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| Issued: 09/1997 Revised: 07/2000 Revised: 04/2004 Classification Code: OP 03-18 |
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INTRODUCTION: This
operating procedure describes the various types of leaves afforded to University
staff and outlines the provisions for each leave. Holidays: 1.
The
following holidays are normally observed by the University.
All regular and term employees except those engaged in continuous
operation, such as Public Safety, shall be excused from duty when such holidays
are observed.
1.
New
Year's Day 2.
Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 3.
Memorial
Day 4.
Independence
Day 5.
Thanksgiving
Day 6.
The
Day After Thanksgiving 7.
The
Day Before Christmas 8.
Christmas
Day 9.
The
Day Before New Year's Day 10.
Labor
Day 11. A
Day to be Selected by the University 2. Hourly
paid employees required to work on a holiday (1-11 above) because it is
designated part of their work week shall be compensated, in addition to their
normal day's pay, at one and one-half times their regular rate for the hours
worked. Personnel employed on a
nine- or ten-month basis will not be compensated for holidays occurring when
they are not actively employed. Vacations: 1. The University provides paid vacation leave for its regular and term full-time and part-time (at least half-time) staff. 2. While vacation time is intended to be used by staff to renew and refresh themselves, the University understands that employees may have a need to conduct a matter of personal business that requires them to be away from their jobs for brief periods during normal working hours. In order to accommodate this need, vacation may be used in increments as small as one-half (1/2) hour. 3. Full-Time employment vacation accrual schedules are:
Vacation shall be accrued from the date of original employment in a vacation eligible position. Vacation does not accrue during periods of leave without pay, except for approved intermittent furlough. Part-time employees will accrue vacation on a pro-rata basis. 4. Employees
must request use of vacation leave from their supervisor and receive approval
prior to vacation being used. The
employee's wishes will be given consideration, but vacation leave shall be
granted at the convenience of the University. 5. The
date of initial, continuous employment in a regular or term position (at least a
half-time assignment) will be the employee's anniversary date for vacation
accrual rate purposes and will determine the employee's accrual rate.
Vacation leave shall be granted only after it has been earned; however,
in emergency cases, leave may be granted in advance of accrual.
6. A maximum of 240 hours may be accrued by a staff member. Once an employee's vacation balance reaches 240 hours, no more vacation will be accrued until the employee's vacation balance is less than 240 hours. The maximum vacation balance permitted for part-time staff will be pro-rated. 7. Vacation
time may be taken as it is accumulated after satisfactory completion of the
period of probation. Any employee
terminating before the end of the six-month probation period will not receive
vacation pay. 8. Vacation
usage must be reported on the Bi-Weekly Time Sheet and Time Report for biweekly
paid employees or on the Monthly Leave Report for monthly paid employees. 9. Human
Resources Office will forward to supervisors a report detailing the vacation
earned, used and remaining. Questions
concerning vacation should be directed to the immediate supervisor. 10.
For
eligible, regular and term staff employed on a ten-month basis,
vacation time shall be prorated over the number of months worked during the
year. 11. Vacation
may not be used to extend an employee’s paid work schedule. For example, an
employee who is normally employed in a half-time position, may not claim a full
eight hours vacation pay for days charged to vacation.
Similarly, employees who have less than twelve-month contracts (e.g.,
10-month assignment, etc.) may not use vacation during the period of time when
they are normally not in a paid status. Vacation
Buy Back: 1. Employees
who have completed five (5) or more years of service may receive a cash
settlement for vacation time earned but not used. 2. A
request for Vacation Buy Back must be made in writing, endorsed by the
supervisor, and received in Human Resources by the end of the pay period prior
to the pay period in which payment is desired. 3. Vacation
Buy Back payments will be prepared in the next available payroll cycle for the
employee after receipt of the approved request. 4. Employees
who are eligible for Vacation Buy Back must request the buy back before their
vacation balance reaches 240 hours in order to continue accruing, or they will not accrue further vacation
until their balance falls below 240 hours.
5. An
eligible employee may request up to 40 hours of Vacation Buy Back each year
based upon his or her anniversary date with the University.
Part-time employees eligible for Vacation Buy Back may request a
pro-rated buy back based upon their percent of assignment (for example, a 50%
employee is eligible for buy back up to 20 hours each year). Sick Leave: 1)
The University’s sick leave provisions are outlined in
Policy 03-18.
