Benefits-Eligible Other Academic Appointees
Paid Sick Leave (for yourself or to care for someone else)
If you are a benefits-eligible Other Academic Appointee (OAA) you will receive 40 hours (5 workdays) of Paid Sick Leave per calendar year (i.e., each January through December) for any of the purposes described below. You must use your Paid Sick Leave concurrently with FMLA leave, if applicable. Absences of less than one full day are not deducted from a benefits-eligible OAA’s Paid Sick Leave allotment. As noted above, 40 hours (5 workdays) of Paid Sick Leave are allocated each January 1. A maximum of 80 hours of Paid Sick Leave will carry over from year to year. Paid Sick Leave is not paid out at the end of your employment.
Uses of Sick Leave
Paid Sick Leave may be used for absences for the OAA’s own injury, illness, medical care, treatment, diagnosis, or preventive medical care. It may also be used for absences due to a Family Member’s (as defined below) illness, injury, medical care, treatment, diagnosis, or preventive medical care. OAAs may also use Paid Sick Leave if they or a Family Member is a victim of domestic violence or a sex offense, if they need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or if the OAA’s workplace is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
For the purposes of this policy, “Family Member” means an OAA’s child, legal guardian, ward, spouse, domestic partner, parent, spouse’s or domestic partner’s parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. A child includes not only a biological relationship, but also a relationship resulting from an adoption, step-relationship, and/or foster care relationship, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis under applicable law. A parent includes a biological parent, foster parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child. Please note that this definition of “Family Member” does not apply to any other University policy, except where stated.
In addition to Paid Sick Leave, OAAs receive 40 hours of Discretionary Paid Leave pursuant to the Discretionary Paid Leave and Vacation Policy for Other Academic Appointees. Discretionary Paid Leave must be used concurrently with FMLA leave. If the OAA has available Paid Sick Leave that is applicable, the OAA’s Paid Sick Leave will be applied prior to available Discretionary Paid Leave days.
Short-Term Disability
Short-Term Disability (STD) is a benefit provided by the University that provides OAAs with 12 weeks of income replacement if they have an illness or disability that prevents them from performing essential University obligations. If the OAA has Paid Sick Leave or Discretionary Paid Leave available, Paid Sick Leave and/or Discretionary Paid Leave must be used concurrently with STD, and the OAA will be paid full salary as usual while Paid Sick Leave and/or Discretionary Paid Leave days are applied (“Fully Paid Period”). Available Paid Sick Leave will be applied prior to available Discretionary Paid Leave. After the Fully Paid Period is exhausted, the OAA will normally be paid at 60% of the OAA’s base salary (minus deductions for taxes, benefits, etc.) with benefit continuity, with a maximum of 12 weeks total from the date of the OAA’s first absence.
All benefits-eligible Other Academic Appointees (OAAs) who have worked at the University in a benefits-eligible capacity for at least the six months immediately preceding the illness or disability are eligible for STD; School of Medicine Faculty are covered under the BSD faculty sick leave policy. Visitors are not eligible for STD.
To be eligible for STD, your illness or disability cannot be work-related (see note 2 below) or pregnancy-related (see note 3 below), you must hold a current appointment, and you must be unable to work.
You may receive up to 12 weeks of STD payments. STD does not extend beyond the end of your appointment. The 12 weeks of STD count toward Family and Medical Leave Act leave, if applicable. At all times during your STD leave, you will maintain all benefits in which you are enrolled, provided that you continue to pay your share of applicable premiums. If you have a clinical and/or administrative role in the BSD, then those salary components terminate on day 30.
As soon as it appears that your illness or disability may extend beyond 12 weeks, you must contact your chair or dean, who must then contact the Office of the Provost to discuss your options, including applying for Long-Term Disability (LTD) benefits, and what will happen to your salary and benefits. All STD salary and benefits will be discontinued after the 13th week following your initial absence. If your LTD application is pending and your appointment has not ended, you may request an unpaid leave of absence.
If it is possible to give notice of your STD, as is often the case with planned procedures, please complete the form well in advance of your absence. If you are unable to provide advance notice, you must submit your paperwork within two weeks of your first day of absence, sooner if possible.
Family Medical Leave Act Leave
Short-Term Disability and Sick Leaves count toward leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), if applicable. Further information about the FMLA Policy is available on the Human Resources website here.
