Temporary Disability Leave
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| 82.1 | Policy | ||
| Any regular full-time or half-time staff employee who suffers temporary sickness or incapacitation thus making the employee unable to perform assigned duties shall be granted temporary disability leave in accordance with the provisions in this policy. It is the intent of this policy to provide leave for temporary disability occurrences that normally have a reasonably predictable time frame, encompassing an onset and an end of the condition. | |||
| 82.1.1 | An employee who has completed new regular staff employee orientation and who suffers temporary sickness or incapacitation, thus making the employee unable to perform assigned duties, may be granted temporary disability leave without pay for the necessary period not to exceed ninety (90) calendar days or the number of days which is covered by accrued temporary disability leave, whichever is greater. | ||
| 82.1.2 | A written physician's statement, justifying a request for temporary disability leave, may be required by the employee's department or Human Resources. | ||
| 82.1.2.1 | An employee who wishes to return from temporary disability leave may be required to submit to the department head a written physician's statement indicating that the employee is able to return to work. | ||
| 82.1.3 | Any absence which extends ten (10) working days beyond the exhaustion of all accrued paid leaves (vacation and paid temporary disability) shall be reported to the Compensation Office of Human Resources. | ||
| 82.1.4 | In all cases, requests for temporary disability leave without pay in excess of thirty (30) working days [six (6) calendar weeks] shall require a written physician's statement justifying the leave and estimating the period of leave which shall be necessary for recuperation. | ||
| 82.1.5 | An employee who is absent from work on a frequent or regular basis or who has attendance patterns which interfere with accomplishment of assigned job responsibilities is not entitled to the provisions of this policy. | ||
| 82.1.5.1 | An employee with continuing health problems who is not able to work regularly may be separated from employment (see HRP&P 12.0 and HRP&P 88.0). | ||
| 82.1.5.2 | It is recommended that excessive use of temporary disability leave be reviewed with the Employee Relations Office of Human Resources for appropriate actions. | ||
| 82.1.6 | The position of an employee shall be held available for the employee's return upon completion of the temporary disability leave without loss of benefits. | ||
| 82.1.7 | Accrued temporary disability leave and/or vacation leave shall be used during the period of temporary disability. | ||
| 82.1.8 | An employee shall be in a leave without pay status when accrued temporary disability leave and vacation leave are exhausted. | ||
| 82.1.9 | An employee not returning to work at the expiration of temporary disability leave is eligible for terminal vacation pay, in accordance with the provision of HRP&P 81.0. | ||
| 82.1.10 | Paid temporary disability leave accrues at the rate of one (1) day per month for regular full-time employees. | ||
| 82.1.10.1 | The paid temporary disability leave allowance is earned for a month when employment commences on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month and when the employee has been in a pay status one half or more of the work days in that month. | ||
| 82.1.10.2 | No paid temporary disability leave allowance is earned in the final month of employment when the termination occurs on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month. | ||
| 82.1.10.3 | For a continuing employee, the one (1) day of paid temporary disability leave earned per month is available for use after the fifteenth (15th) day of that month. | ||
| 82.1.10.4 | There is no maximum limit on the amount of paid temporary disability leave that can be accumulated. | ||
| 82.1.10.5 | An employee shall be in a pay status one half or more of the work days in a month to earn temporary disability leave accrual for that month. | ||
| 82.1.10.6 | For the purposes of this policy, a day is defined as the minimum number of hours all exempt employees are normally expected to work in a week [forty (40) hours] divided by five (5), not to exceed eight (8) hours. For a nonexempt employee, a day is defined as the number of hours the employee normally works in a bi-weekly pay period divided by ten (10), not to exceed eight (8) hours. For example, this is usually seventy-five (75) divided by ten (10), not to exceed eight (8) hours. | ||
| 82.1.11 | A regular half-time employee shall accrue paid temporary disability leave for the hours or days worked in an amount directly proportionate to the amount received by a full-time employee. In cases where the scheduled work week is not consistent throughout the year, the pro rata percentage to full-time shall be calculated on an annualized basis. The principle governing pro rata percentages under this policy is to provide, within reasonable limits, an equitable allocation of paid temporary disability leave for an eligible employee who is not full-time but who works half-time or more. | ||
| 82.1.12 | Temporary disability leave accrual continues during periods of leave with pay, including any period of payment under Workers’ Compensation (see HRP&P 95.0). Temporary disability leave does not accrue when a person is on long-term total disability. | ||
| 82.1.13 | Temporary disability leave is not considered to be hours worked for the determination of an employee's eligibility for overtime pay for hours exceeding forty (40) hours in a single work week (see HRP&P 30.0). | ||
| 82.1.14 | Accrued temporary disability leave may be used for time off for medical or dental appointments. | ||
| 82.1.14.1 | The employee shall have the prior approval of the supervisor to take the time off for this purpose. | ||
| 82.1.15 | Accrued temporary disability leave for necessary time off due to illness or injury of a family member whom the employee must aid may be used in accordance with the following guidelines: | ||
