Employees may be granted personal leave, pregnancy disability leave, family and medical leave, supplemental family and medical leave, work incurred disability leave, or curtailment leave. A leave of absence shall not extend beyond a predetermined separation date.

Partial-Year Career positions are positions with regularly scheduled periods (furloughs), not to exceed three months in each calendar year, during which the incumbents remain employees but are not at work. Periods on furlough are without pay.

II. Related Policies, Contract Articles and References

1. Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM)-employees not covered by representation
   
   
   • Absence from Work Policy
     
     
2. Contract Articles - employees covered by representation

III. Authority

A Unit Head may approve a leave without pay up to one year. Principal Officer approval is required for a leave of absence exceeding one year.

IV. Criteria

Furlough:
The scheduled periods during which employees in partial-year career positions are not at work shall be designated as furloughs. Periods on furlough are without pay.

Personal Leave:
An employee in a career position may be granted a personal leave without pay, but in granting the leave, the best interests of the University as well as the interests of the employee shall be considered. Personal leaves may be granted for reasons such as extended illness; need to provide care for members of the family; or education which will directly increase job effectiveness. In special situations, a personal leave for temporary employment outside the UCSC campus may be approved provided that the outside work is in the interest of public service and/or will be beneficial to the University upon the employee’s return.

Pregnancy Disability Leave:
An employee disabled from working because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is eligible for and, upon request of the employee, shall be granted a leave of absence for up to four months during the period of disability.

Family and Medical Leave:
Family and medical leave is provided for an eligible employee’s serious health condition, the serious health condition of the employee’s child, spouse, same- or opposite-sex domestic partner, or parent, or to bond with the employee’s newborn, adopted, or foster care child in accordance with State and Federal law in effect at the time the leave is granted.

Parental Leave:
Parental Leave is a form of Family Care/Medical Leave to care for the employee's newborn or a child placed with the employee for adoption or foster care. Such leave must be initiated and concluded within the twelve (12) months following the birth or placement of the child.

Supplemental Family and Medical Leave:
If the need for a family and medical leave that is in progress continues beyond 12 workweeks, a regular status employee in the PPSM program shall be entitled to an additional 12 workweeks of supplemental leave subject to criteria listed in policy.

Work-incurred Disability Leave:
An employee who is off pay status and receiving temporary disability payments under the Worker’s Compensation Act may be granted a leave without pay for all or part of the period during which such temporary disability payments are received, except that an employee who also is eligible for family and medical leave shall be granted leave pursuant to this policy.

Curtailment Leave:
Leave without pay may be granted when the University, elects to curtail its operations on a location-by-location basis for periods of specific duration, including but not limited to periods of time for energy/cost savings; transitional, seasonal, or holiday periods in the academic calendar; or the occurrence of emergency situations that adversely affect normal University operations. Up to three days of an unpaid curtailment leave shall be considered time on pay status for the purpose of accruing vacation credits and sick leave.

Use of Paid Leave:
An employee may elect to substitute accrued vacation and/or accrued compensatory time off for leave without pay. For the purpose of curtailment leave, employees with insufficient vacation accrual balances may use up to three days of vacation credits prior to their actual accrual.

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