University
Leave Policy UPPS
No. 04.04.30
Issue No. 12
Effective Date: 11/6/2007
Review: December 1 E2Y
01. POLICY STATEMENT
01.01 The purpose of this UPPS is to establish policies and procedures pertaining to University leaves.
02. DEFINITIONS
02.01 Regular
employee: One who is employed to work at least twenty hours per week for a
period of at least four and one-half months per fiscal year, excluding students
employed in positions which require student status as a condition of employment.
Only regular employees are eligible for paid holidays and leave as provided
herein, subject to the specific eligibility requirements listed.
02.02 Immediate
supervisor or approver: The individual
who is assigned approval responsibility for an employee’s work schedule and
time off.
All
leave requests should be submitted to the immediate supervisor for approval (or
vice president as required for certain leaves).
02.03 Department
head: The individual who is assigned administrative responsibility for
employees grouped in a departmental unit. This person also maintains all
departmental budgets.
02.04 Departmental
time administrator: The individual assigned responsibility for helping supervisors
and the department head monitor leave activity for employees in his or her
departmental unit.
03. VACATION LEAVE PROCEDURES
03.01 The
following regular employees earn vacation leave:
a. All
staff employees.
b. Twelve-month
faculty members such as deans and chairs of academic departments.
03.02 Split Appointments
a. Employees
with a split appointment (part faculty and part staff) are eligible for
vacation based on their staff appointment only, unless the faculty appointment
is for twelve months. If the faculty appointment is for twelve months, vacation
will be calculated on each appointment separately.
b. Employees
with split appointments must work the staff schedule for the percent time of
staff appointment.
03.03 Eligible state service is the basis for determining the vacation-earning rate. It is the employee's responsibility to notify Human Resources of all previous state service (including all dates and specific job titles) so a determination of eligible state service can be made. Regular or temporary service will be applied retroactively; however, student employment will not be credited until the first of the following month in which Texas State Human Resources is notified by the employee. Vacation leave, for full-time employees entitled to earn vacation, will be earned according to the following schedule:
Years of Eligible Employment Vacation Leave
(State of
Less than 2 years 8 hours
2 years but less than 5 years 9 hours
5 years but less than 10 years 10 hours
10 years but less than 15 years 11 hours
15 years but less than 20 years 13 hours
20 years but less than 25 years 15 hours
25 years but less than 30 years 17 hours
30 years but less than 35 years 19 hours
35 years and over 21 hours
03.04 Eligible
employees on less than twelve-month appointments will earn vacation leave only
for the month or fraction of a month actually worked.
03.05 Part-time
employees who are entitled to vacation leave earn such leave in proportion to
the amount of time employed. (Example: 50% employment [twenty hours per week]
entitles the employee to one-half of the full-time vacation rate.) The maximum
carry-over will also be proportionate.
03.06 Vacation leave will be earned
beginning on the first day of employment with the University and terminating on
the last day of duty (i. e., last day of actual work). One month's earnings of
vacation leave will be credited for each month or fraction of a month of
employment with the University based on the percent of appointment on the first
workday of the month. (Example: The accrual for a 50% appointment on 1/1/94
increased to 100% on 1/16/94 would be based on 50% for the month of January).
Six
months of continuous employment with the State of Texas are required before
an employee may be granted any vacation leave, although vacation leave credit
will be accrued during that period. The six-month eligibility requirement means
that once an employee has completed six months or more of continuous state
employment and then leaves state employment, that person is eligible to take
vacation leave as it is earned upon reemployment, or be paid for it upon
termination following such reemployment. An eligible employee will earn
vacation leave while on vacation leave provided the employee returns to active
duty.
03.07 Before
using any vacation leave or immediately upon return to duty, the employee may
complete an Application for Leave Approval form. Use of this form is at the
supervisor’s discretion.
03.08 Credit
for the next higher rate of accrual, as shown in Section 03.03, will be given
on the first calendar day of the month, if the employee's employment
anniversary date falls on the first calendar day of the month; otherwise, the
increase will occur on the first calendar day of the following month. If an
employee begins working in a position that accrues vacation leave on the first
workday of the month, the employee is deemed to have begun working on the first
calendar day of the month for the purpose of this subsection.
03.09 Vacation
leave earned during one fiscal year may be carried forward to the next fiscal
year subject to the maximum limits as shown in the following table:
Years of Eligible Employment Maximum Vacation
(State of
Less than 2 years 180
hours
2 years but less than 5 years 244 hours
5 years but less than 10 years 268 hours
10 years but less than 15 years 292 hours
15 years but less than 20 years 340 hours
20 years but less than 25 years 388 hours
25 years but less than 30 years 436 hours
30 years but less than 35 years 484 hours
35 years and over 532
hours
All
hours of unused accumulated vacation leave which are lapsed at the end of a
fiscal year will be credited to the employee's sick leave balance as of the
first day of the next fiscal year.
Example:
An employee with five years but less than ten years of employment with the
State of
Vacation leave carried forward 240 hours
Vacation leave earned +120 hours
Total vacation available 360 hours
Total vacation used - 80 hours
Total unused vacation 280 hours
Maximum carry-over 268 hours
Only 268 hours may be carried forward from one fiscal year to the next. The employee converts twelve hours of vacation leave to twelve hours of sick leave.
03.10 When
an employee transfers from a vacation-earning position to a non-vacation
earning position, the employee will be given a one-time opportunity to be paid
a lump sum for the accrued vacation hours or "freeze" them until
returning to a vacation-earning position or termination of employment.