| 82.1.15.1 | A family member is defined for this eligibility as spouse, child, grandchild, mother, father, grandparent, brother, sister, (includes steps, halves, and in-laws of the same relationship), legal dependent of the employee irrespective of residence, or another who resides in the employee’s household and for whom the employee has an obligation to provide care. | ||
| 82.1.15.2 | The maximum time which may be used at any time for this accrued temporary disability leave is six (6) weeks (30 working days) over a period of one (1) year. This maximum time may be extended with approval of the departmental supervisor, dean or director, and Provost, President, or executive vice president. | ||
| 82.1.15.3 | In cases in which two (2) family members are employed within the same department, use of TDL on the same days for the purposes of caring for the same family member, as defined in 82.1.15.1, must be approved by the dean or director. In cases where two (2) family members are employed in different departments, no prior approval is necessary to care for the same family member. | ||
| 82.1.16 | A regular full-time or half-time employee who transfers to another position within the University retains accrued temporary disability leave. When a staff employee transfers from one department to another, benefit plans and programs are governed by the classification of the new position. | ||
| 82.1.17 | Temporary disability for childbearing or pregnancy purposes shall be treated as any other temporary disability. | ||
| 82.1.17.1 | The employee may commence the temporary disability leave at the time the physician advises the employee to cease working. | ||
| 82.1.17.2 | To reduce paperwork, a presumption of a six (6) week [thirty (30) working days] recovery period shall be made in a case of childbirth. Other leave associated with pregnancy or childbirth shall be available in accordance with this policy or the Family and Medical Leave Act policy (see HRP&P 88.0). | ||
| 82.1.17.3 | The employee shall notify the supervisor as soon as practicable of the expected time of any extended leave requirement. | ||
| 82.1.18 | Up to a maximum of six (6) weeks [thirty (30) working days] of accrued temporary disability leave may be used by a male employee at the time of the birth of his child. This leave time runs concurrently with Family and Medical Leave, if applicable. | ||
| 82.1.19 | Up to a maximum of six (6) weeks [thirty (30) working days] of accrued temporary disability leave may be used by male and female employees for the adoption of a child. This leave time runs concurrently with Family and Medical Leave, if applicable. | ||
| 82.2 | Delegation | ||
| 82.2.1 | The department head shall be responsible for maintaining current, complete, and permanent records of accrued temporary disability leave, current balance available for use, use of temporary disability leave, and future accrual changes for an employee within the department. Unless approved by the Director of Human Resources, this information shall be maintained on a University Absence Record Form. | ||
| 82.2.1.1 | A department head is authorized to promulgate departmental temporary disability leave policies and procedures which are consistent with this policy concerning temporary disability leave. Departmental policies and procedures shall be approved by the Director of Human Resources. | ||
| 82.2.1.2 | Conditions such as the necessity to call the supervisor or designated official before the hour scheduled to report to work, any requirement of medical proof of illness or of physical ability to return after illness, daily or periodic report of recuperation progress, may be established by the department head, and shall be written and promulgated to all employees of the department. | ||
| 82.2.1.3 | Abuse of accrued temporary disability leave may be cause for more restrictive reporting and certification requirements for paid temporary disability leave eligibility for an individual employee. | ||
| 82.2.2 | The approval authority for temporary disability leave without pay is subject to review by appropriate officials within the area as determined by the Provost or the appropriate vice president and by Human Resources. | ||
| 82.2.3 | The Employee Relations Office of Human Resources is responsible for advice regarding policy and procedure compliance. | ||
| 82.2.4 | Use of paid temporary disability leave for over six (6) months must be approved by the Board of Trustees. | ||
| 82.3 | Procedure | ||
| 82.3.1 | A department shall maintain written records of accrued temporary disability leave for each regular full-time or half-time employee in the department. | ||
| 82.3.1.1 | This accrual record shall show an additional accrual of one day of temporary disability leave as of the fifteenth (15th) of each month. | ||
| 82.3.1.2 | As paid temporary disability leave is taken, the accrual record balance shall be adjusted accordingly. This accrual record shall reflect a balance of temporary disability leave available to the employee. | ||
| 82.3.1.3 | See HRP&P 70.0 for further guidelines. | ||
| 82.3.2 | The department head shall notify the Director of Human Resources, or designee, of any employee's absence which extends ten (10) working days beyond exhaustion of accrued paid leaves (temporary disability and vacation leave). | ||
| 82.3.3 | An employee on scheduled paid vacation leave who suffers a temporary disability while on vacation may substitute paid temporary disability leave for the period of temporary disability upon written certification of the physician. | ||
| 82.3.3.1 | This written certification shall be submitted to the department head as soon as possible after the employee returns from paid vacation. | ||
| 82.3.4 | The employee is responsible for notifying the immediate supervisor of temporary disability occurrences under this temporary disability leave policy. | ||
| 82.3.4.1 | A department head may set time provisions for this notification as a condition of eligibility for paid temporary disability. | ||
| 82.3.5 | Accrued temporary disability leave must be taken in no less than thirty (30) minute units. | ||
| 82.3.6 | These records shall be available for review by the employee, the Human Resources Office, or other authorized University officials as necessary. | ||
| 82.4 | Forms | ||
| 82.4.1 | Absence Record Form | ||