Leave Policies for Academic and Other Non-classified Personnel

Sick Leave Policy (Board Policy 420.3) (Revised May 25, 2023)

Sick leave is a benefit to University employees who are employed half-time or greater and on at least a nine-month appointment.  Eligible full-time (100%) appointed employees earn sick leave at the rate of eight hours for each complete month of service, up to  a maximum annual carryover of 960 hours.  Eligible employees working less than full time accure sick leave in the same proportion to time worked. Sick leave accrues only when an employee is in a paid status and does not accrue while an employee is on leave without pay.

Paid sick leave is not granted as vacation leave and can only be used when (1) the employee is unable to perform the employee’s regular duties because of sickness or injury or (2) for the treatment by or consultation with a licensed health care provider.   

Sick leave may also be granted to employees due to the death or serious illness of a member of the employee’s immediate family. Immediate family shall mean the employee’s parent, sibling, spouse, child (including an adoptive child), grandparent, grandchild, in-law, or any individual acting as a parent or guardian of the employee.

Sick leave may be granted only for a period when the employee is in an appointed status.  For the purpose of this policy, academic employees who are in paid status during the summer term will be considered to be in an appointed status.  For academic employees on less than a 12-month appointment, sick leave that begins during the Spring Semester shall not extendinto the Summer Session and may resume in the Fall semester if the employee is otherwise eligible for sick leave and has received a benefits eligible appointment for the Fall semester.  Absence due to illness or disability, except in case of maternity leave, is charged in the following order:

• Earned sick
• Earned annual
• Leave without

Sick leave may be taken for pregnancy and maternity related health conditions and will be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability except that (1) no health care provider certification will be required for the first four weeks following the birth of the child and (2) the employee taking leave for a pregnancy or maternity related health condition may elect to take leave of absence without pay without exhausting accumulated annual and sick leave.   Upon return from  leave the employee will be given the same or comparable position to the one  occupied prior to the leave. The employee is expected to give the employee’s supervisor as much notice as possible prior to beginning a pregnancy or maternity related health condition and at least two weeks’ notice prior to returning to work. Both notices should be in writing.  See additional information below on parental leave.

Annual Leave (Board Policy 420.1) (Revised May 23, 2024)

Annaul leave is granted to all eligible faculty members on 12-month appointments or one-half time or more, with part-time faculty earning leave in proportion to the time worked.  Eligible faculty members hired or moved into their position before January 1, 2025 shall accure annual leave at the rate of 15 hours per month.  Eligible faculty hired on or after January 1, 2025 shall accure annual leave based on the below accrual schedule:

Annual leave shall not be taken before it is acured.  The use of accured leave may be requested by an employee at any time.  The appropriate supervisor will grant the request when it least interferes with the efficient operation of the department.

Annual Leave is cumulative; however, no employee may have more than 30 days on December 31 of each year. During the calendar year, accrued leave may exceed 30 days, but those days in excess of 30 will be lost if they are not used before December 31 of each year. Accrued annual leave may be requested by an employee at any time.

Annual leave may not be accumulated while an employee is on leave without pay.

An employee whose period of employment is scheduled to be changed from a 12-month basis to a nine-month basis may, within the guidelines of Section IV., take all accrued, unused vacation before the end of the 12-month period, or, within the carryover limits, may reserve accrued annual leave hours for payout upon termination of employment.  Payment for any reserved accrued hours shall be based upon the lesser of the salary on the date of the last hour accrued immediately prior to the change from a 12-month basis to a nine-month basis or the salary at the time of termination of employment. An employment period shall not be extended for the purpose of paying an employee for unused vacation, and neither shall lump-sum terminal payment be made unless an employee terminates employment with the University.

Upon termination of employment in which a person ceases to be an active employee of the University, the amount due to the employee or the employee’s estate from accured annual leave and holiday leave shall be included in the final pay.  See Board Policy 420.1 for additional information on calculation of final payment. 

