PERSONNEL
60.56
New 6-06
Human Resource Services
335-4521
OVERVIEW
The faculty and administrative professional personnel leave regulations included in this section are based upon policies in the Faculty Manual, the Administrative Professional Handbook, the Business Policies and Procedures Manual, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 USC 201).
Types of leave described in this section are:
- Annual leave (see below)
- Civil leave (see below)
- Compensatory time (see below)
- Disability leave (see below)
- Emergency leave (see below)
- Faculty leave with pay (see below)
- Faculty retraining leave (see below)
- Family medical leave (see below)
- Holiday (see below)
- Leave due to suspended operations (see below)
- Leave for life-giving procedures (see below)
- Leave for voting (see below)
- Leave without pay (see below)
- Military leave (see below)
- Parental leave (see below)
- Personal holiday (see below)
- Professional leave (see below)
- Sick leave (see below)
- Training release time (see below)
- Unauthorized absence (see below)
- Work-related injury or illness (see below)
For information regarding shared leave, see 60.58.
Ineligible for Leave
The following categories of faculty and administrative professional employees do not earn leave:
- Retired faculty and administrative professional (AP) employees who are rehired on less than half-time (e.g., 40 percent FTE) appointments.
- Visiting faculty on summer appointments
- Temporary faculty employed less than half time
- Temporary faculty employed less than one semester (academic appointment) or less than six months (annual appointment)
- Time-card faculty (hourly appointments)
- Adjunct faculty
Ineligible for Annual Leave
Faculty on academic appointments do not earn annual leave.
Departmental Guidelines
In addition to the rules specified in the Business Policies and Procedures Manual (BPPM), the Faculty Manual, the Administrative Professional Handbook, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 USC 201), departments should develop internal processes for requesting and approving all leave. (WAC 357-31-100)
Assistance
Supervisors and employees may contact Human Resource Services (HRS) regarding leave issues and for interpretations of these regulations; e-mail hrs@wsu.edu, or telephone the campus HRS office at:
- Pullman: 509-335-4521
- Spokane: 509-358-7554
- Tri-Cities 509-372-7302
- Vancouver: 360-546-9587
Reporting Leave
A faculty or AP employee who is ineligible to earn overtime reports leave on a Leave Report form. See 60.63.
A faculty or administrative professional (AP) employee who is eligible to earn overtime reports leave on a Time Report for Overtime-Eligible Employees. See 60.60.
Earning Annual Leave
Faculty and administrative professional personnel on full-time annual appointments earn annual leave at the rate of 14.67 hours per month of completed service.
Administrative professional (AP) personnel on academic, temporary, or part-time appointments earn annual leave based upon percent of full-time employment; e.g., half-time employees earn 7.34 hours per month. NOTE: AP appointments are not established for less than 50 percent FTE and/or for less than a six-month term. See the Administrative Professional Handbook for more information at:
Select Administrative Professional, then
Select AP Personnel Handbook.Employees hired or separated within the month receive leave on a prorated basis. Prorated annual leave for the month is calculated as follows:
Number of days worked number of working days in the month = Fraction
Fraction x 14.67 x Percent FTE = Annual leave accrual
Maximum Accrual
The maximum annual leave accrual is 352 hours (44 working days).
LWOP
Faculty and administrative professional employees accrue annual leave on a prorated basis for portions of months that include leave without pay.
Prior State Service
An employee who transfers from another state of Washington agency without a break in service transfers accrued annual leave hours. See 60.19 for more information and instructions.
Using Annual Leave
An employee may not use annual leave before the leave is earned. EXCEPTION: The annual leave hours earned during the final month of the appointment may be used in the final month.
Leave is scheduled with the approval of the unit administrator.
A faculty member moving from an annual to an academic year appointment must use any accrued annual leave within one year to avoid loss of earned leave.
A faculty or AP employee on a temporary appointment must use accumulated annual leave prior to the termination date of the appointment unless the employee receives a written exception from the dean, director, or chair of the department.
Leave Must Be Allowed
The unit administrator must allow an employee to take annual leave for:
- Serious health condition of employee;
- Emergency or serious health condition of employee's eligible family member;
- Health condition of employee's minor or dependent child which requires treatment or supervision;
- Parental leave (see below).
