A female employee giving birth to a child can request a medical leave of absence for the period she is certified as disabled and unable to work for medical reasons. After she has been medically cleared to return to work, she can then request up to thirteen bi-weekly pay periods (six months) of parental leave. However, she cannot add on a personal leave of absence on top of a medical and parental leave.

An employee’s entire leave of absence period, whether it is strictly a medical leave of absence or a medical leave combined with parental leave, cannot exceed twenty-six bi-weekly pay periods (one year) in duration.