Types of Leave for Employees

Vacation leave

Vacation for employees classified as faculty is handled differently from employees in other classifications. Faculty are given the time between academic terms as leave in lieu of accumulating vacation leave.

Eligible staff employees can earn vacation and/or sick leave. Accrual of vacation hours is based on years of service.

Sick leave

All annual employees of the college earn sick leave.

A full-time annual employee who is working or on paid leave for one-half or more of the regularly scheduled workdays in any month earns sick leave computed at the following rates:

• Hours earned monthly: 8 (one day)
• Hours earned annually: 96 (12 days)

A part-time annual employee who is employed on a continuing basis for as much as half-time earns sick leave on a prorated basis if scheduled to work one-half or more of the workdays in a month.

Family and medical leave

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave time per year for family and medical needs. To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must meet the following requirements:

• Worked for the college for at least 12 months
• Worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately prior to the start of the FMLA leave

Civil and military leave 

Civil leave

• Jury duty
  When an annual employee serves on a jury, he or she is entitled to leave with pay for the period of absence required. The employee is entitled to regular compensation plus fees received for jury duty.
• Court attendance
  When an employee attends court in connection with official duties, no leave is required. Fees received as a witness while serving in an official capacity will be turned in to the college. When an employee is required to attend court on a day that he or she would normally be off, the time is to be considered as working time and included in the total hours worked per week.
• When an annual employee is subpoenaed or directed by proper authority to appear as a witness, he or she will be granted civil leave with pay. Any fees received will be turned in to the college. The employee may use vacation rather than take civil leave with pay, in which case he or she may retain any fees received.
  NOTE: An employee who is a party (plaintiff or defendant) to a court proceeding is not considered a "witness," so vacation leave or leave without pay must be used to attend court.

Military leave

• Annual employees who leave the service of the college to be inducted into the armed forces of the United States or are called to federal active duty during time of war or national emergency will be placed on military leave without pay. Such leave will extend through a date not to exceed 90 days after relieved from military service or the end of the first enlistment. Upon application to the college within 90 days of the date of discharge, the employee will be entitled to reinstatement in the same position or one of like seniority status and pay.
• Military leave with pay may be granted for up to 120 working hours (prorated for part-time, annual employees) during the federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30) for any type of active military duty for members not on extended active duty. See FMLA provisions for military leave for more information.

Community service leave

Community service as it pertains to college employees includes the following:

• Meeting with a teacher or school administrator concerning the employee's child
• Attending any school-sponsored function in which the employee's child is participating (nonathletic programs that are a part of or supplement the school's academic or artistic program)
• Volunteer work for a school, another community college, a public university, a community service organization or a state agency that is approved by an administrator or other official or designee

Recognizing the need for volunteers to support schools and other community organizations and the commitment of college employees to volunteer service, community service leave may be granted to employees for the following:

• Parental involvement in children's schools
• Tutoring, mentoring and other volunteer activity in schools or in community service organizations
• Volunteer service in a public university, another community college, a state agency or a community service organization, provided the service is outside an employee's normal scope of duties and no compensation of any kind is received for the service

The following are eligible for community service leave:

• Full-time annual employees (20 hours of leave per year awarded each January 1)
• Part-time annual employees (leave accrues at prorated amount)
• Trainees in full-time and part-time positions

Educational leave

The Board of Trustees may grant educational leave to full-time, annual personnel upon recommendation of the president or designee. Educational leave will be granted only when the best interests of the college are to be served.

Voluntary shared leave

An employee may donate leave to an employee approved to receive voluntary shared leave because of a medical condition of the employee or of a member of the employee's immediate family that will require the employee's absence for a prolonged period.

Eligibility

• To be eligible to receive shared leave the recipient must be earning leave.
• The medical condition must require the recipient employee's absence for at least 20 consecutive workdays. The president or designee may make an exception to the 20-day period if the recipient has had previous random absences for the same condition that has caused excessive absences or if the employee has had a previous, but different, prolonged medical condition within the last 12 months.
• The employee must apply for shared leave.
• The employee must provide medical evidence to support the need.
• If not an employee of the college, the recipient must be approved by the parent agency to participate in the program.
• The employee must have exhausted all sick, vacation and bonus leave.

Detailed information about each leave plan can be found in the Employee Handbook, Chapter 6.