Benefits-Ineligible Other Academic Appointees
If you are a benefits-ineligible OAA, you will earn five hours of Paid Sick Leave in every month in which you perform compensable duties, or the University pays you as an academic appointee. Your Paid Sick Leave may be used each calendar year for absences discussed above in the “Uses of Sick Leave” section.
For benefits-ineligible OAAs:
- The Paid Sick Leave year is each January through December.
- Paid Sick Leave accrual is capped at 40 hours per calendar year.
- A maximum of 80 hours of accrued Paid Sick Leave may be carried over from year to year.
- Paid Sick Leave must be used concurrently with FMLA leave and/or STD, if applicable, and is not paid out at the end of employment.
- Absences of less than one full day are not deducted from your accrued Paid Sick Leave. Paid Sick Leave time does not vest and is not paid out at the end of employment.
Long-Term Disability Status
While OAAs are not required to participate in a Long-Term Disability Plan, they are strongly encouraged to purchase the Optional Plan, which has several advantageous features compared to the Basic Plan, or at the very least the Basic Plan. (Contact the Benefits Office for more details.) If the OAA’s inability to fulfill their essential University obligations due to their own illness or disability may extend beyond 12 weeks, the OAA should apply for Long-Term Disability (LTD) promptly as the application submission and review process typically takes up to eight (8) weeks. Individuals are eligible for LTD benefits as of the first day of the month after thirteen (13) consecutive weeks of disability. The University will not continue to pay the OAA’s full salary and benefits after 13 weeks of STD/Sick Leave/FMLA combined have been exhausted, which may come before 13 consecutive weeks of pre-LTD disability if the OAA has already used FMLA time during the previous 365 days. The insurance carrier makes a determination on the application for LTD and may opt to retroactively issue payment to the point that the University ceased paying the OAA’s salary. Thereafter, if approved, the OAA will receive LTD benefits from the LTD carrier and salary payments will cease.
Returning to Work
If an OAA goes on LTD, they may resume their University position within one year of the first day of the short-term disability leave upon a finding by the Office of the Provost, supported by competent medical opinion, and upon recommendation of the chair and the dean or director to the Office of the Provost, that the OAA is again able to fulfill satisfactorily the individual’s University obligations, with or without reasonable accommodations (if applicable and as provided by law). In certain situations, a trial or observation period may be necessary to determine whether the OAA is able to fulfill these obligations satisfactorily. Should the OAA have a term appointment that ends during the period of LTD, the presumption is that the appointment will expire and employment will conclude at the end of the term, pursuant to section 11.2 of the University Statutes, unless an accommodation is requested in advance of the expiration and approved by the Office of the Provost.
Lack of LTD Coverage, Failure to Apply for LTD, or Denial of LTD Benefits
Should the OAA decide not to apply for LTD, the maximum paid leave for inability to perform University obligations due to illness or disability will be thirteen (13) weeks from the first day of leave, and such leave shall count as leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, if applicable. If the OAA lacks LTD coverage, does not apply for LTD, or is denied LTD benefits by the insurance carrier, they may apply for an unpaid Personal Leave of Absence for a period for up to one (1) year from the first date of the short-term disability leave that rendered the OAA unable to perform their essential University obligations. If the OAA remains unable to fulfill satisfactorily the individual’s essential University obligations after that year (with the FMLA leave and short-term disability leave encompassed), the OAA’s appointment at the University may be subject to termination. If the OAA’s term appointment ends in less than 12 weeks, the unpaid Personal Leave of Absence will be coterminous with the remaining portion of the appointment term, and the presumption is that the appointment will expire and employment will conclude at the end of the term, pursuant to section 11.2 of the University Statutes, unless an accommodation is requested in advance of the expiration and approved by the Office of the Provost.
Partial LTD
Should an OAA be partially disabled but still able to perform some of their University obligations, the OAA with the chair, dean, or supervisor will work with the Office of the Provost to determine which accommodations, if any, may be reasonable under the circumstances and whether partial LTD from the insurance carrier is an option for the OAA.
Note:
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Leave rights and obligations of union-represented OAAs may be governed by a collective bargaining agreement.
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Compensation for absences caused by work-related injuries is covered exclusively under the University’s Workers’ Compensation program and as required by law. Get more information on work-related injuries and illnesses.
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Parental leave for OAA is covered under these policies.
Policy effective: 1 April 2010
Last revised: June 30, 2026