Use of Annual Leave While On LWOP
An employee may not use annual leave while on leave without pay (LWOP). EXCEPTION: An employee who is on LWOP for one of the following may schedule leave each month for the period indicated to maintain eligibility for WSU-sponsored employee benefits:
Head Residents
Head residents are granted regular student holiday periods in lieu of annual leave.
Sponsor Restrictions
Some sponsored agreements require that annual leave earned on a given contract be used during the contract. Leave balances earned while the employee is supported by any other source of funds may not be used during such a contract.
International Contracts
International contracts include the above restriction. When a WSU employee is appointed to an international contract, the employee's existing annual-leave balance is frozen. The employee must use all annual leave earned while abroad within the effective dates of the appointment or forfeit any unused hours.
Upon completion of the assignment abroad by assignment to a domestic project or to a state-funded appointment, the previously frozen annual leave balance is unrestricted and available in accordance with WSU policies.
Payment Upon Separation
See 55.49.
WSU grants employees leave of absence with pay to serve on jury duty, as trial witnesses, or for other subpoenaed civil duties.
Jury Compensation
The employee may keep any compensation he or she receives for serving as a member of a jury.
Official Capacity
If an employee is appearing in court or at a hearing in a WSU official capacity, the employee is not on leave from the University. The activity is considered to be part of the employee's regular assignment. The employee is reimbursed for any incurred expenses in accordance with University procedures.
Voluntary Expert Testimony (Faculty Only)
Voluntary expert testimony by faculty members is governed by University policies regarding compensated outside service and extended professional activities for faculty. See 60.44 and the Faculty Manual.
Full-time overtime-eligible faculty and overtime-eligible AP employees receive time and one-half regular pay for all hours worked in excess of forty hours per week.
Part-time overtime-eligible faculty and overtime-eligible AP employees receive straight time up to forty hours per week. These employees are eligible to receive time and one-half regular pay for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week.
Overtime eligible faculty and overtime-eligible AP employees receive cash payments for overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in one work week. However, at the employee's request, an employing official may approve compensatory time off in lieu of cash.
AP Employees Only
For overtime-eligible AP employees, all paid holidays during the employee's regular work schedule are considered to be hours worked for purposes of determining overtime.
Leave with pay taken during the employee's regular work schedule is not considered to be hours worked for purposes of determining overtime.
Faculty and AP employees may be qualified to receive disability leave, including leave due to pregnancy and/or childbirth, under the family medical leave (FML) program. See below.
If not eligible for FML, faculty and AP employees may use any accrued leave (e.g., sick leave) or leave without pay during the temporary disability.
For advisory guidelines and more detailed information about disability leave, including disability leave due to pregnancy and/or childbirth, contact HRS or access the HRS website at:
Select Manager's Toolkit, then
Select Medical Leave Information.
Faculty and AP employees may use emergency leave for a death in the family or of a household member/partner or other comparable emergency.
Refer to the Faculty Manual and the Administrative Professional Handbook for definitions of family members and household members/partners.
To view the Faculty Manual, go to:
To view the Administrative Professional Handbook, go to the HRS website at:
Select Administrative Professional, then
Select AP Personnel Handbook.Deans or principal administrative officers may grant emergency leave not to exceed five days.
Extended Emergency Leave
Faculty
The Provost or the Provost's designee may extend leave up to ten days for faculty employees. See the Faculty Manual regarding procedures for requesting extended emergency leave.
AP Employees
The employee's administrative officer and the Director of HRS may extend leave up to ten days for administrative professional employees. See the Administrative Professional Handbook regarding procedures for requesting extended emergency leave.
Leave with pay for purposes of official duties or services on behalf of the University may be authorized for faculty employees by the dean or principal administrative officer. For deans and principal administrative officers, leave may be authorized by the Provost. (Faculty Manual)
Special Leave With Pay
Ten days of special leave with pay may be requested by faculty members after two years of completed service. Additional requests may be made after each two-year period of completed service. Route written requests to the Provost and Executive Vice President through the intermediate administrative supervisors. (Faculty Manual)
Faculty members may request retraining leave for up to two semesters or one year, respectively, for academic or annual year appointments.
A faculty member is eligible for retraining leave provided he or she expects to serve WSU for at least five years following the leave and before retirement.
Procedures for applying for retraining leave are available from the Provost's Office. See the Faculty Manual for additional information.
Faculty and administrative professional employees may use annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay for family medical leave (FML).
Family medical leave benefits are provided concurrently with University leave benefits, in accordance with the federal Family Medical Leave Act. See also below.