"Frozen" hours will be paid at the rate of pay in effect at the time
the transfer to a non-vacation earning position took place.
03.11 Vacation
leave is to be taken at a time that is mutually agreeable to both the employee
and supervisor.
a. Supervisors
will strongly encourage employees to take vacation leave each year, since it
has been well established that such "breaks" have a positive,
long-term effect on morale and productivity. Supervisors will insure that
employees are allowed each fiscal year to take at least the amount of vacation
leave that they accrue during that fiscal year.
b. All employees are strongly encouraged
to take their vacation leave. However, an employee may not take vacation leave
in excess of the amount accumulated – any such absence must be handled as a
leave of absence without pay. Employees must enter leave without pay as an
exception to their normal work schedule. If leave without pay will exceed 30
calendar days, the department head should submit a Personnel Change Request
(PCR) instead of time entry.
c. Employees
may not take vacation leave while receiving workers compensation wages.
d. Employees
paid from grants – Since vacation hours earned by an employee while appointed
on a grant are the responsibility of the grant, grant account managers shall
ensure there is no outstanding vacation liability on the last day of the grant
for the hours accrued on the grant. As
such, as a condition of employment, grant account managers may require that
vacation time be taken off at the grant account manager’s discretion. However,
the grant account managers are encouraged to reasonably accommodate the
employees’ preferences as to when the vacation time will be taken off.
03.12
a. As
provided by the Legislature, regular staff may observe Rosh Hashanah, Yom
Kippur, Good Friday and Cesar Chavez Day in lieu of any holiday or holidays
appearing on the staff holiday schedule. In such instances, regular employee
accrued vacation or compensatory balances will be charged an equivalent amount
of time on a holiday or holidays appearing on the staff holiday schedule. For
efficiency of operations, the University will not remain open on any of the
officially designated staff holidays.
b. Non-regular
staff employees are not eligible to observe paid holidays and must take leave
without pay if they wish to observe the holidays listed in paragraph a. above.
c. Faculty
members wishing to observe the holidays listed in paragraph a. above must give
proper notice in writing to their department chair. The faculty member and
department chair should arrange the most appropriate way to cover affected
classes.
03.13 The following applies to a University employee who resigns, is dismissed or otherwise separated from University employment:
a. If
the individual is transferring to another state agency and state service is
uninterrupted, accumulated vacation leave (if any) will transfer with the
individual and be honored by the gaining agency. Human
Resources, at the request of the individual, will provide appropriate
documentation to the gaining agency.
b. In
all other cases, the employee is entitled to be paid for any accumulated
vacation leave (if the employee has been continuously employed by the
University or the State of
c. The
terminating employee must be removed from the payroll as of the last day
actually worked and cannot elect to remain on the payroll to exhaust all
accrued leave. No further accrual will be earned after the last day actually at
work. Any exceptions to this provision must be approved by the Director of
Human Resources and will in no case be granted beyond the end of the month that
the last workday occurred. See UPPS No.
04.04.16, Section 02.03 b. concerning extended appointments to expend state
compensatory time, which requires the appropriate divisional vice president’s
approval.
Example:
John Doe resigns and his last day of actual work is May 25th. He has a vacation
leave balance of eighty hours (ten work days). He cannot remain on the payroll
to exhaust all leave. Therefore, his actual termination date for all necessary
paperwork would be May 25th. He would be paid a lump sum payment for his eighty
hours of accrued vacation leave. He does not earn the vacation accrual for the
month of June since it is after his last day of duty.
04. SICK LEAVE PROCEDURES
04.01 All
regular employees earn sick leave.
04.02 Approval of leave applications will be based upon the physician's recommendation, along with those of the employee's supervisor, Director of Human Resources, and the President as appropriate. Department heads and supervisors, regardless of the need of their office or department, will not deny a leave request based on a physician's recommendation without first consulting with Human Resources.
04.03 Sick
leave entitlement for full-time employees shall be earned at the rate of eight
hours for each month or fraction of a month's employment. Accruals are earned
on the first day of the month that the employee is on duty. There is no limit
on the amount that can be accumulated or carried forward to the next fiscal
year. Sick leave accrual shall terminate on the last day of duty (i. e., last
day of actual work).
04.04 Eligible
regular employees on less than twelve-month appointments will earn sick leave
only for the months or fraction of a month actually worked.
04.05 Part-time
regular employees earn sick leave in proportion to the amount of time
appointed. Example: 50% time appointment (twenty hours per week) entitles the
employee to one-half of the full-time sick leave rate (four hours per month).
04.06 Sick leave with pay may be taken when sickness, injury, or pregnancy and confinement prevent the employee's performance of duty or when the employee is needed to care and assist a member of his or her immediate family who is actually ill; or for the purpose of obtaining medical or dental consultations or examinations as part of an employee's, or his or her immediate family's, personal health maintenance program. For purposes relating to regular sick leave, immediate family is defined as those individuals who reside in the same household and are related by kinship, adoption, or marriage, as well as foster children certified by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. Minor children of the employee, whether or not living in the same household, will be considered immediate family for purposes of regular sick leave.
An employee's use of sick leave for family members not residing in that employee's household is strictly limited to the time necessary to provide care and assistance to a spouse, child or parent of the employee who needs such care and assistance as a direct result of a documented medical condition.
04.07 Employees
are allowed to use up to eight hours of sick leave each fiscal year to attend
parent-teacher conferences regarding their children in grades pre-kindergarten
through 12th.
