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Leave of Absence (Faculty) (E-29A)

Original Implementation: September 1, 1981
Last Revision: April 13, 2006

The University may grant a leave of absence to faculty, when departmental needs allow, for the following reasons:

  1. To pursue additional education or training for the faculty member which will strengthen their performance in their position at SFASU.

  2. To engage in research and writing directly related to responsibilities at SFASU.

  3. To accept a similar position in a visiting capacity at another institution.

  4. To accept a position outside higher education that is directly related to the employee's professional field and has potential for enhancing their future contributions to the University.

  5. Health, following the use of all accumulated sick leave, when it is demonstrated that at the end of the leave period the employee will be able to resume duties at SFASU.

Leaves may be granted with the following conditions:

  1. Requests for a leave of absence will be directed to the President of the University through administrative channels.

  2. No paid or unpaid leave will be approved for more than 12 months.

  3. Requests for renewal of a leave may be considered when submitted in writing prior to March 15.

  4. Individuals who are not planning to return from leave to SFASU should notify the department chair before March 15.

  5. Individuals for whom a leave has been approved are responsible for making an appointment with the University Benefits Manager to resolve all questions regarding employee benefits.

  6. Individuals on leave due to a personal serious health condition or to care for a covered relation must contact their supervisor at least once each week, or as often as requested by the supervisor, regarding the status of the condition and the intention to return to work. The supervisor is responsible for reporting this information to Human Resources. Additionally, the individual is required to call Human Resources on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month during their leave to report their leave and/or return to work status

Employees on leave due to a Worker's Compensation claim must contact their supervisor as least once each week, or as often as requested by their supervisor, regarding the status of the condition and the intention to return to work. Additionally, the individual is required to provide a work status report to the University Safety Office from the treating physician after each appointment. The Safety Office will provide a form to the physician upon request. The employee is responsible for insuring the information is provided as requested.

Employees, who are recovering from a worker's compensation injury, are concurrently on FMLA leave, and who have exhausted all accrued paid leave are in leave without pay status (LWOP). These employees must make a written request from the University President for a leave of absence (LOA) not to exceed a 12 month period from the beginning of their leave without pay status. Except as provided for in the following leave provisions, any extended leaves of absence without pay for a period of four and one-half (4-1/2) months or more for faculty must be approved by the Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the President.

Family Medical Leave - The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will, in many circumstances, entitle University employees with more than one year of service and who have worked at least 1,250 hours in the last year, to request up to twelve weeks of medical leave per year. Employees entitled to FMLA leave are required to use all sick leave accrued while taking the FMLA leave.

Parental Leave - Employees who do not qualify for FML are entitled to parental leave for the birth of a child or the adoption or foster care placement of a child under the age of three.  Parental leave cannot exceed 12 weeks.  The employee must first use all available and appropriate sick leave while taking the leave and the remainder of the leave is unpaid.  Such parental leave may only be taken for the birth of a natural child or the adoption or foster care placement with the employee of a child under 3 years of age. The leave period begins with the date of birth or the adoption or foster care placement.

Foster Parent Leave - An employee, who is a foster parent to a child under the protection of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), is entitled to a leave of absence with full pay for the purpose of attending staffing meetings held by the DFPS regarding the employee's foster child. In addition, the employee may attend, with a paid leave of absence, the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting held by a school district regarding the child under the foster care of the employee.

Emergency Leave

1.      Bereavement Leave: Regular employees will be granted bereavement leave without a loss in pay when a death occurs in their family. For the purposes of bereavement leave, family is defined as the employee's spouse, or the employee's and spouse's parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents and grandchildren.

The amount of time granted for bereavement leave shall not exceed three days. A full three days is not automatically granted since it is intended that such leave be limited to the reasonable amount of time necessary for travel, funeral arrangements, and funeral services.

Requests for bereavement leave should be submitted to the department official who has the authority to approve leave. Requests for bereavement leave for family members not mentioned above, or for leaves greater than three days are subject to the approval of the Director of Human Resources, the Divisional Vice President, and the University President. Employees requesting bereavement leave may be required to provide documentary evidence of the relative's death to qualify for paid leave.

2.      Administrative Leave: Administrative leave will be granted in only the rarest of circumstances. While employees hold no entitlement to additional leave, they may be granted paid emergency/administrative leave when it is determined that there is good cause for such leave. Such leaves will not normally exceed three workdays per fiscal year.

For the purposes of this leave, an emergency is defined as an unforeseen event or combination of circumstances calling for immediate action which if not responded to immediately would present imminent danger to human life or substantial damage to property. Except for extraordinary circumstances, employees accruing sick leave would not be eligible for emergency leave for their own, or a family member's medical illness.

Administrative leave may be requested by an employee and approved by the department head for the employee to attend the funeral of a co-worker or other University employee with whom they regularly worked. Department heads, however, must ensure minimum staff levels are maintained in the department.

Inclement weather conditions will not constitute just cause for an emergency leave unless approved by the President for the institution as a whole.

