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Staff Handbook
Paid and Unpaid Time Off From Work
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Staff Handbook Contents:
-Welcome to the University of Pittsburgh
-Introduction
-Nondiscrimination Policy
-At Will Employment
-Employment Status for Staff Positions
-Wage and Salary Administration
-Paid and Unpaid Time Off From Work
-Benefits Programs
-Retirement From the University of Pittsburgh
-Employee Relations Procedures and Guidelines
-General Policies and Guidelines
-Employee Services
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Paid and Unpaid Time Off From Work:
Sick Time Accrual
Regular full-time staff members accrue sick time at the rate of one paid sick day for each month worked,
irrespective of length of service. If employment begins on or before the 15th of any month, you receive
credit for a full month. If you are regular part-time, you accrue a pro-rated share of the paid sick time.
The rate of accrual is determined by the percentage of effort worked. Sick time is accrued during the
provisional period. However, the maximum number of sick days that can be accrued at any given time is
limited to 120 days. Temporary staff members do not accrue sick time, regardless of the length of the assignment.
Use of Sick Time
Sick time may be used only for health reasons and for family care
obligations and other conditions that have a bearing on physical and mental
welfare. Sick time may be taken for purposes of a family care obligation only
for an obligation caused by a physical or mental health condition of a family
member, or if care for a dependent family member is necessitated by the closure
or delayed start of a care facility or school because of severe weather
conditions. Family members are defined as those for whom leave may be taken
under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Departmental administrators may
request a physician’s certification or other official verification of the
reasons for taking sick time, particularly in cases of chronic, patterned, or
long-term absence. In addition, you may be disciplined if you take more sick
time than that to which you are entitled. In all instances, your pay will be
docked when more sick days are taken than you have accrued.
Sick Leave
A sick leave totaling no more than 120 working days may be granted
for health-related reasons. Your position is guaranteed for no more than 60
working days, absent other legal considerations. When you request a sick leave,
you must submit to your department and the Employee Relations Section of the
Office of Human Resources a physician’s statement or similar verification of
physical condition or circumstances. This statement should include the nature
of the condition or problem that prevents you from performing your duties and
an anticipated date of return. The University may, when appropriate, designate
the leave as FMLA leave. See Policy 07-07-02.
While you are on sick leave, you are paid for the days you have accrued as sick
time, and may also elect to be paid for accrued vacation and for compensatory
time accrued in the current or preceding pay period. You do not accrue paid
vacation or sick time while on sick leave, after your last day at work. At
least five days prior to the date when you are scheduled to return to work, you
must provide a physician’s statement or similar verification of your
suitability to perform your normal duties, including any restrictions. This
statement is provided to your departmental administrator.
If your position is not held open by the department beyond 60 working days, the
Recruiting and Client Services Section of the Office of Human Resources will
attempt to place you in a similar position upon the expiration of the leave.
However, such placement cannot be guaranteed. In all cases, the University has
no liability for either salary or benefits until you are re-employed.
Payment of Accrued but Unused Sick Time
In the event of termination, your final pay will include payment
for unused sick days if certain age and service criteria are fulfilled. If you
are 60 years of age or above and have a minimum 10 years of service or are at
least 55 years of age and have a minimum of 25 years of service at the time of
separation from service, you will receive a special payment based upon the
amount of sick time you have accrued. The payment will be equal to (a)
accumulated sick time multiplied by one-half of the final base pay daily rate,
or (b) $2,500, whichever is less.
For more information, please call the Compensation Section of the Office of Human Resources at 412-624-4072.
Leave Programs
All leaves of absence must be documented by the department administrator on the
Employee Record form for the first available payroll cycle corresponding to your
absence from active work, regardless of whether the leave is paid or unpaid.
Bereavement
Regular Full-Time Employees—Regular full-time staff members
are eligible for a paid leave of five working days in the event of a
miscarriage or stillborn birth, or the death of a spouse, registered domestic
partner (see Policy 07-06-08), child, stepchild, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, parent, stepparent, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, or parent of registered domestic partner.