Sick
leave is available to regular and term employees who are employed in at least a
one-half time (50%) assignment. The
use of all sick leave has utilization and availability calculated based upon the
most recent twelve-month period. 2)
During
the probationary period, beginning with the second full month of employment, a
full-time probationary employee shall be entitled to use one and one-half days
sick leave (verified or unverified) each month with pay.
For part-time probationary employees, sick leave will be pro-rated
according to their FTE, i.e., 50% FTE would be entitled to six (6) hours of sick
leave per month beginning with the second full month of employment.
This is not in addition to the sick leave available after the
probationary period. 3) After the probationary period, a regular, full-time employee shall be entitled to receive eight (8) days of unverified sick leave at full pay based upon the employee’s regular rate of pay (unverified sick leave will be pro-rated for part-time employees, i.e., 50% FTE would be entitled to four (4) days of unverified sick leave). Employees may use any of their eight (8) days of unverified sick leave for illnesses of a spouse, children, or parents, or relatives for whom the employee has primary responsibility.
4) Also, after the probationary period, employees will be entitled to receive three months of verified sick leave with full pay (520 hours for full-time employees or pro-rated for part-time employees, i.e., 260 hours for an employee working 50% FTE) and an additional three months of verified sick leave at 60% pay (520 hours for full-time employees or pro-rated for part-time employees, i.e., 260 hours for an employee working 50% FTE). All verified sick leave will require verification of the medical condition of the employee. Such verification shall be made by written statement by a physician, should include the exact dates the employee was unable to report for work, and should be attached to the Bi-Weekly Timesheet and Time Report for hourly employees or shown on the Monthly Leave Report for salaried employees.
5) Sick leave may be used in increments of as little as one-half (1/2) hour and must be recorded as such on either the Bi-Weekly Timesheet and Time Report or the Monthly Leave Report forms.
6) Sick leave may be substituted for the first three days of a reportable illness or injury under Workers' Compensation and for the thirty-three and one-third percent (33 1/3%) salary non-compensable under Workers' Compensation.
7) Individuals employed on a less than twelve-month assignment or in a less than full-time assignment will not be paid sick leave during those periods when they are not in active duty status or regularly scheduled to work.
8) If a holiday falls during verified or unverified sick leave, the employee will be paid normal, regular pay instead of sick leave pay for the day.
9) Second opinions: The University, at its expense, may require that a second opinion be obtained. In the event that the second opinion is in conflict with the first, at the University's expense, a third opinion may be required. The third opinion is binding. Funeral
Leave: Absence
will be granted with pay, not to exceed three (3) working days to make
arrangements for and attend the funeral services of a spouse, father, mother,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister, child, grandparent, or grandchild
of staff member or spouse, or members of the family who reside within the staff
member's household. Additional
working days, not to exceed two (2) may be granted where circumstances require
travel out of the surrounding area or it is demonstrated that an earlier return
would cause a hardship for the employee. Military
Leave: An
employee who is a member of the National Guard or any of the reserve components
of the Armed Forces of the United States is entitled to a leave of absence, with
pay, for the period during which the employee is ordered to military duty or
training, not to exceed fifteen working days in any one federal fiscal year.
Compensation for military leave will not be deducted from vacation or
sick leave time. A copy of official
orders from the appropriate military authority must be attached to the Bi-Weekly
Timesheet and Time Report for hourly employees or the Monthly Leave Report for
salaried employees as other leave before any payment of salary covering the
leave will be made. Jury
Duty: 1. Any
staff member who is called for jury duty must report the call to his/her
immediate supervisor by submitting a copy of the certification from the Court
Clerk. The certification must be
attached to the Bi-Weekly Timesheet and Time Report for hourly employees or the
Monthly Leave Report for salaried employees for the month in which the jury duty
occurs. 2. The
staff member will be entitled to retain all the compensation received for such
jury service, and no deduction will be made in the regular compensation for the
reasonable time absent from duty on account of responding for such jury service. Election
Days: Missouri
law requires that employers allow employees to have a period of three
consecutive hours between the time of opening and the time of closing the polls
for the purpose of voting. Employees
who do not have a three hour period before or after work time will be allowed to
come in one hour later or leave one hour early on election days.
Prudent judgment should be used when requesting this leave.
A written request must be made to the employee's supervisor at least one
day prior to the election. Family and Medical Leave: 1. Definitions a. Eligible
Employee: An employee who has been
employed for at least 12 months and who has worked at least 1,250 hours during
the twelve months before the period of anticipated unpaid leave. b. Son
or Daughter: the biological,
adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, legal ward, or a child of a person
standing in loco parentis.