04.08 An employee who must be absent from duty because of illness shall notify his or her supervisor or cause him or her to be notified of that fact at the earliest practicable time.
Sick
leave in excess of the employee's accrued balance may not be granted (except as
provided in Section 04.12) -- such absences must be handled as a leave of
absence without pay. Employees must
enter leave without pay as an exception to their normal work schedule. If leave
without pay will exceed 30 calendar days, the department head should submit a
Personnel Change Request (PCR) instead of time entry.
To
be eligible for accumulated sick leave with pay during a continuous period of
more than three working days, an employee absent due to illness shall provide
to his or her supervisor, a doctor's certificate or a written statement of the
facts pertaining to the absence and the nature of the illness which is
acceptable to the supervisor.
In
cases where sick leave usage may be questioned, a doctor's certificate or other
written statement of the facts concerning the illness which is acceptable to
the supervisor may be required for absences of less than three continuous
working days. When a doctor’s
certificate is provided, supervisors must rely on it in determining eligibility
for sick leave usage.
Although collecting information concerning an employee’s medical condition and treatment for employment purposes is not considered “protected health information” (PHI) under the “Health Information Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA) any requests outside of a doctor’s certificate or some other written statement of the facts concerning the illness is prohibited. Supervisors may not require employees to provide health care providers with authorization to release detailed information. Supervisors may not determine whether or not an employee’s condition or treatment warrants use of sick leave when a doctor’s certificate justifying the sick leave is provided.
04.09 Employees
may complete an Application for Leave Approval in advance if the need for leave
is known or immediately upon return to work in the case of an emergency. Use of
this form is at the supervisor’s discretion.
04.10 Staff
-- When an employee is absent due to illness or injury, he or she will be
charged sick leave for the number of hours he or she was scheduled to work.
Sick leave may be used by an employee while he or she is on vacation and becomes ill.
Faculty -- The Texas Legislature prescribes
in the Appropriations Act that faculty earn sick leave and must be charged for
the use of such sick leave. Recognizing that faculty do not necessarily have
the workday schedule normally followed by staff, the University adopted the
following procedures to account for sick leave usage by faculty.
For
sick leave purposes, the faculty workday is divided into both time periods and
scheduled events for the workday. There are two time periods in each
day--morning (midnight to noon) and afternoon/evening (noon to midnight). Each
time period is considered to be four hours in length. Events include classes,
office hours, meetings, and other assigned activities.
Time
periods -- If a faculty member misses all scheduled events in both the morning
and afternoon/evening time periods due to illness, the faculty member will be
charged for eight hours of sick leave.
If
a faculty member has scheduled events in both the morning and afternoon/evening
time periods and misses all the scheduled events due to illness in just one of
the time periods, the faculty member will be charged four hours of sick leave.
If
a faculty member has scheduled events in both the morning and afternoon/evening
time periods and misses one, but not all, of the events in one of the time
periods due to illness, the faculty member will be charged sick leave as a
percentage of the time period missed. The percentage will be determined by
dividing the number of events missed by the number of events scheduled and
multiplying the result by four hours.
If a faculty member misses all scheduled events for the workweek (Sunday through Saturday), the faculty member will be charged forty hours of sick leave.
If
a faculty member misses a full semester, the faculty member will be charged the
number of work hours for the entire length of the semester appointment (i. e.,
9/1 through 1/15 or 1/16 through 5/31). The hours charged will be eight hours
per day (Monday-Friday) or forty hours per calendar week as appropriate.
Examples:
Professor Jones teaches an MWF class 9:00-10:00 and has scheduled office hours
on Monday 2:00-3:00. Professor Jones also teaches an evening class MW
6:30-9:00.
(1)
Professor Jones is ill on a Monday and misses all events (MWF class, office
hours, and MW class). Professor Jones will be charged eight hours of sick
leave.
(2)
Professor Jones is ill on a Monday morning and misses the MWF morning class but
does maintain scheduled office hours and teaches the MW evening class.
Professor Jones will be charged four hours of sick leave.
(3)
Professor Jones on a Monday teaches the MWF morning class and holds regularly
scheduled office hours, but illness forces Professor Jones to miss the MW
evening class. Professor Jones will be charged two hours of sick leave.
(4)
Professor Jones misses the MWF class meetings, the Monday office hours, and the
MW evening class meetings during a workweek due to illness. These are the only
scheduled events for Professor Jones during this particular workweek. Professor
Jones will be charged forty hours of sick leave.
(5)
Professor Jones misses the entire fall semester (9/1-1/15 appointment).
Professor Jones will be charged 776 hours of sick leave (Aug = 0, Sept = 168,
Oct = 176, Nov = 160, Dec = 104, Jan = 80). Note: the actual number of hours
per month may vary as the calendar changes from year to year.
NOTE: These examples are based on a 100% full-time appointment. Proportionate deductions will be charged for less than full-time appointments.
04.11 Use
of any type of paid leave or leave without pay which qualifies under the
federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will automatically run concurrently
with the FMLA leave period. Therefore, "stacking" of leaves to extend
the employer insurance contribution or approved leave period is not permitted.
See Section 09. for FMLA details.
04.12 Extended
Sick Leave: Employees must first qualify for and exhaust their sick leave
pool entitlements before extended sick leave will be granted. The President has
delegated the authority to approve exceptions to the amount of sick leave an
employee may take to the employee's divisional vice president. Such exceptions
are authorized on an individual basis after review of the merits of each
particular case, and will not normally exceed thirty working days.