Bereavement leave associated with funeral services must be taken within seven
calendar days of the death. Any remaining part of bereavement leave necessary
to settle family issues associated with the death may be taken at a later time.
You are eligible for one day of paid leave to attend the funeral of an aunt,
uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, or sister or
brother of a registered domestic partner.
Regular Part-Time Employees—Regular part-time staff members will receive
pay for bereavement leave prorated to the staff member’s percent of effort
worked. These days must be taken within seven calendar days of the death as
defined above.
Holidays
Regular full-time staff members are granted 10 paid holidays each year:
| New Year's Day |
Labor Day |
| Martin Luther King Day |
Thanksgiving |
| Spring Holiday |
Day after Thanksgiving |
| Memorial Day |
Day before Christmas |
| Independence Day |
Christmas Day |
Regular part-time staff members will be paid only for those holidays that fall on regularly scheduled working days.
If you are required to work on holidays, separate compensatory arrangements will be made. Temporary staff members
are not paid for University holidays, regardless of the length of the assignment.
Personal Holidays
Regular full-time staff members are granted two personal holidays
with pay each fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). Personal holidays must be
scheduled in advance with the departmental administrator, according to
departmental practice. Regular part-time staff are granted one personal day
with pay per fiscal year. If you begin your employment from July through
December, you will receive two personal days for that fiscal year; from January
through April, one personal day for that fiscal year; from May through June, no
personal days until the beginning of the next fiscal year. You cannot carry
unused personal days over to the next fiscal year.
Winter Recess
During the period between the end of the fall term and the
beginning of the spring term, the University announces a recess when some
University offices may be closed. The specific recess days are announced in the
Official University Academic Calendar.
Jury Duty and Court Witness
When you are called to serve jury duty or subpoenaed as a court
witness, you must notify your departmental administrator immediately and
provide a copy of the notice or subpoena. Your University pay will not be
reduced by the amount of jury duty or court witness pay that you receive.
Vacation
If you are a regular full-time staff member, you earn paid vacation
time for each month worked at the University. The rate and maximum accumulation
are determined by length of service. If you are a regular part-time staff
member, you may earn and accumulate paid vacation on a prorated basis, based on
your percent of effort. If your effective date of employment is on or before
the 15th of any month or termination date is on or after the 15th of any month,
you will accrue paid vacation for that month.
Vacation cannot be taken before it is earned and must be scheduled and approved
in advance by the departmental administrator. University holidays that fall
during your scheduled vacation period are not considered vacation days. If
maximum accumulation is reached, you will not accrue any more time until days
are used.
Vacation Time Earned
| Length of Service |
Accrual (per Month) |
Maximum Days per Year |
| 0-5 years |
5/6 day (.84) |
10 |
| 6-10 years |
1 1/4 days (1.25) |
15 |
| 11-20 years |
1 2/3 days (1.67) |
20 |
| 21 or more years |
2 1/12 days (2.083) |
25 |
Leave of Absence
You may request general leaves of absence without pay. If granted, these leaves
may not exceed 120 working days. You may not use accrued paid vacation days to
extend the length of the leave beyond 120 days. However, accrued vacation days
may be used during the leave to receive pay. Any such arrangements must be
approved by the departmental administrator.
To initiate a request for an unpaid leave, you must first discuss the reasons
for requesting a leave with your departmental administrator. The departmental
administrator will discuss the circumstances with the Employee Relations
Section of the Office of Human Resources. If it is determined that a leave is
warranted, you will be notified by your departmental administrator. The
University may, when appropriate, designate a leave as a Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) leave.
While on leave, you do not accrue vacation or sick time. Should you fail to
return from a leave at the agreed-upon time, you are considered to have
voluntarily resigned and lose all employment rights. Insurance benefits are not
suspended while you are on a leave of absence. However, the cost of any
benefits will be borne by you in the same manner as prior to the leave. Any
arrangements for continuance of benefits must be made prior to the leave by
contacting the Benefits Section of the Office of Human Resources.
