Amherst College
PA-12: Employee Rights

12.1 Number of weeks of paid maternity leave 

An institution earns 1 point when at least 24 weeks of paid, job-protected maternity leave are available to full-time employees. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on the current status of the institution’s policies and procedures. Policies of and benefits provided by entities of which the institution is part (e.g., government or university system) qualify as long as they apply to and are followed by the institution.

Leave that is not job-protected and leave that is compensated at less than 60 percent of regular pay in total is excluded. Benefits may be provided by any combination of entities (e.g., government and/or institution), as long as the combined benefit meets the criteria.  For example, a government-provided benefit that only pays 55 percent of income, but is topped up by the institution to a total of at least 60 percent of income would qualify.

12.2 Percentage of employees eligible for paid all-gender family/medical leave 

An institution earns 1 point when at least 85 percent of its employees are eligible for paid all-gender family/medical leave. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report the most recent data available from within the previous three years. Policies of and benefits provided by entities of which the institution is part (e.g., government or university system) qualify as long as they apply to and are followed by the institution.

Provisional employees (i.e., new hires with temporarily limited access to leave), employees on short-term contracts to cover for maternity or family/medical leave, and student workers may be excluded.

Leave that is not job-protected and leave that is compensated at less than 60 percent of regular pay in total is excluded. Benefits may be provided by any combination of entities (e.g., government and/or institution), as long as the combined benefit meets the criteria.

12.3 Published measures to protect employee rights

An institution earns 1 point when it publishes information on A) anti-harassment, B) grievance resolution, C) whistleblower protections, and D) freedom of association in a format that is accessible to all employees. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on the current status of the institution’s published information. The information may be published, for example, in an employee handbook or equivalent resource. 

Applicable to all institutions.