6 - 11.10

Administrative policy regarding leaves of absence without pay.

  1. Policy statement. A leave of absence without pay may be granted upon written request for a period not to exceed six months when an eligible classified or unclassified staff member requests leave due to one of the types of leave detailed below. The staff member shall furnish satisfactory medical proof of a need for leave, if applicable. 
    1. A leave of absence is granted for a specific purpose. The university benefits department may review the reason for the leave as stated by the employee. If it is found that the leave is not actually being used for such purpose, the leave, if started, may be canceled and the employee directed to report to work by a written notice. 
    2. An employee requesting a leave of absence must utilize their accrued compensatory time, sick, and vacation before being placed on a leave without pay status. Each leave request will be individually evaluated by the benefits department. Final determination is at the discretion of the vice president for the division for people, culture and belonging or their designee. 
    3. A leave of absence shall not be granted to permit an employee to accept other employment.  
    4. Leaves of absence under this policy must be continuous. Requests for intermittent or reduced schedule leaves are not within the purview of this policy
  2. Eligibility
    1. An employee must have completed a minimum of four months of continuous active service at the university in order for their leave request to be considered under this policy.  
    2. The employee must submit a completed written request for a leave of absence without pay using the procedures described in this policy. Any required supplemental material must be provided in order for the request to be considered. 
  3. Types of leave. Subject to the written approval by the appointing authority, the university benefits office and the vice president for people, culture and belonging (or their designee), leave granted under this policy shall be limited to the following circumstances: 
    1. Temporary Disability: This leave may be used for an extended absence due to the employee’s own serious health condition. Leaves of absence shall be limited to the period of time that the employee is unable to safely and substantially perform the essential functions of their position, which shall not in any event exceed six months, unless otherwise required by law or Collective Bargaining Agreement  
    2. Care for a member of the immediate family with a serious health condition: A leave of absence under this policy may be granted to care for an employee’s family member who has a serious health condition that necessitates care from the employee. For the purposes of this policy, a qualifying family member is defined as a parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, step-child, biological, adopted, foster or legal ward where the family member is incapable of self-care because of a serious health condition 
    3. Childcare: A leave of absence may be granted for the purpose of child care. Childcare leave cannot exceed a total of six months, must be taken consecutively and will be granted to a parent during the first twelve months following childbirth or, in the case of adoptive or foster parents, within the first twelve months of placement.
    4. Educational leave. A leave of absence may be granted, when such education would result in professional growth and development that would be of benefit to the university. 
  4. Application Procedures
    1. All leaves of absence requests for the care of the employee or the employee’s family member due to a medical condition must be submitted to the leave administration office within the benefits department thirty days in advance of the date the leave is to begin, when the necessity for leave is foreseeable. If the need for a leave is not foreseeable thirty days prior to the effective date of such leave, the employee must submit notice as soon as possible. 
    2. If the employee requests a leave of absence for their own medical condition or to care for a member of the immediate family, the leave administration office will require a certification from the health care provider identifying the health condition of the employee or the family member and the need for the employee’s leave of absence. In addition, the health care provider must indicate the estimated duration of the absence. Recertification by the health care provider may be required periodically. 
      1. The leave administration office may request the employee, or the member of the employee's family, be examined by a licensed physician to be designated by the university. The cost of such an examination shall be paid by the university.
      2. In the event the medical documentation submitted by the employee's or family member’s health care provider conflicts with the documentation submitted by the physician designated by the university, the leave administration office may request a third opinion be obtained from a physician mutually selected by the employee and the university. The cost of such an examination shall be paid by the university and the recommendation of the physician shall be binding on both parties. 
    3. All leaves of absence requests for childcare must be submitted in writing to the leave administration office within the benefits department thirty days in advance of the date the leave is to begin, when the necessity for leave is foreseeable. If the need for a leave is not foreseeable thirty days prior to the effective date of such leave, the employee must submit notice as soon as possible.  
    4. All leaves of absence requests for educational leave must be submitted to the leave administration office within the benefits department thirty days in advance of the date the leave is to begin, when the necessity for leave is foreseeable. If the need for a leave is not foreseeable thirty days prior to the effective date of such leave, the employee must submit notice as soon as possible. The request for educational leave must include all of the following:  
      1. the begin and end date of the leave;  
      2. the timeframe of the course; 
      3. purpose of the course, (i.e. specialty skill); and
      4. the educational benefit to the university
  5. Implementation
    1. Upon receipt of all necessary documentation, the leave administration office will communicate with the employee’s unit, appointing authority and the vice president of the division of people, culture and belonging or their designee to determine approval.
    2. Requests for leave may be denied for any of the following: 
      1. Documentation not returned by the indicated deadlines;
      2. Insufficient documentation; or (c) Operational needs of the unit.  
    3. The leave administration office will notify employees, supervisors and relevant departments of the status of the employee’s request for leave of absence.  
    4. Details of an employee’s or an employee’s family member’s medical condition will be kept confidential within the benefits office and will not be shared with the employee’s supervisor(s).
  6. Status of employment during leave of absence.
    1. The employee's employment status will remain unchanged while navigating the leave of absence process within the specified timeframes.  
    2. The university will maintain healthcare and related coverage until either the approved unpaid leave ends or for a maximum of six months, whichever comes first. It is the employee’s responsibility to contact the benefits department to make arrangements for the payment of their monthly healthcare contributions throughout the duration of the unpaid leave.  
    3. The university will continue the tuition fee waiver benefit as long as the employee has active service of not less than thirty days within the semester their unpaid leave is terminated.
    4. An employee on an unpaid leave of absence does not normally receive pay for holidays falling within the dates of the unpaid leave of absence. 
    5. An employee on leave of absence without pay does not earn sick leave or vacation credit. However, the time spent on authorized leave of absence is evaluated in determining length of service. 
    6. During an unpaid leave of absence without pay, both the employer and the employee contributions to OPERS or STRS are discontinued.
  7. Upon completion of a leave of absence, the employee is to be returned to the position formerly occupied, or to a similar position if the employee's former position no longer exists.
  8. An employee who does not return from a leave of absence and who has not formally terminated their service with the university will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary process at the end of the leave. The university may charge the employee for the cost of healthcare coverage paid by the university during the leave. An exception may be made in the case where the employee was unable to return to work because of health conditions or other reasons beyond the employee's control.
  9. No more than six months of Leave of Absence as described in this policy may be taken in a two-year period except where provided by law or regulations.  
  10. Leaves described in this policy will run concurrently with other applicable leaves, if appropriate, including FMLA. An employee’s total approved leave of absence will not exceed six months.
Policy Effective Date:
Sep 05, 2025
Policy Prior Effective Dates: 
11/4/1977, 10/5/1979, 2/14/1983, 10/5/1993, 6/1/2007, 3/1/2015, 12/03/2018
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