Extended
sick leave requests must be initiated by the employee on an Application for
Leave Approval form with a doctor's statement attached. The department head
must recommend approval or disapproval on the form, attach a statement of
justification for the recommendation, and forward both to Human Resources for
eligibility verification. If eligible, Human Resources will forward the forms
through supervisory channels to the divisional vice president for
consideration. The divisional vice president will notify the department head
and employee of the decision with a copy to Human Resources. If not eligible,
Human Resources will notify the employee and the department head.
If
the request is approved, the approved leave form and supporting documentation
must be maintained in the department file.
If
the request is disapproved, the employee must be placed on leave without pay.
The
Director of Human Resources will insure, as provided by the Appropriations Act,
that a copy of the University's policies and procedures for granting extended
sick leave is on file with the State Auditor.
04.13 The following applies to a University employee who resigns, is dismissed or otherwise separated from University employment:
a. If
the individual transfers directly to another state agency and employment with
the State is uninterrupted, accumulated sick leave (if any) will transfer with
the individual and be honored by the gaining agency. Human Resources, at the
request of the individual, will provide appropriate documentation to the
gaining agency.
b. A
terminating employee is not entitled to be paid for accumulated sick leave.
c. If
an employee dies while employed by the State of
d. Employees who separate from employment with the State are entitled to have their sick leave balance restored if reemployed by the State within twelve months after the end of the month in which the separation occurred.
However,
employees reemployed by the same agency or institution must first have a break
in service of at least thirty calendar days to be eligible for sick leave restoration.
This 30-day requirement is waived if the separation was due to a
reduction-in-force.
05. SICK LEAVE POOL PROCEDURES
05.01 In accordance with the provisions of SB 357, 71st Legislature, the University has created a Sick Leave Pool and appointed the Director of Human Resources as the Pool Administrator. The Sick Leave Pool is created to benefit certain employees who suffer a catastrophic injury or illness.
A catastrophic illness, as defined for eligibility to use sick leave pool leave, is any injury or illness, excluding routine pregnancy, which has caused an absence of thirty working days within the immediate preceding six calendar months.
a. Employees
of the University who are eligible to accrue and use sick leave may participate
in the Sick Leave Pool. The President is excluded from participating in the
Sick Leave Pool by Senate Bill 357.
b. Employees
may use pool leave for their own catastrophic illness or injury or for one in
their immediate family as defined in Section 04.06. Catastrophic illness does
not include routine pregnancy. A physician's certification stating that a
pregnancy is not routine and the reasons why will be required for
consideration.
c. Employees
must exhaust all earned leave with pay entitlements, and must have been absent
at least thirty working days in the immediate preceding six months as a result
of a catastrophic injury or illness before they are eligible to use leave from
the pool. Thirty working days is based on the individual's normal work schedule
(i. e., percent time of appointment) and includes paid holidays.
d. Employees
on pool leave for a full calendar month accrue paid leave for that month;
however, these accruals may not be used until they physically return to work
following the pool leave.
e. Employees
with catastrophic illnesses or injuries are not required to contribute to the
pool before they can use pool leave.
f. Employees
who use pool leave are not required to pay back pool leave.
g. Employees eligible to receive workers compensation wages due to a work-related illness or injury are not eligible to use pool leave for that illness or injury.
05.02 To
contribute time to the pool, an employee must submit a written application to
the Pool Administrator on the Sick Leave Pool Request/ Donation form.
a. Contributions
to the pool are strictly voluntary and must be approved by the Pool
Administrator.
b. Active
employees may contribute an unlimited number of hours of sick leave to the pool
each fiscal year, but donations must be in eight-hour increments.
c. Employees
may not stipulate who is to receive their contributions.
d. Employees
who contribute leave to the pool cannot get it back.
05.03 Requests
for pool leave must be on the Sick Leave Pool Request/ Donation form and forwarded
to the Pool Administrator through appropriate supervisory channels. Requests
must be accompanied by a Certification of Health Care Provider Form. Requests
will normally be considered and approved by the Pool Administrator on a
first-come, first-served basis.
a. The Pool Administrator will have ten working days from the date he or she receives a request in which to approve all or part of the request or deny the request.
b. The amount of pool leave granted for each catastrophic illness or injury will be determined by the Pool Administrator. Pool leave begins on the thirty-first work day after satisfying the thirty working day waiting period described in Section 05.01 c., or after the employee has exhausted all available paid leave, whichever occurs later. The total amount granted cannot exceed one-third of the balance of hours in the pool, or ninety working days, whichever is less.
c. Any
unused balance of pool leave granted to an employee returns to the pool. The
estate of a deceased employee is not entitled to payment for the unused pool
leave.
06. FUNERAL/JURY
DUTY/COURT SUBPOENA/EMERGENCY LEAVE PROCEDURES
The
Texas Legislature has provided the University with authority to grant emergency
leave under certain conditions. There are four types of emergency leave:
funeral, jury duty, court subpoenas, and other emergency leave.
06.01 Funeral Leave – Supervisors shall
grant leave with pay for a death in the employee’s family. Family is defined as
the employee’s spouse, or the employee’s or spouse’s parents, brothers,
sisters, grandparents, grandchildren and children. A general guideline for the
amount of leave is three days for an in-state service and five days for
out-of-state service. Requests for more
than five days require approval by the divisional vice president.
