DISTRIBUTION:
ANEXT REVIEW DATE: August, 1996
POSITION RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEW: Director, Business Operations
PURPOSE: To establish a policy and procedures for administering absences from work.
BACKGROUND: Staff members have the use of various forms of absence from work. REFERENCE 1 documents those benefits in detail for those who are not represented by Local 29, and refers readers interested in further information to additional sources of policy and procedural guidance. REFERENCE 2 documents the absences provided for staff members represented by Local 29.
In both REFERENCES, the available forms of absence serve specific goals and therefore are not subject to the same administrative guidelines, particularly as regards unused absences, and taking absences in excess of a currently available allotment. FMS recognizes that the different programs serve different purposes, and accordingly observes these limitations in its administration of absences from work.
For FMS, the procedures to implement those policies include the need to obtain appropriate approval in advance for a planned absence, and in certain cases, to document the intended duration of the absence, the reason for the absence, and the conditions of an absent staff member's return to work.
POLICY: FMS policy is to administer and keep records of absences from work that comply fully with REFERENCES 1 and 2, and that meet the needs of the department. The goal of this policy is to create a work environment that allows the maximum opportunity for productivity and the capacity to accommodate personal needs.
PROCEDURES: FMS applies the following procedures in its administration of absences from work:
1. Approvals
1.1. The general rule for any absence from work is to obtain written approval in advance from the appropriate person in FMS, normally an immediate supervisor. FMS recognizes several exceptions to this general rule:
1.1.1. Holiday absences generally do not require approval in advance; however, an absence using a floating holiday (except between the first and second semesters) requires approval in advance. For staff members in Local 29, an absence on a holiday that is a regularly scheduled work day, and an absence using a personal day, each requires approval according to the general rule.
1.1.2. By their nature, emergency absences, including absences for illness, cannot be approved in advance; however, the staff member who is absent for such a reason has the obligation to make a timely report of the nature of the absence to the appropriate person in FMS, normally the immediate supervisor.
1.2. The approval of a request for an absence from regular work depends on several circumstances:
1.2.1. The work requirements facing the office or shop where the staff member works.
1.2.2. The process by which absences are allocated or selected in the office or shop, e.g., by seniority.
1.2.3. The requester's record of absences.
1.3. In approving a request for an absence, the supervisor considers other matters, depending on the kind of absence being sought.
1.3.1. For PTO: The requester's available balance of time for compensable absences.
1.3.2. For disability leave: The requester's employment eligibility; the expected duration of the absence; the requester's intent to return to work at the end of the leave; the requester's understanding that the leave plan needs to be reviewed with the Benefits office.
1.3.3. For bereavement leave: Items in 1.3.2.; and the stated purpose of the leave.
1.3.4. For family leave, personal leave, military leave, and jury duty leave: Items in 1.3.2. and 1.3.3.; and the requester's understanding that such leaves are either unpaid or paid conditionally.
2. Records. Staff members submit written requests to document their absences. Supervisors maintain current information on absences taken by the people they supervise, including approval letters, dates, durations, purpose and supporting documentation, plans to return to work, and evidence of continuing eligibility for the leave status where it maintains the employment relationship. Specifically, supervisors retain the following records of the absences of the people they supervise:
2.1. For PTO: Records of PTO days earned, used, and current remaining balances.
2.2. For disability leave: Records of the conditions of the absence, including records of referrals to human resources/benefits for applicable arrangements, and records of medical approvals to return to work, where medical advice also supported the absence.
2.3. For personal leaves for participation in educational or training programs: Records of program participation, and of acceptable performance.
2.4. For jury duty leave: Copies of the summons or subpoena, and evidence of pay received for service as a juror or witness, which the staff member remits to the university in exchange for continued regular pay.
2.5. For bereavement leave: Records of the date of death and of the staff member's immediate family relationship to the deceased person.
2.6. For military leave: Records of orders to regular or reserve active duty or active duty for training, recording the intended duration of the tour of duty.
3. Returning to work. FMS holds positions open for staff members to return to work during an absence of not more than twelve (12) weeks, based on the standard in REFERENCE 1 for disability leaves and for family and medical leaves. Specific variances from that standard are as follows:
3.1. For holidays and PTO, and for military, jury duty, and bereavement leaves: FMS holds positions open unconditionally for staff members to return to work.
3.2. For personal leaves: FMS holds positions open according to the terms of the written agreement with the staff member. Consistent with REFERENCE 1, FMS regards a staff member who fails to return to work according to the terms of that agreement, and fails to make alternate arrangements in advance, in writing, as having resigned on the last day of work before the leave began.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Staff members are responsible for requesting absences, where required, for providing documentation of the purpose of the absence and of continued eligibility for it, as applicable, and for making necessary arrangements with their supervisors and with HR-Benefits for the terms of their absences.
2. Supervisors are responsible for receiving, acting upon, and retaining requests for absences, for keeping records of the purpose of the absence and of the eligibility of the requester to leave work and to return to work, for developing suitable written terms and conditions for the leave, where needed, and for referring the requester to HR-Benefits for assistance with applicable arrangements for the absence.
REFERENCE(S):
1. Human Resources: A Guide, effective September 1, 1994
2. AGREEMENT between CMU and SEIU Local 29, dated February 10, 1994
3. FMS Directive No. 222, Educational and Training Program Participation
4. FMS Directive No. 202, Administration of Work Time
5. FMS Directive No. 204, Severe Weather/Emergencies policy
6. CMU policy memo on Temporary Emergency Closing of the University, dated October 24, 1994
CANCELLATION(S): None
SIGNATURE:
Gary E. Robinson
Director, Business Operations
ATTACHMENT(S): None