Faculty Sick Leave

Benefits eligible faculty members earn sick leave entitlement beginning on the first date of their payroll appointment period at the University. Full-time faculty earn sick leave at the rate of eight (8) hours for each month or fraction of a month of employment. Faculty employed part-time (half-time or more but less than full-time) accrue sick leave on a proportionate basis. Unused sick leave accumulates and carries forward each month.

Eligibility

To be eligible to take sick leave, faculty must be on the payroll at the time the leave occurs. Sick leave with pay may be taken when sickness, injury, or pregnancy prevent the faculty from performing their normal duties or when they are needed to care for a member of their immediate family who is ill.

For purposes relating to 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 faculty, whether or not living in the same household, will be considered immediate family for purposes of regular sick leave.

A faculty's use of sick leave for family members not residing in their 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.

Reporting in Workday

Faculty members are responsible for electronically submitting all sick leave taken in Workday when an absence occurs during their normal workday, even when no classes are missed. If needed, Workday has the ability to allow certain security roles to initiate leave taken on behalf of a faculty member.

For more information, see the instructional guide on Requesting Sick Leave in Workday.

To find your leave balances in Workday, see Understanding Your Payslip Workday Process Overview.

Sick Leave Pool

Eligible faculty can apply for the Sick Leave Pool. The Sick Leave Pool can award up to 720 hours of additional paid leave when either the faculty member or one of their immediate family members has suffered a catastrophic illness or injury. This leave is available to benefits eligible faculty who have exhausted accrued paid leave.

Faculty may also contribute time to the sick leave pool by submitting a Sick Leave Pool Transfer form to Leave Management.

Family Medical Leave

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Faculty members may be eligible for leave under the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. The University will grant family and medical leave to faculty due to the following:

A serious health condition of the employee
The birth and care of the employee’s child
The placement of a child for adoption or foster care with the employee
The care of the employee’s spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition

Qualifying faculty may take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave during any 12-month period. Premium sharing continues during FMLA even when the employee is on leave without pay.

Eligibility

To be eligible for FMLA benefits, a faculty member must:

Have a total of 12 months of state service
Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of leave

Process

To request FMLA, a faculty member must complete an Employee Request for Family and Medical Leave (Online) 30 to 45 days prior to the date they need their leave to begin. If the faculty member is unable to complete their request at least 30 days prior, they should still submit it as soon as is practicable. If a faculty member is unexpectedly absent for three or more days, then their department may also submit this request on their behalf.

Once the request is submitted, Human Resources - Benefits and Leave Management (HRS) will send the faculty member a Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities, and copy their supervisor and HR contact. Faculty should read this notice in its entirety, and pay special attention to the section labeled Actions Required. The employee then has 15 calendar days to return the paperwork to HRS. Failure to complete these steps within 15 calendar days, absent any extenuating circumstances, will result in the FMLA request being denied.

While taking FMLA, faculty must apply any accrued sick leave entitlement to the leave unless they are receiving disability benefits through Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If approved, the University will designate leave as qualifying for FMLA (paid or unpaid) and notify the faculty. In so doing, the University requests certification from a licensed practitioner to support the faculty's leave request.

For more information, see the Human Resource's page on Family and Medical Leave Act.

Parental Leave

Parental Time Off

The University provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid Parental Time Off to faculty who are not eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), for either the birth of their natural child or for the adoption of children under the age of three, beginning with the date of the birth or the date of the adoption or foster care placement.

Eligibility

Faculty must be appointed at least 20 hours per week for a period of at least 4.5 continuous months to be eligible for parental time off.

If faculty become eligible for FMLA while using parental time off, they will be placed on FMLA for the remainder of the time off. The parental time off previously granted will be applied toward the 12 weeks of FMLA. The combination of parental time off and FMLA shall not exceed 480 hours.

Process

Faculty with Paid Time Off AccrUals

Faculty are required to use all accrued and available paid time off concurrently with parental time off. Any paid time off accrued while on parental leave may not be used until after the faculty has returned to work in a benefits eligible position. Sick leave may be used concurrently with parental leave for the first six weeks following a vaginal delivery and eight weeks following a c-section. In the event of complications or illness to the child or mother, sick leave may be warranted past the first six or eight weeks, otherwise other paid time off must be used for the remainder of the faculty's parental time off.

The University will continue to contribute its share of premiums for insurance while a faculty is using paid time off.

Faculty without Sick Leave Accruals

For parental time off not covered by sick leave accruals, faculty will be placed on a leave of absence. The University will discontinue its share of premiums anytime that a faculty is on a leave of absence and using parental time off.

For more information, please see the University's Leave of Absence policy.

Notification of Leave

Faculty taking sick leave should notify their Department Chair as early as possible. The Department Chair should then notify CNS Faculty Affairs, which in turn will notify the Provost’s Office in writing of any periods of extended sick leave needed by a faculty. In addition, the department is responsible for contacting HR - Leave Management at 512-475-8099 or HRS-LM@austin.utexas.edu to ensure that a FMLA application form is sent to the faculty member who may qualify for leave under the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Please note, according to the provisions of the General Appropriations Act, to be eligible for accumulated sick leave with pay during a continuous period of more than three (3) working days, faculty who are absent on account of illness should send their Department Chair a doctor’s certificate showing the cause or nature of the illness, or some other written statement of the facts concerning the illness. Before the faculty member returns to work, the University also may require a licensed practitioner's certification that they are physically fit to return to duty.

Helpful Links

Faculty Sick Leave