06.02 Jury
Duty – Employees are entitled to serve on a jury without any deduction in pay.
Employees shall receive paid leave for the period of time they cannot be at
work in order to fulfill their jury duty obligation. Unless excused by their
supervisor, employees are expected to report to work as soon as they are
excused from jury duty to complete the time remaining on their shift. Employees
may keep any fee or compensation received for jury duty without any offset to
their university earnings and are not required to account to the State for any
such fee or compensation received. A copy of the jury summons or an official
statement by the judge, county clerk, or other official is required for
documentation.
06.03 Court Subpoena – Supervisors shall
grant paid leave when an employee is subpoenaed to appear in a court of law in
an official capacity for the University or as an expert witness. A copy of the
subpoena is required for documentation.
Time
off to appear in court for personal reasons shall be charged to vacation, state
comp, FLSA overtime or leave without pay.
06.04 Other Emergency Leave – Vice
presidents may grant up to five days of paid leave per fiscal year for reasons
not related to illness or injury.
Illness-related absences are addressed in the sick leave, sick leave
pool, and extended sick leave policies. To qualify for emergency leave, an
employee must exhaust all other paid leave entitlements.
Routing
– Requests must be submitted in writing on an Application for Leave Approval
form and include all information relevant to the justification for the request.
The employee’s department head must recommend approval or disapproval on the
form, attach a statement of justification and forward both to Human Resources
for eligibility verification. If eligible, Human Resources will forward the
request to the divisional vice president for consideration. The vice president
will return the forms to Human Resources who will notify the employee and
department head of the decision.
07. DONOR LEAVE PROCEDURES
07.01 An employee is entitled to a paid leave of absence for the time necessary to permit the employee to serve as a bone marrow or organ donor. Proper documentation from the doctor is required. The paid leave of absence may not exceed:
a. five
working days in a fiscal year to serve as a bone marrow donor; or
b. thirty
working days in a fiscal year to serve as an organ donor.
07.02 An employee is allowed paid time off to donate blood up to four times per fiscal year. The employee must obtain prior approval from the employee’s supervisor and provide the supervisor with proof that the employee donated blood.
07.03 A
request for donor leave will be submitted in writing to the employee's
supervisor together with a doctor’s statement or proof of blood donation on an
Application for Leave Approval form.
08. PARENTAL LEAVE PROCEDURES
08.01 Parental
leave may be taken for the birth of a natural child or the adoption or foster
care placement with the employee of a child under three years of age. The leave
period begins with the date of birth or the adoption or foster care placement.
Employees with less than a total of twelve months of state service or who have
worked less than 1,250 hours in the twelve months immediately preceding the
start of leave are entitled to a parental leave of absence, not to exceed
twelve weeks, if the employee uses all available paid vacation and sick leave
while taking the parental leave. However, sick leave may only be taken for the
period of time a health care provider certifies the employee is unable to work
(see Section 04.06). The use of compensatory time is permitted but not
required.
Males
and females may use up to six weeks of sick leave for adoption regardless of
whether the child is actually sick at the time of adoption.
Example:
A female employee may take twelve weeks of parental leave for the birth of a
child. Her physician releases her to return to work six weeks after delivery
thus allowing her to use six weeks of accrued sick leave. The second six weeks must
be covered by accrued vacation or leave without pay.
Males
may use sick leave in conjunction with the birth of a child only if the child
is actually ill or to care for his spouse while she is recovering from labor
and delivery.
08.02 A
request for parental leave will be submitted in writing to the employee's
department head together with a corroborating statement from a doctor (if
applicable) on an Application for Leave Approval form. The department head will
forward the request for approval to Human Resources for processing.
08.03 A
state employee, who is a foster parent to a child under the conservatorship of
the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, is entitled to a leave of
absence with full pay for the purpose of attending meetings held by the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services regarding the child under the
foster care of the employee, or to attend an Admission, Review and Dismissal
(ARD) meeting held by a school district regarding the child under the foster
care of the employee.
09. FEDERAL FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
PROCEDURES
09.01 Eligibility
Employees who have a total of at least twelve months of state service and who have worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve month period immediately preceding the time leave would begin, are entitled to leave pursuant to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
09.02 Covered
Reasons for Leave
FMLA
provides that all eligible employees are entitled to a total of twelve weeks of
unpaid leave during any twelve-month period for one or more of the following
reasons:
a. the
birth of a child, or placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
b. to
care for a "family member" (see Section 09.04 a.) of the employee if
that individual has a serious health condition; or
c. because
of a serious health condition of the employee that renders the employee unable
to perform his or her job functions.
09.03 Duration
of Leave
a. The
maximum amount of leave available under FMLA provisions is twelve weeks in a
"rolling" twelve-month period. The rolling twelve-month period is
measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave.
b. If
the leave is for birth, adoption, or foster care placement, the leave must be
completed within twelve months of the date of birth or placement.
c. If
a husband and wife both work for the State and are eligible for leave, they are
only entitled to a combined twelve workweeks of leave taken for birth,
adoption, foster care, and to care for a parent.
d. An employee taking leave for personal illness or to care for a sick family member need not take such leave continuously and may take it on an intermittent basis, or by reducing the employee's scheduled work hours, if the employee provides certification from the health care provider caring for the employee or family member that leave must be taken in that manner.
e. Requests
for intermittent or reduced schedule (part-time) leave after the birth,
adoption or foster care placement of a child will be considered on a
case-by-case basis. Approval is subject to:
1) the
ability of the employee's supervisor to ensure that work is completed through
scheduling changes or job-sharing; and
2) the
employee's consent to alter schedules or work longer hours on an emergency
basis, such as when other employees are out sick.