Contact HRS for information concerning current University procedures used to implement the Family Medical Leave Act, or view the advisory guidelines at the HRS website:
Select Manager's Toolkit, then
Select Medical Leave Information.
Requirements
In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 USC 2601 et seq.), an employer must grant an eligible employee a total of 12 work weeks of absence during a rolling 12-month period in order to:
- Seek treatment and recover from the employee's serious health condition;
- Care for the employee's parent, spouse, or child who has a serious health condition; and/or
- Provide care to the employee's newborn, adopted, or foster child.
Eligible Employee
An eligible employee is an employee who has:
- Worked for the state for at least 12 months, and
- Worked at least 1250 hours during the previous 12-month period. NOTE: Paid leave is not counted toward the 1250 hours of work.
FML Provisions
The following provisions apply to the granting and use of family medical leave (FML):
- HRS designates which employee absences meet the criteria of FML.
- Designated paid or unpaid leave is counted toward the 12 weeks of FML.
- The employee may choose to use accrued paid leave or leave without pay for FML.
- The employee is to return to the same or equivalent position which he or she held prior to the FML absence.
- The University continues an eligible employee's University-paid health insurance benefits during the FML period. (Contact HRS regarding benefits if the employee does not return to work at the end of the FML period.) The employee is responsible for her or his portion of the premiums and must make arrangements with HRS to ensure that the premiums are paid.
Application
For application advisory guidelines and more detailed information concerning family medical leave, see the HRS website at:
Select Manager's Toolkit, then
Select Medical Leave Information.
Additional Information
Faculty and AP employees may refer to the family medical leave rules in the Faculty Manual and the Administrative Professional Handbook regarding such disability leave.
To view the Faculty Manual, go to:
To view the Administrative Professional Handbook, go to the HRS website at:
Select Administrative Professional, then
Select AP Personnel Handbook.
A holiday is a day when all University offices and departments on a WSU campus are closed except for certain essential service units.
The University provides ten holidays each fiscal year for faculty, AP, and civil service employees. Refer to the holiday schedule in 60.76 for current WSU holiday schedules for specified University locations.
An employee on a less than 12-month appointment is eligible for holidays scheduled within the appointment term.
NOTE: An employee must be in pay status the work day prior to the holiday in order to receive pay for the holiday.
Academic Faculty Only
For academic faculty on less than 12-month appointments, a break in the academic calendar when classes are not taught is not considered a holiday unless the break coincides with a designated University holiday. See 60.76. Academic faculty positions include instructional and research positions.
NOTE: The University expects academic faculty with ongoing responsibilities to perform those duties during academic breaks.
If the faculty member is exempt from this requirement as part of the employment contract, this is indicated on the Personnel Action form in Remarks. See 60.25.
LEAVE DUE TO SUSPENDED OPERATIONS
LEAVE FOR LIFE-GIVING PROCEDURES
Employees are eligible for paid leave for the sole purpose of participating in life-giving procedures. Paid leave for participation in life-giving procedures:
- Is not to exceed five days in a two-year period.
- Is not charged against sick leave or annual leave; and
- Does not require the use of leave without pay.
A life-giving procedure is defined as a medically-supervised procedure involving the testing, sampling, or donation of blood, platelets, organs, fluids, tissues, and other human body components for the purposes of donation, without compensation, to a person or organization for medically necessary treatments.
Employees must provide reasonable advance notice of a desire to take paid leave time to participate in live-giving procedures. Supervisors may take into account program implementation and staffing replacement requirements in determining whether or not to grant such leave time.
In order to be credited with organ/blood donation leave time, an employee must provide written proof from an accredited medical institution, physician, or other medical professional that the employee participated in a life-giving procedure.
Any additional time needed for life-giving procedures is subject to University leave policies and collective bargaining agreements. Supervisors may also continue or implement informal, flextime, or other leave arrangements for these purposes.
The University's life-giving procedures leave policy does not create any entitlement or other right which may be converted to cash, other compensation, or any other benefit. The policy is intended only to encourage altruistic life-giving procedures, and to allow paid leave to participate in such procedures.
Supervisors are to arrange faculty and AP employees' working hours on the day of a primary, general, or special election to allow employees reasonable time to vote. (Up to two hours may be allowed.) (RCW 49.28.120)
The supervisor may not deny the use of compensatory time or annual leave for up to two hours on an election day if:
- The employee's work schedule does not include two consecutive free hours during the time the polls are open, and
- The employee was not advised of his/her work schedule in time to obtain an absentee ballot.
