Applications for leave of absence of not more than seven days should be made to the applicable dean; applications for leave of absence for more than seven days require approval by the Office of the Provost.1

A leave of absence may not be granted to a faculty member who has accepted a tenured appointment elsewhere. As noted above, under “Restriction on Outside Employment,” no one appointed to a tenured or tenure-track faculty position at NYU may simultaneously hold a tenured or tenure-track position elsewhere.

Leaves of absence for faculty performing services and/or payrolled outside of the United States may vary.

Upon return from a leave of absence, a faculty member’s salary will be the salary at the time of leave plus any annual merit increase for which they might have been eligible.  Such eligibility is determined by the school in accordance with University guidelines.

Leave without Pay for Professional Activities

Tenured/ Tenure Track Faculty and Full-Time Continuing Contract faculty are eligible for Leave without Pay (LWOP) for Professional Activities pursuant to the Guidelines for Personal Leave without Pay for Professional Activities.2

Approval by Dean and by Provost: The Provost delegates authority to deans and directors of institutes (“deans”) to approve LWOP for up to one year (two consecutive semesters) for faculty who do not hold a tenured or tenure-track faculty position elsewhere. Dean’s approval shall be conditional on receiving sufficient lead-time to accommodate the absence by a suitable replacement and to provide advance notification to students that the faculty member will not be in residence in a particular semester.

Approval by the Provost is required for a LWOP for more than two consecutive academic semesters; and for extension of an existing LWOP that would bring the total time away to more than two consecutive academic semesters. Extended LWOP may be approved on an exceptional basis, typically to permit public service in the national interest. No commitments can be made to faculty prior to Provostial approval.

Grounds for Awarding LWOP for Professional Activity: LWOP may be granted to enable faculty to pursue professional activities that are judged to be appropriate for the faculty member and the University. Typically, LWOP is granted to permit faculty to

1. Accept temporary full-time assignment in public service. 

2. Engage temporarily in full-time outside professional activities, such as but not limited to a fellowship or research award requiring residency elsewhere, a visiting appointment to conduct research at another university, a start-up company, or an artistic activity.

3. Accept a visiting appointment at another university pending that university’s review for tenure; in such cases, LWOP is for one semester only.

Permit a recurring split appointment with another university, under an NYU approved written agreement; typically, LWOP is for every other semester

LWOP is granted with the understanding that

1. Time toward sabbatical does not accrue while faculty are on LWOP and not carrying out full time service as members of the faculty.

2. For tenure-eligible faculty, LWOP for professional activities does not interrupt the tenure clock. 

3. For the duration of the LWOP, the faculty member will not hold a tenured position or a tenure track position (or the equivalent at foreign institutions) other than at NYU. Tenured faculty who are considering a tenure appointment elsewhere may accept a visiting appointment, with tenure remaining in place at NYU. 

4. At the end of the leave, the faculty member will either return to full-time status at NYU for no less than one year, or will resign their NYU faculty position.

New York Paid Sick Leave

Full-time faculty at NYU in New York receive 56 hours (8 days) of paid sick leave per academic year in accordance with applicable New York State and New York City law.  Unused, accrued paid sick time will carry over from one academic year into the next; however, the maximum use of paid sick leave is 56 hours (8 days) per academic year.  This paid sick leave runs concurrent with any paid illness/disability leave or other applicable leave for which faculty may be eligible.

Illness/Disability Leave

The salary of a Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty or a Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty member may be continued for up to six months at the discretion of the dean, for absence caused by illness or disability, subject to approval by the Office of the Provost.

A physician’s statement certifying that the faculty member is unable to work because of illness or disability and the date on which it is anticipated that the faculty member can return to work may be required. The University, in addition, may require that the faculty member be examined by a physician designated by the University at no cost to the faculty member.

A Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty or a Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty member who is totally disabled for more than six consecutive calendar months may claim benefits under New York University’s long-term disability insurance.

Time toward sabbatical does not accrue during illness/disability leave. For Tenure-Track Faculty, the tenure clock may be stopped for personal reasons, as provided in the NYU guidelines for Tenure Clock Stoppage for Personal Reasons.

Legally, an absence caused by inability to work because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions must be treated at least as favorably as an absence caused by illness or disability for all employment-related purposes.

Child Birth Recovery Leave

At the time a Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty member or Continuing Contract Faculty member gives birth, the faculty member is entitled to an aggregate of six consecutive weeks of paid leave preceding and following the date of birth. No certification by a doctor will be required for child birth recovery leave unless the request for leave extends beyond six weeks. If the leave extends beyond six weeks, the faculty member may be eligible for illness/disability leave.

