6 weeks (primary caregiver) or 1 week (secondary caregiver) of 100% paid adoption leave.
The purpose of paid parental leave is to enable the employee to care for and bond with a newborn. This policy will run concurrently with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, as applicable.
🍼 Eligibility
To be eligible for parental leave, you must be a regular, full-time employee of Ames.
Eligibility begins the beginning of the month after hire, and you must meet one of the following criteria:
Maternity Leave: You gave birth to your child.
Paternity Leave: Your partner gave birth to your child.
Adoption Leave: You have adopted a newborn child. In this case:
- The Primary Caregiver is the person who has primary parental responsibility for the care of a child who has been added to the family through adoption.
- The Secondary Caregiver is the person who has parental responsibility for a child who has been added to the family through adoption but is not the primary caregiver.
🐣 Process
1. Submit the Parental Leave Request Form to your supervisor and Area HR or AmesBenefits@amesco.com at least 90 days prior to the proposed date of leave.
2. Once the baby arrives, confirm the timeframe for which you’ll be using parental leave and submit documentation within 30 days of the event:
- Hospital admission form associated with the delivery
- Documentation provided by the child’s healthcare provider
- Birth certificate
- Document naming employee as the second parent, such as declaration of paternity or court order of filiation
- Appropriate court documents
3. If you are benefits eligible and plan to add your newborn to your benefits, you’ll have 30 days from the birth date to complete the enrollment. One of the following documents will be required:
- Copy of birth certificate
- Court order (must show full dependent name)
- Custody documentation
- Adoption papers