Military Leave
The University grants military leave and re-employment rights to eligible staff,
pursuant to applicable federal and state law.
For more information, contact the Employee Relations Section of the Office of Human Resources.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The University provides family and medical leaves of absence in accordance with
the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Regular full-time and
part-time staff members who have worked for the University for at least 12
months and have been employed at least 1,250 hours during the preceding
12-month period are eligible for this benefit.
Eligible staff members are entitled to up to 12 work weeks of leave without pay
during any 12-month period for the birth, adoption, or care of a newborn child
or placement of a foster child with the staff member, the care of a seriously
ill family member, or because of the staff member’s own serious health
condition. Family members include parents, biological or adopted children, or
spouse. The term parent refers to a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a
stepparent, or a legal guardian. Child means a biological, adopted, or foster
child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco
parentis, who is either under age 18, or age 18 or older and “incapable
of self-care” as defined pursuant to FMLA regulations.
The University requires eligible staff members to use accumulated sick days
concurrently with approved FMLA leave. Accrued sick days must be exhausted
before other accumulated time may be used to extend salary continuation during
an approved FMLA leave. The University may require staff members to submit a
medical certification from their healthcare provider. Failure to submit a
certification in a timely manner will result in absence without approved leave,
thereby jeopardizing the staff member’s employment status.
For more detailed information, contact the Employee Relations Section of Human Resources and see
Policy and Procedure 07-07-02.
Release Time
Career-Related Development Workshops/Seminars—Release time for career-related
development programs may not exceed eight hours per term. Additional time for
attendance at such programs—which would have to be otherwise accounted for
(e.g., personal days, compensatory time, etc.)—may be granted at the discretion
of the department. Supervisors will ordinarily grant release time for regular
full-time and regular part-time staff members at all levels to attend pertinent
noncredit career and/or personal development courses and workshops administered
through the Office of Human Resources. Your supervisor must sign the Faculty
and Staff Development Program Registration form to authorize you to attend the
sponsored workshops/seminars. Temporary full-time and temporary part-time staff
members are not eligible for release time.
University Service and Development—SAC
All regular full-time and regular part-time staff members are encouraged to
attend Staff Association Council (SAC) Spring and Fall Assembly Meetings or
other special SAC events. Although release time ordinarily is granted for these
meetings or events, it should be noted that release time is granted at the
discretion of the staff employee’s supervisor. It is essential that the work
areas remain operational during any SAC event.
SAC elected and/or appointed members, including officers and chairs, will be
granted two hours per month to attend regularly scheduled SAC meetings.
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SAC officers and chairs will be granted an additional two hours per month to
attend the Steering Committee meeting each month as well as any additional
period of time required to fulfill the objectives of their elected/appointed
position(s), with prior notification and mutual consent of their respective
supervisors.
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Individual SAC elected and/or appointed members will be granted additional
release time with written notification to and permission from the appropriate
supervisor to attend related University committee meetings as they occur,
provided total release time for SAC or SAC-related activities does not exceed
six hours per month.
- Temporary full-time and temporary part-time staff members are not eligible for release time.
Note: In September of each year, the Office of Human Resources will notify
immediate supervisors of the responsibilities of newly elected and/or appointed
SAC members. A copy of these guidelines will be included for reference by the
respective department management.
Faculty and Staff Development Program
You are encouraged to attend workshops listed in the Faculty and Staff Development Program. Departments
are also encouraged to arrange for staff members who work together to participate in training together. A
variety of workshops is offered by the Office of Human Resources to you and/or your department.
Topics Include:
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- Human Resources Development Track
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- University Business and Financial Services for Supervisors
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Brochures describing workshops and registration information are mailed to all
staff.
Further information on workshops may be accessed at www.hr.pitt.edu/benefits/fsap.htm
or by calling 412-624-8046.
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