Workload Relief Policy

(Approved by the University Senate March 1, 2007 and updated on November 6, 2023)

In order to provide relief to eligible Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty or Full-Time Continuing Contract faculty members faced with the additional demands of being a care-giver to a newborn child, newly adopted child, new foster care or guardianship placement, or newly-established legal custodial care, New York University’s workload relief policy grants one semester of workload relief from classroom teaching and administrative committee work or two semesters of half relief from such duties, based on the individual’s normal yearly workload, at full salary. Workload relief is intended to provide relief from normal duties. Faculty members should not be expected to “make up” duties in advance of or following the workload relief (for example, to teach extra courses in advance of or after the workload relief period). Rather, faculty on workload relief should be relieved of normal duties during the workload relief period. Workload relief is not considered a leave as faculty members are expected to make themselves available to the extent reasonable and practicable for their customary responsibilities of research, student consultation, and advising.

The faculty member’s school remains financially responsible for the faculty member’s salary during the workload relief period. Please see the Workload Relief Form for details.

Eligibility.  Individuals eligible for workload relief benefits include all Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty and Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty. To qualify for workload relief, the faculty member must be a parent responsible for the care of a newborn child, newly adopted child, new foster care or guardianship placement, or newly-established legal custodial care. If both parents could be eligible under this policy because they are both eligible full-time faculty, each such eligible faculty member could qualify sequentially for a half semester if the designation of qualifying parent changed, but the total amount of workload relief would not increase. To be eligible for workload relief, a parent must be a Tenured-Tenure Track or Continuing Contract faculty who as a parent is the caregiver for at least 20 hours during the workweek.  Workload relief is not available to parents whose child is cared for more than half time during the work week by a spouse/partner and/or someone other than the individual receiving the relief.

In the case of a birth parent, workload relief will follow any child birth recovery leave taken.  Workload relief will normally occur in the semester in which the adoption, foster care or guardianship takes place. If these events occur between semesters when classes are not in session, the first semester of the workload relief typically will be the following semester.

In the case of childbirth, at least five months before the start of the first semester of relief, a faculty member wishing to utilize workload relief for parenting should inform their department chair by filling out a Workload Relief Form, certifying that they are the qualifying caregiver and stating their intentions to take one (1) full semester or two (2) half semesters of relief. The form should be submitted to the person responsible at the faculty member’s school for processing the request as listed on the Workload Relief contact sheet. Details of the workload relief arrangement must be decided in consultation with the department chair or, in schools without departmental organization, with the dean. In the case of adoption, foster care or guardianship, the faculty member should alert the department chair or dean as early as possible.

With respect to Tenure Track Faculty, tenure clock stoppage will be granted in accordance with the NYU guidelines on Tenure Clock Stoppage for Personal Reasons.

The one full semester of workload relief or two half semesters of workload relief will count as credit toward a faculty member’s sabbatical leave. (See below, Tenure Clock Stoppage for Personal Reasons.)

This policy is not intended to replace leave available to faculty members who are eligible for leave for the birth of a child, an adoption, or foster care placement under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”)  as amended effective January 2010. FMLA will run concurrently with workload relief as either intermittent or reduced workload leave. An FMLA certification must be completed and submitted with the Workload Relief Form to determine FMLA eligibility. Eligible faculty members may still elect to take unpaid FMLA leave if they wish to provide no service while providing care for their newborn child, newly adopted child, or foster care or guardianship placement.

Parental Bonding Leave

Active full-time faculty whose titles fall in the category of “Other Faculty” (as described under Faculty Titles in this Faculty Handbook) may be eligible for parental bonding leave under NYU’s Parental Bonding Leave Policy and Procedure.

Personal Leave

Personal leave without pay may be granted at the discretion of the dean for a variety of reasons, including those cited below. Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty and Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty may be granted one or more full semesters of leave without pay for compelling personal reasons, such as care of a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, or registered domestic partner. Leave by either parent for the purpose of taking care of a child or related activities, as distinguished from inability to work because of pregnancy or childbirth, is treated as personal leave.

Faculty members are entitled to all provisions of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 that are not specifically provided for herein.

Time toward sabbatical and service toward retirement does not accrue during a personal leave without pay. For Tenure-Track Faculty, the tenure clock may be stopped for up to one year in the case of a personal leave of absence.       

Benefits During Leave of Absence

During a leave of absence, benefits may be affected. PeopleLink should be contacted for details regarding how to continue benefit coverage and the length of time for which benefits may be continued. It is a faculty member’s responsibility to contact PeopleLink to arrange for continuation of benefits.

1 Information on Eligibility for Leaves for Faculty may be found online.

2Guidelines and application forms for Personal Leave without Pay for Professional Activities may be found online or directly at this site and this site.