Faculty employees may refer to the Faculty Manual for more information about faculty leave without pay availability, restrictions, and procedures. To view the manual, go to:
Administrative professional (AP) employees may be granted up to 12 months of leave without pay upon approval of the appointing authority. An extension for up to an additional 12 months may be granted upon the approval of the appointing authority and the Director of HRS. AP employees refer to the Administrative Professional Handbook, available at the HRS website at:
Select Administrative Professional, then
Select AP Personnel Handbook.
Requesting LWOP
Employees are to submit requests for extended LWOP in writing. Faculty and AP employees follow the procedures in the Faculty Manual and the Administrative Professional Handbook to prepare and route LWOP requests for appropriate administrative approval.
Submit approved LWOP requests to HRS.
Family Medical Leave
If the LWOP request is for the employee's serious medical condition, maternity or parental leave, or to attend to the serious medical condition of a family member, refer to the family medical leave rules. See above.
Leave Accruals While on LWOP
Faculty and AP employees do not earn annual or sick leave while on full leave without pay, i.e., not working any days in a calendar month.
Faculty and AP employees who are on partial LWOP, i.e., working one or more days in a calendar month, accrue annual and sick leave on a prorated basis.
Insurance Benefits
LWOP for a period which is equal to or greater than one calendar month requires personal payment of insurance premiums unless:
- Faculty or AP employee is on approved FML for up to 12 weeks and is paying her or his portion of the premiums (see above), or
- Faculty or AP employee is on disability LWOP and
Faculty or AP employee is using eight hours of paid leave per month to keep benefits in effect for up to four months for her or his own condition; or
Faculty or AP employee is using eight hours of paid leave per month to keep benefits in effect for up to 12 weeks for parental leave.
NOTE: Eight hours of pay may not generate enough pay to cover the employee's portion of the insurance premium. Contact HRS to inquire how much leave must be used each month to cover employee's portion of the insurance premiums.
Contact HRS regarding personal payment of insurance premiums, as needed; telephone 335-4521.
Review the following for more information regarding eligibility for benefits during periods of LWOP:
The University grants leave with pay and LWOP for military leave to employees called to active duty or to take part in any active training duty with any of the armed forces of the United States.
Military Leave With Pay
Paid military leave for an employee is not to exceed 15 working days during each year beginning October 1 and ending the following September 30.
The employee receives paid military leave in addition to any annual or sick leave to which she or he is entitled. Paid military leave is not to result in any reduction in employee benefits, performance rates, privileges, and pay.
Physical Examination
Employees are not charged leave hours for time used to take a physical examination to determine fitness for military service. Employees do not report leave hours taken for this purpose on Time or Leave Reports.
Military Leave Without Pay
If the leave exceeds 15 working days, the University must grant the employee a military leave of absence without pay for service in the uniformed services of the United States or the state, and reinstatement as provided in RCW Chapter 73.16.
Shared Leave During Periods of Military Leave
Refer to 60.58 for information regarding eligibility and application for shared leave during military leave.
Requesting Military Leave
Upon presentation of military orders to the appropriate dean or principal administrative officer, the University grants employees leave with pay and/or leave without pay for active armed forces training duty and active service duty.
An eligible employee may request parental leave for up to 12 weeks for the birth and care of the employee's newborn child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care. (RCW 49.78.030) This leave is in addition to any leave for illness or temporary disability due to pregnancy and/or childbirth.
Contact HRS for additional information regarding parental leave.
Annual faculty and all AP employees are entitled to a personal holiday each fiscal year.
Employees must take all personal holiday hours on one day. EXCEPTION: Employees may take personal holiday hours as a partial day if some of the personal holiday hours are:
Faculty and AP employees are eligible for professional leave. Refer to the written instructions from the Provost's Office and the Faculty Manual for more information.
Earning Sick Leave
Full-time faculty and AP employees earn sick leave at the rate of eight hours per month of completed service. Academic-year employees earn eight hours per month (one working day) for each full calendar month of full-time summer employment.
Qualifying part-time faculty and AP employees earn sick leave based on a percent of full time employment; e.g., half-time employees earn four hours per month of completed service.