Requests for emergency/administrative leave will not be approved unless authorized by the employee's immediate supervisor and department head, the Director of Human Resources, the Divisional Vice President, and the University President. All requests for emergency leave should be routed to the employee's supervisor on the "Emergency Leave Request" form.

Parent-Teacher Conference Leave - An employee may use up to 8 hours of sick leave each calendar year to attend parent-teacher conference sessions for the employee's children who are in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Employees must give reasonable notice of intention to use sick leave to attend such conferences.

Jury Duty - No deduction shall be made from the salary or wages of any employee who is called for jury service.

Military Leave

State employees are eligible for leave to accommodate:

Adjusted Work Schedule for Military Leave :  This agency will adjust the work schedule of a military member so that two of the employee's days off each month coincide with two days of military duty.

Authorized Training for Duty :   A state employee who is called to active duty or authorized training is entitled to a leave of absence of 15 days in each federal fiscal year (October 1 - September 30) without loss of pay or benefits.  The 15 days need not be consecutive.  In addition, these days are "working" days, not "calendar" days.  After exhausting the 15 days, the employee may use accrued vacation or be placed in a leave without pay status (or combination of the two) for the remainder of the active duty period.

Call to National Guard Active Duty by the Governor : A member of the National Guard called to active duty by the Governor because of a state emergencyis entitled to receive emergency leave without loss of military or annual leave.  This leave is not limited and will be provided with full pay.

Certain Benefits and Service for State Employees :   A member of the state military forces who is ordered to active state duty by the Governor or by other proper authority under the law of this State is entitled to the same benefits and protections provided:

This applies only to persons serving on active state duty on or after the effective date of this statute without regard to the date on which the person was initially ordered to active state duty.

Call to National Duty : A member of the National Guard or any reserve branch of the U.S. Armed Forces called to federal active duty during a national emergencyis entitled to an unpaid leave of absence after exhausting the 15 days of paid military leave.  The employee retains any accrued sick or vacation leave.  The employee does not earn sick or annual leave during this period; however, he or she does accrue state service credit.  The employee may use any accrued annual leave, compensatory time, or overtime leave to maintain benefits for the employee or the employee's dependents while on military duty.  Before the employee departs for military service, the agency shall review with the employee any issues relating to maintaining health insurance coverage.  Additionally, the employee may continue to accrue service credit with ERS by receiving at least one hour of state pay during each month of active military service.  The employee may use any combination of paid leave to qualify for state pay.

Differential Pay:  The agency shall grant sufficient emergency leave to provide a pay differential if the employee's military gross pay is less than the employee's state gross pay.  The combination of gross military pay and emergency leave may not exceed the employee's actual state gross pay.

Restoration of Employment :   To be eligible for restoration of employment at the conclusion of military service, the employee must be honorably discharged no later than five years after induction, enlistment, or call to duty and must be physically and mentally qualified to perform the duties of the job.

Certified Red Cross Activities Leave - Employees who are certified disaster service volunteers of the American Red Cross or are in training to become such a volunteer are entitled to a leave of absence not to exceed 10 days each fiscal year.  The employee must have the approval of his or her supervisor and a formal request from the Red Cross.  In addition, the approval of the Governor's Office is required.  An employee on such leave will not lose pay, vacation time, sick leave, earned overtime, and/or compensatory time during this leave.  The pool of certified disaster volunteers must not exceed 350 participants at any one time.

Volunteer Firefighters/Emergency Medical Services Training Leave - Volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services volunteers will be granted a paid leave of absence not to exceed five working days each fiscal year for attending training schools conducted by state agencies.

Guide Dog Training - SFASU employees who are blind shall be granted up to 10 working days of absence with pay each fiscal year for the purpose of attending a training program to acquaint the employee with a seeing-eye dog to be utilized by the employee. This leave is in addition to other leave entitlements.

Organ or Bone Marrow Donors - An employee is entitled to a leave of absence without a deduction in salary for the time necessary to permit the employee to serve as a bone marrow or organ donor.  The leave of absence may not exceed five working days in a fiscal year to serve as a bone marrow donor or 30 working days in a fiscal year to serve as an organ donor.

Donation of Blood - An employee shall be allowed sufficient time off, without a deduction in salary or accrued leave, to donate blood.  An employee must obtain approval from his/her supervisor prior to taking off.  On returning to work, an employee shall provide his/her supervisor with proof that the employee donated blood during the time off.  An employee may receive time off not to exceed more than four times in a fiscal year.

All requests for leave must be accompanied by a "Personnel Action Request" form.

 

Source of Authority: General Appropriations Act, art. V, secs. 2 and 8; President; Director of Human Resources

Cross Reference: Non-Academic Employee Handbook

Contact for Revision: Director of Human Resources

Forms: Personnel Action Request, see Index E-39; Emergency/ Bereavement Leave Request (http://apache.sfasu.edu/sfa_forms/EMERGLEAVEREQUEST.shtml);Administrative Leave (http://apache.sfasu.edu/sfa_forms/EMERGLEAVEREQUESTadmin.shtml)