With
respect to intermittent or reduced schedule leave after the birth, adoption or
foster care placement of a child,
In
all cases of intermittent and reduced schedule leaves,
09.04 Definitions
a. Family
Member – includes the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent (but not a
parent-in-law). A son or daughter is any child under eighteen who is the
biological child of the employee, who is adopted by the employee, or whom the
employee supervises on a day-to-day basis and for whom the employee is
financially responsible; or a child over eighteen who is incapable of self-care
because of a mental or physical disability. A parent is any individual who
assumed day-to-day and financial responsibility for the employee when the
employee was a child.
b. Serious
Health Condition – any injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that
involves either
1) Inpatient
care in a hospital, hospice, or residential care facility; or
2) Continuing
treatment by a health care provider. Continuing treatment includes:
(a) A
period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days involving
treatment two or more times by a health care provider, or treatment on at least
one occasion that results in a regimen of treatment under the health care
provider's supervisor;
(b) Pregnancy
or prenatal care;
(c) A
chronic serious health condition that requires periodic visits for treatment,
continues over an extended period of time, and may cause episodic rather than
continuing incapacity (i. e., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy);
(d) A
permanent or long-term condition for which treatment may not be effective (i.
e., Alzheimer's, severe stroke); or
(e) A
condition that would likely result in an incapacity of three or more days in
the absence of medical treatment (i. e., cancer, severe arthritis).
09.05 Procedures
for Requesting Leave
All
requests for leave should be initiated by the employee contacting his or her
immediate supervisor and completing a Request for Family and Medical Leave Form
and Certification of Health Care Provider Form.
a. If
the need for leave is foreseeable, the employee must provide notice of not less
than thirty days. Leave will be denied unless there is a reasonable excuse for
the delay. If leave is denied for lack of notice, the employee may designate
leave to start thirty days after notice is given.
b. If
the leave is for the planned medical treatment of the employee or a family
member, or requires intermittent or reduced schedule leave, employees may be
required to arrange a particular schedule or to reschedule appointments or
treatments, subject to the consent of the health care provider.
c. If
the need for leave is not foreseeable, notice must be given by the employee as
soon as possible and practicable. Except in the case of extreme medical
emergencies, employees are expected to call to advise their supervisor as soon
as they know of the need for and expected duration of leave. Written requests
for leave must be submitted within three work days after verbal request is
made.
d. Medical
certification will be required by a health care provider. Certifications must
be submitted within fifteen days of the date requested by the employer.
e.
All employee requests
for FMLA leave are contingent upon a determination by
09.06 Substitution
of Paid Leave Entitlements
Employees
must utilize all paid leave entitlements including vacation and sick leave
while taking FMLA leave. However, sick leave may only be used for the period of
time a health care provider certifies the employee is unable to work (see
Section 04.06).
Males
and females may use up to six weeks of sick leave for adoption regardless of
whether the child is actually sick at the time of adoption.
Example:
A female employee may take twelve weeks of FMLA leave for the birth of a child.
Her physician releases her to return to work six weeks after delivery thus
allowing her to use six weeks of accrued sick leave. The second six weeks must
be covered by accrued vacation or leave without pay.
Males
may use sick leave in conjunction with the birth of a child only if the child
is actually ill or to care for his spouse while she is recovering from labor
and delivery.
The use of FLSA overtime while on leave is permitted with supervisory approval, however, the period of time that FLSA overtime is applied toward may not be counted against the employee's FMLA leave entitlement. Holidays that occur while on FMLA leave are not counted towards the twelve-week entitlement if the University is closed for at least a week.
Employees
who are receiving workers compensation benefits or temporary disability benefit
payments are not required to use paid vacation while on FMLA leave.
Use
of any type of paid leave or leave without pay that qualifies under FMLA will
automatically run concurrently with the FMLA leave period. Therefore
"stacking" leaves to extend the employer insurance contribution or
approved leave period is not permitted.
09.07 Status
of Benefits
a. During FMLA leave, the employee will continue to receive the employer contribution towards health coverage. The employee is required to continue to pay the employee's portion of any premiums normally deducted from their paycheck. If premiums are not deducted from the employee's paycheck, the Employees Retirement System of Texas will bill the employee for any premiums due.
If
the employee fails to make the required payments when due, all coverage will be
canceled except employee-only health and basic life insurance.
b. An
employee on FMLA leave is not entitled to accrue state service credit for any
full calendar months of leave without pay (LWOP) taken while on FMLA leave and
shall not accrue vacation or sick leave for such months. Employees on an
intermittent or reduced-schedule leave will earn vacation or other leave on a
proportional basis.
c.
09.08 Reinstatement
Upon Returning From FMLA Leave
a. An
employee taking FMLA leave will be returned to the same position or to an
equivalent position, at the election of
b.
c. When
an employee notifies Texas State that he or she will not be returning from
leave, Texas State shall terminate the employee's insurance coverage at the end
of the current month (provided all required premiums are paid), and he or she
shall no longer have a right to restoration to the same or equivalent position.