These terms will be broadly construed to ensure that an employee who
actually has day-to-day responsibility for caring for a child is entitled to
leave even if the employee does not have a biological or legal relationship to
that child. The terms include not only children under the age of 18, but
also children above that age who are incapable of self-care because of mental or
physical disability. c. Serious
Health Conditions: An illness,
injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition involving either inpatient
care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.
2. Conditions
for Which Family or Medical Leave May Be Granted: a.
An
eligible employee is entitled to twelve designated workweeks (paid and/or
unpaid) of leave during any
twelve-month period for three reasons: 1) birth
or placement for adoption or foster care of a child. 2) serious
health condition of a spouse, child, or parent (serious health conditions
include illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition involving
either inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider). 3) employee's
own serious health condition. b.
Leave
may be taken for birth or placement of a child only within twelve months of that
birth or placement. c.
For
the birth or adoption of a child, leave may be taken on an intermittent or
reduced basis only upon the approval of the supervisor.
d.
For
leave for a serious health condition, leave may be taken intermittently or on a
reduced basis at the discretion of the employee. NOTE: If the employee's
need for intermittent leave is foreseeable based upon planned medical treatment,
the employee may be required to transfer temporarily to an alternative position,
with equivalent pay and benefits, that better accommodates recurring periods of
leave than the employee's regular position. e.
Employees
are required to first use available
paid leaves (including vacation and unverified and verified sick leave, if
applicable),as determined by their amount of leave
available and the reasons for the need to use the leave, for any part or all of
the twelve-week leave. If the
employee has sufficient paid leave available to cover the twelve-week leave
requirement, the employee is not entitled to an additional twelve-week unpaid
leave period. f.
In
the case of leave for birth or placement of a child, the employee must provide
thirty days advance notice before the date the leave would begin.
If the employee is unable to provide thirty days' notice, he or she must
provide such notice as is practicable. g.
In
the case of leave for a serious medical condition, if the leave is foreseeable
based upon planned medical treatment, employees are required to make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment so as not
to disrupt unduly the operations of their department, and employees are required
to provide thirty days advance notice or such notice as is practicable if the
treatment is in less than 30 days. h.
In
instances when spouses are employed by the University and leave is taken for
care of a newly arrived child or a sick parent, their aggregate leave is limited
to twelve weeks. If the leave is
requested because of the illness of a child or of the other spouse, each spouse
is entitled to twelve weeks of leave. i.
Procedure
to Request Leave: a written request
for leave must be provided to the supervisor at least thirty days (except as
noted above) in advance of the intended period of leave. The written request must contain the following information: 1) date
on which the serious health condition began; OR a statement that the
employee is needed to care for spouse, parent, or child (along with an estimate
of the time required), OR a statement that the employee is unable to
perform his or her functions; AND 2) in
the case of intermittent leave, the dates and durations of treatments to be
given; AND 3) if
for a serious health condition, the probable duration of the condition. j.
Second
opinions: The University, at its
expense, may require that a second opinion be obtained.
In the event that the second opinion is in conflict with the first, at
the University's expense, a third opinion may be required.
The third opinion is binding. k.
Recertification:
The University may require recertification on a reasonable basis. l.
Employment
and Benefits Protection: An
employee who completes a period of leave will return to either the same position
or to another position equivalent in pay, benefits, and other terms and
conditions of employment. 1) employer-provided
health benefits continue during the period of leave. 2) the
University may recover health coverage premiums paid for an employee who fails
to return from leave, except if the reason for non-return to work is the
continuation, recurrence, onset of a serious health condition, or for other
reasons beyond the employee's control. Non-Medical
and Non-Family Leave Without Pay: 1.
Employees,
except in emergency situations, are required to make their request for
non-medical and non-family leave without pay at least thirty days before the
intended date of leave. Emergency
requests, however, must be made before the intended period of leave without pay
begins. 2.
All
requests for leave without pay must be in writing and contain the reason for the
requested leave and the dates of the expected leave period. 3. Approval
of requests for leave without pay will be obtained as follows: a.
The
request must be given to the supervisor
for approval or non-approval to the request and will forward the request to the
next level supervisor until it reaches the division executive. b. If the division executive approves the request, 1) Human
Resources will process the leave without pay as instructed and will advise
Benefits and Payroll of the action. 2) The
Benefits Office will contact the employee to make any necessary benefit
arrangements as outlined in the Plan Document. 4.
At
the time the employee returns to active work status, the department will
complete a PAF re-initiating the employee's active status and will forward the
PAF to Human Resources. |
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