Leave of Absence

A leave of absence is an unpaid, authorized, temporary absence from the payroll. When an employee requests a leave, the supervisor acts to initiate the leave process. Leave is granted by the University to guarantee employees continued employment and to protect certain benefits.

University Leave and FMLA

It is the policy of the University to provide family care and medical leave to eligible employees in accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). In cases where employees are eligible for both University leave and FMLA leave, that leave time will run concurrently. In no event will an employee’s entitlement be less than what employees are eligible for under FMLA. For more information, see Family and Medical Leave.

Illness/Disability Leave

If an employee's illness, injury, or disability continues after an employee has exhausted his or her available paid sick days, he or shemay request to be placed on illness/disability leave.

To be eligible for an illness/disability leave of absence, the disability must be covered by New York State Disability or Workers’ Compensation.

An employee may request an illness/disability leave for up to three months, and apply for an extension of up to three additional months if the disability continues.

A leave of absence that lasts longer than two weeks requires the advance approval of the Vice President for Human Resources, and the employee’s supervisor must report it on a Reemployment/Status Change(s) form.

A leave of two weeks or less may be approved by the person to whom the employee reports. Supervisors should indicate an "L" on the employee's time sheet for each day of leave.

Disability leave resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, and/or the recovery period is treated like any other disability. Typically, for a normal birth with no complications, the doctor may consider the employee disabled for a week or two before the birth and six weeks postpartum. For a cesarean delivery, the postpartum recovery period will usually be extended to eight weeks.

For Service staff (codes 107/117) covered by a collective bargaining agreement, please refer to the appropriate contract for all information about illness/disability leave. For Service staff (codes 107/117) not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, please contact the Employee Relations Office.

Child Care Leave

For Office (codes 106/116) and Technical (codes 104/114) staff: If an employee has at least one year of continuous service, he or she will be granted, upon request, a leave of absence without pay not to exceed forty-five calendar days to take care of a dependent child or registered domestic partner’s dependent child. Up to 45 days of additional leave of absence for child care may be taken without pay, provided the total amount of time away from work, counting both illness leave and child care leave, does not exceed 135 calendar days. This child care leave may be taken immediately following illness leave taken in connection with the birth of the child, or within 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. Child care leave of up to 12 weeks duration may be taken in each rolling 12-month period.

Personal Leave

For Office (codes 106/116) and Technical (codes 104/114) staff: Grants of personal leave are discretionary with the University, must be approved by the School/Unit's Human Resources Officer and are not subject to the grievance and arbitration provisions of the Local 3882 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

For Administrative and Professional staff (codes 100/110): An employee may request a leave of absence of up to three months for personal reasons, including child care for newborn or newly adopted children. This type of leave is granted at the discretion of the person to whom the employee reports, who must obtain the approval of the School/Unit's Human Resources Officer.

For Service staff (codes 107/117) covered by a collective bargaining agreement, please refer to the appropriate contract for all information about personal leave. For Service staff (codes 107/117) not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, please contact the Employee Relations Office.

Conditions Applicable to All Leaves

Failure to return to work on the first working day after the leave of absence expires constitutes grounds for separation on that date.
If the employee wishes to return to work at the University at any time beyond the first working day after the leave expires, he or she will be treated as a new applicant, and all prior seniority will be lost.
Working at other employment while on leave constitutes grounds for termination.

Benefits During Leaves of Absence

Certain benefits can be continued during a leave (for codes 100/110, 104/114, 106/116), as described below. If an employee plans to take a leave of absence, it is his or her responsibility to contact the Benefits Office to arrange for continuation of benefits. For more information, see the corresponding benefits publication or contact the Benefits Office.

For Service staff (codes 107/117) covered by a collective bargaining agreement, please refer to the appropriate contract for all information about benefits during leaves. For Service staff (codes 107/117) not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, please contact the Employee Relations Office.

Insurance	NYU will continue its contributions to an employee’s health, dental, and life insurance coverage while an employee is on leave. If he or she currently has coverage that requires an employee contribution, he or she must continue to make that contribution. If employee contributions are not made, the benefit will be terminated and will not be able to be reinstated.
Social Security	Because an employee is not paid while on leave, no Social Security taxes are paid during that time. Eligibility for Social Security Disability or Retirement benefits depends on the number of quarters an employee has worked and paid Social Security taxes; an employee's eligibility for those benefits could be affected by a leave.
Sick Time	If you are out on a paid or unpaid leave of absence, you do not continue to accrue sick pay time until you are actively back at work. Once you are actively back at work you will begin to accrue additional sick time. However, this new time cannot be used to pay for unpaid time from a former leave. It can only be used for illness that occurs after your return from leave.
Vacation	An employee earns vacation credit for any month in which he or she receives 15 or more days of full pay.
Holidays	An employee is not paid for any holiday(s) which occur during his or her leave of absence. If a holiday falls on the first working day after the expiration date of a leave, the employee is not paid for the holiday. His or her pay will resume on the first day the employee physically returns to work.
Tuition Remission	An employee may not use his or her individual employee tuition remission privileges while on leave. During leave, an employee’s spouse and/or dependent children who are enrolled in a degree program may continue to use tuition remission toward the completion of a degree.
Retirement Plan (Administrative and Professional, codes 100/110)	NYU will suspend its contributions to the Retirement Plan during an employee’s leave of absence and resume them when he or she returns. He or she will retain the amount already in the account during the leave and it can continue to earn interest and/or dividends. Note: If an employee has been disabled for six months or more, is receiving long-term disability benefits, and is a participant in the NYU Retirement Plan, the Monthly Annuity Premium Benefit feature of the Group Total Disability Plan will make continued contributions to the NYU Retirement Plan. The benefit pays 10% of the first $400 of the employee's monthly base salary, plus 15% of the monthly base salary above $400. (Monthly base salary in this formula is determined by the employee's monthly base salary at the time he or she becomes disabled.)

Policies