The employee shall be entitled to continuation of insurance coverage in
accordance with COBRA and the provisions of the plan.
d. Upon
receiving notice that the employee is not returning to employment, or should
the employee simply fail to return or return for less than thirty days after
leave has ended, the employee shall owe the entire employer contribution for
health insurance provided during any months of leave without pay. No such
amount shall be owed if there is a recurrence or onset of a serious health
condition or, in the opinion of
If
an employee does not return to work and owes the employer contribution as
described above, payment is due within sixty days after receiving notice from
e. Employees who fail to return to work after FMLA leave shall be treated as having voluntarily terminated their employment.
10. STAFF LEAVE WITHOUT PAY PROCEDURES
10.01 A
request for leave of absence without pay for a fixed period of time (not to
exceed twelve months) may be submitted in writing on an Application for Leave
Approval form to the employee's department head. Such a leave may be granted
for good cause without loss of prior service credit. Requests for more than
thirty calendar days must be forwarded to the divisional vice president for
final approval. The department head shall send the application for leave
approval form of any approved leaves of absence to Human Resources immediately
upon approval. The department head should process a Personnel Change Request
(PCR) immediately to place the employee on leave without pay.
10.02 The
President will be the approval authority for any exceptions.
10.03 Subject
to fiscal constraints, an employee on an approved leave of absence without pay
will be reinstated to his or her original job, or to a position of similar
status and pay, without loss of prior service credit. An employee who fails to
report for duty on the first regular work day after the leave without pay will
be considered as having voluntarily terminated. The department head shall
immediately send a registered letter notifying the employee of his or her
termination effective the last day of the approved leave of absence period.
10.04 Except
for disciplinary suspensions, military leave and workers compensation
situations, employees must exhaust all accumulated paid leave entitlements
(including sick leave when appropriate) before being permitted to go on leave
without pay.
10.05 Use
of any type of paid leave or leave without pay which qualifies under the
federal Family and Medical Leave Act will automatically run concurrently with
the FMLA leave period. Therefore, "stacking" of leaves to extend the
employer insurance contribution or approved leave period is not permitted. See
Section 09. for FMLA details.
10.06 Employees
will not accrue sick leave, vacation leave or state service credit while on a
leave of absence without pay for a full calendar month nor will they be paid
for holidays that occur during the leave of absence except in the case of a
state employee returning from a military leave of absence without pay.
Employees on unpaid leave for the entire work-day immediately before a holiday are not eligible to be paid for that holiday.
10.07 Employees on a leave of absence without pay must make prior arrangements with Human Resources to pay their insurance premiums to keep their insurance in effect.
11. MILITARY/VOLUNTEER
FIREFIGHTERS/EMS/RED CROSS LEAVE PROCEDURES
11.01 A
leave of absence with full pay shall be provided to any state employee called
to active duty for a state emergency with the State’s National Guard by the
Governor of Texas. Leave earned while in a state paid status is credited to the
employee’s balance when the employee returns to active state employment.
11.02 An
employee who is 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:
a. to
persons performing service in the uniformed services by 38 U.S.C. Sections
4301-4313 and 4316-4319, as that law existed on April 1, 2003; and
b. to
persons in the military service of the
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.
11.03 An employee who is a member of the National Guard or any reserve branch of the U.S. Armed Forces that is called to federal active duty during a national emergency is entitled to an unpaid leave of absence after exhausting fifteen days of paid military leave. The employee shall not lose the ability to accrue state service credit while on active duty but shall not accrue vacation or sick leave. However, the employee shall retain any vacation or sick leave accrued prior to the leave of absence and shall be credited with such balances upon return. The employee may use any accrued annual leave, state compensatory time or FLSA overtime leave to maintain benefits for the employee or the employee’s dependents while on military duty. Before the employee departs for military service, Human Resources shall review with the employee any issues relating to maintaining health insurance coverage.
11.04 An
employee absent from the University for the purpose of attending the normal
training periods as a member of a Reserve or National Guard/ State Military
unit or duty authorized by proper authority shall be on a leave of absence with
full pay.
a. Such
paid leaves of absence shall not exceed fifteen working days per federal fiscal
year and shall not be charged to the employee's vacation or sick leave. If a
military training leave of absence is required for more than fifteen days, the
first fifteen working days will be paid; and the excess will be charged to
leave without pay, vacation, or compensatory time.
b. Employees
on less than twelve-month appointments will attempt to schedule absences for
military service during periods when they are not required to be giving
University service.
11.05 Any employee who is restored to a position upon returning from military service is considered to have been on leave of absence during his or her time of federal or state military service. To be eligible for restoration to his or her previous employment upon returning from military service, the employee must have been honorably discharged no later than the fifth anniversary of the date of induction, enlistment, or call to active military service; and be physically and mentally qualified to perform the duties of that position. The employee is entitled to participate in retirement and other benefits to which he or she is or may be entitled.
11.06 The
President of the University 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.
11.07 State
employees who are volunteer firefighters or emergency medical service
volunteers shall also be granted a leave of absence with full pay to attend
training schools conducted by state agencies or institutions of higher
education provided such leave does not exceed five working days in any one
fiscal year. The leave of absence shall in no way be charged against the
employee's vacation or sick leave. Time exceeding five working days will be
charged to leave without pay, vacation or compensatory time as appropriate.
In addition to the five days granted for training, leave with full pay not to exceed forty hours per fiscal year will also be granted to volunteer firefighters or emergency medical service volunteers for the purpose of responding to emergency fire or medical situations.