Leave Accrual
Employees hired or separated within the month receive leave on a prorated basis. Prorated sick leave is calculated as follows:
Number of days worked number of working days in the month = Fraction
Fraction x 8.00 x %FTE = Sick leave accrual
Employees may accumulate an unlimited number of sick leave hours.
LWOP
Faculty and administrative professional employees accrue sick leave on a prorated basis for portions of months that include leave without pay.
Prior State Service
An employee who transfers from another state of Washington agency without a break in service transfers accrued sick leave hours. See 60.19.
The University restores unused sick leave balances for any state of Washington employee who is reemployed within three years of the termination of prior state employment.
Using Sick Leave
Employees must earn sick leave before it is used.
Employees may use sick leave under the following conditions:
- Illness or temporary disability of the employee or the employee's immediate family.
- Personal medical, dental, or optical appointment or a family member's appointment when the presence of the employee is required.
- Qualified family medical leave. See above.
The University may require medical verification or certfication of the reason for sick leave use.
AP Employees
Only AP employees may use sick leave for condolence or bereavement. See "Emergency Leave" above for additional information.
Use of Sick Leave While on LWOP
An employee may not use sick leave while on leave without pay (LWOP). EXCEPTION: An employee who is on LWOP may schedule sick leave each month for up to four months to maintain eligibility for University-sponsored employee benefits and/or to cover his or her portion of the insurance premiums if the employee is eligible for:
Requesting Leave / Notifying Supervisor
An employee reports inability to work due to illness or disability to her or his supervisor at the beginning of any period of sick leave and daily thereafter unless the employee and the supervisor make other arrangements.
The employee should apply for family medical leave if the need for sick leave usage:
- Causes the employee to miss more than three days of work, or
- Is a chronic condition that requires ongoing treatment or ongoing intermittent treatment.
For application advisory guidelines and more detailed information regarding family medical leave, see the HRS website at:
Select Manager's Toolkit, then
Select Medical Leave Information.
Payment For Accrued Sick Leave
The following two options allow an employee to be paid for accrued sick leave:
At retirement, an eligible employee may either receive benefits from the Voluntary Employee's Benefit Association Medical Expense Plan (VEBA MEP) or receive payment for accrued sick leave. The employee does not personally choose between VEBA MEP or sick leave payment. See 55.49 for more information.
NOTE: Employees who separate from WSU for any reason other than retirement or death are not eligible for payment of accrued sick leave.
Employees are entitled to 96 hours of training release time per year to attend training sessions. See 60.72. Applicable training sessions may include management-assigned Skillsoft online classes.
Training leave is considered time worked for purposes of computing overtime for overtime-eligible employees.
Unauthorized absences are treated as unauthorized leave without pay. Possible ramifications of unauthorized absences are addressed in the Faculty Manual and the Administrative Professional Handbook.
To view the Faculty Manual, go to:
To view the Administrative Professional Handbook, go to the HRS website at:
Select Administrative Professional, then
Select AP Personnel Handbook.
WORK-RELATED INJURY OR ILLNESS
In the event that a faculty or AP employee sustains a work-related injury or illness and is approved to receive workers' compensation from the Department of Labor and Industries, the employee may:
- Receive workers' compensation exclusively, and go on LWOP with WSU;
- Use accrued paid leave for their time off while receiving workers' compensation; or
- Use a combination of LWOP and accrued leave while receiving workers' compensation.
During the first three months in which an employee is off, he or she may use any combination of leave and LWOP.
As of month four, University policy does not allow for an employee to move back and forth from a paid leave to LWOP status. EXCEPTION: An employee who is receiving worker's compensation, is using his or her sick leave, and is participating in the sick leave buy back process. An employee may use any sick leave which he or she has bought back at the beginning of each month, and may continue to do so until her or his sick leave balance is depleted.
For more information regarding sick leave buy back, see the HRS website at:
Select Benefits, then
Select Workers Compensation.See also SPPM S25.27.
Use of Accrued Leave While on Worker's Compensation
For information regarding the implications of using sick leave, annual leave, compensatory time, or holiday pay while on worker's compensation, see SPPM S25.27.
NOTE: An employee may use any combination of leave and LWOP during the first three months he or she is off work. As of month four, any accrued sick leave used must have been purchased back through the sick leave buy back procedure.
For additional information, contact HRS; telephone 335-4521; or go to the HRS website at:
Select Benefits, then
Select Workers Compensation.