11.08 Any state employee who is a certified disaster service volunteer of the American Red Cross or who is in training to become such a volunteer, with the authorization of his or her supervisor, may be granted a leave not to exceed ten days each fiscal year to participate in specialized disaster relief services for the American Red Cross, upon the request of the American Red Cross and with the approval of Governor's office, without loss of pay, vacation time, sick leave or earned overtime, or compensatory time.
11.09 Requests
for leaves of absence under this section will be submitted in advance in
writing on an Application for Leave Approval form to the employee's department
head. The department head will forward the request to the Director of Human
Resources for approval. All such requests must be accompanied by a copy of the
military or other orders as appropriate.
12. FACULTY
DEVELOPMENT LEAVE AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE PROCEDURES
12.01 For detailed information pertaining to faculty development leave, the Office of the Provost should be contacted. Rules with respect to faculty leaves of absence are set forth in the Faculty Handbook. The President will be the approval authority for any exceptions to both the University's faculty development leave and leave of absence without pay policies.
12.02 Faculty
members on development leave are still on the University payroll and continue to
receive benefits for which they are eligible.
12.03 Faculty
members will apply for a leave of absence by memorandum through regular
administrative channels and attach the Application for Leave Approval form. If
approved, the memorandum and this form must be maintained with the department’s
leave records.
12.04 Faculty
members on leaves of absence are not in a pay status and must make prior
arrangements with Human Resources to pay their insurance premiums to keep their
insurance in effect.
13. Assistance Dog Training Program Leave
PROCEDURES
13.01 An
employee with a disability as defined by the Human Resources Code Section
121.002 is entitled to a leave of absence with full pay for the purpose of
attending a training program to acquaint the employee with an assistance dog to
be used by the employee. Such paid leave of absence shall not exceed ten
working days in any one fiscal year.
13.02 This
leave of absence is in addition to other leaves to which an employee may be
entitled, and shall not affect the employee's entitlement to continue to accrue
vacation or sick leave.
13.03 Requests
for leave of absence under this section will be submitted in advance in writing
on an Application for Leave Approval form with supporting documents to the
employee's department head. The department head will forward the request to the
Director of Human Resources for approval.
14. TIME OFF TO VOTE PROCEDURES
14.01 Employees are encouraged to vote before or after working hours. However, if an employee has difficulty getting to the polls before or after working hours, the employee will be allowed sufficient time off, without a deduction in salary, to vote in each national, state or local election.
15. RECORD KEEPING POLICY
15.01 State
and federal regulations require the University to keep a record of the vacation
and sick leave accrual and absences of each employee, and the reasons for the
employee absences--whether from sickness, vacation, holiday, other paid leave,
or leave without pay. Such records shall be available for public inspection in
keeping with the provisions of the Texas Public Information Act.
15.02 Each department head is responsible for knowing and monitoring the vacation, sick leave, FLSA overtime and state compensatory time balances of each employee assigned to his or her departmental unit. A department head violates University policy if, without authorization, he or she permits an employee to take leave with pay entitlements that the employee has not accrued or to which the employee is not entitled.
15.03 By
law, accurate and up-to-date overtime and compensatory time records must be maintained
by each department head. Specific detailed rules and regulations are outlined
in UPPS No.
04.04.16, "Overtime and Compensatory Time Policy".
These regulations must be adhered to strictly. Classified employees, as listed
in the University Pay Plan, are subject to the FLSA overtime
regulations. Faculty, administrative and unclassified employees are not subject
to the FLSA overtime regulations.
a. Classified
employees (non-exempt) are required to record all additional hours worked as an
exception to their normal work schedule. The automated timekeeping system will
calculate and track FLSA overtime separately from state compensatory time.
b. Administrative
and unclassified staff, chairs and faculty eligible for vacation (exempt) are
required to document state compensatory time earned and taken by recording
additional hours worked and time taken off as exceptions to their normal work
schedule. Any hours taken off must be documented as having been previously
earned (including hours taken for energy conservation days).
16. RECORD KEEPING PROCEDURES
16.01 Department heads will insure that all faculty
and staff are trained how to comply with one of the following processes for
recording exceptions to their normal work schedule.
a. Time
may be entered via SAP Employee Self Service (ESS) and approved by the
immediate supervisor. Entries must be “saved and released” at the end of each
work week. Supervisors are responsible for approving time entries as soon as
possible but no later than one week after receipt of notification.
b.
Time may be recorded on a Monthly Time Report, signed by the employee
and immediate supervisor, and exceptions to the normal work schedule entered
into SAP by the departmental time administrator. Entry by the departmental time administrator
must be completed by the 5th business day after the end of the
month.
16.02 Monthly Time Reports and Application
for Leave Approval Forms with supporting documentation must be retained in the
departmental files for four years.
16.03 All current leave forms are available
on the Human Resources website at http://www.hr.txstate.edu/Forms/leaveandtimeforms.html.
17. DISSEMINATION PROCEDURES
17.01 The
Provost will insure that operative portions of the leave policy as set forth in
this UPPS are included in the Faculty Handbook.
17.02 The
Director of Human Resources will insure that operative portions of the leave
policy as set forth in this UPPS are included in the Staff Handbook.
17.03 As
a part of the initial orientation, supervisors will insure that all new
employees understand the terms of this UPPS.
18. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS
18.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Director, Human Resources December 1 E2Y
Director, Equity & Access December 1 E2Y
Chair, Faculty Senate December 1 E2Y
Chair, Staff Council December 1
E2Y
19. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official
capacities and represents
Director
of Human Resources; senior reviewer of this UPPS
Vice
President for Finance and Support Services
President