Military Leave (Board Policy 420.4) (Revised May 21, 2020)

Twelve-month employees who are members of the National Guard or  the Reserve Component of any of the branches of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be granted a maximum of  15 days leave each calendar year for annual training requirements or other duties performed in an official duty status. Such leave shall be granted without loss of pay and in addition to regular  leave time.  Unused portions of military leave will be carried over into the succeeding calendar year with a maximum of 30 military leave days available in any one calendar year.

Nine-month academic and administrative employees are encouraged  to take any needed military leave during the three months they are not under appointment to the University.

Each employee who requests military leave shall furnish a copy of his or her orders to the Provost. An employee who is recalled  to active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States or who volunteers for military service that would exceed the employee’s accumuldated leave shall be placed on extended military leave without pay.  For an employee whose tour of military duty is more than 30 days but less than 181 days, the employee must submit an application for reemployment within 14 days of the effective date of his or her release from active duty. For an employee whose tour of duty exceeds 181 days, the employee must submit an application for reemployment within 90 days of the effective date of his or her release from active duty. Employees who comply with the terms of this policy and the Uniformed Servicemembers Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) shall be reinstated to the position vacated or to an equivalent position at no loss of seniority or any of the other benefits and privileges associated with their employment. An employee who accumulates five years of military absence as defined by USERRA forfeits his/her reemployment rights.   

Military personnel called to duty in emergencies by the Governor or by the President of the United States in emergencies, as defined by A.C.A. § 21-4-212(c), shall be granted leave with pay not to exceed 30 working days after which leave without pay will be granted. This leave shall be granted in addition to regular time but not in addition to regular military leave.  Additionally, employees whose tour of duty exceeds 30 days may be eligible for proportionate salary payments in accordance with A.C.A. § 21-5-1202.

Court and Jury Leave (Board Policy 420.5) (Revised May 25, 2023)

Any employee serving as a juror shall be entitled to full University compensation in addition to any fees paid by the Court for such services.  Such absences shall not be counted as annual leave.

Where service on a jury would substantially interfere with the execution of the University work schedule, the chief administrative officer of the campus may, after consulting with the University’s Office of General Counsel, petition the judge in writing to exempt an employee from such service. However, if an exemption is denied or if no response is received prior to the date jury duty is to begin, the individual must report for jury duty. An employee who is summoned to serve on jury duty shall not be subject to discharge from employment, loss of sick leave or vacation time, or any other form of penalty as a result of his or her absence from employment due to such jury duty, upon giving reasonable notice to his or her supervisor of the summons.  Employees serving as jurors should return to work as soon as their services are no longer needed by the court.

When an employee is subpoenaed as a witness it will be determined through the employee’s administrative chain, in consultation with the Office of the General Counsel, if the employees’ testimony is within the scope of their employment.  Due to the nature of their employment, law enforcement employees may be treated differently.  Employees who are called as witnesses for cases in which their testimony is in the scope of their employment are entitled to their salary with no charge to leave for their absence.  Depositions or statements which involve the University may be taken during duty hours.  Employees who are called as witnesses on matters outside of the scope of their employment shall take annual leave.  Nine-month employees, if subpoenaed to testify on matters not related to the University or their scope of employment, will coordinate the scheduling of testimony with their administrative chain to ensure that the absence does not interfere with their University employment duties and is in keeping with applicable leave policies.  Use of depositions is preferred for non-scope of employment testimony and should be handled during off-duty time or while the employee is in leave status.

An employee who intends to serve as an expert witness in a legal matter must comply with University conflict of interest policies, which require disclosure and review of all possible conflicts of interest and commitments.  This includes the requirement to comply with all applicable outside employment rules, including Board of Trustees Policy 450.1. Outside Employment, which requires prior approval of all outside employment by all full-time faculty and specified staff members.  Employees who are retained by a party or by a court as expert witnesses and paid a fee in excess of the normal witness fee set by statute or court rule shall take annual leave for the time required for such testimony.  Employees who do not accrue leave should coordinate their absence with their administrative chain to ensure no disruption of their University employment duties

Leave of Absence Without Pay (Board Policy 420.6) (Revised May 25, 2023)

The President of the University is authorized to grant leaves of absence without pay for a period not to exceed six months, provided that the President may under special circumstances approve leave without pay for an additional six months.

Educational Development Leave (Board Policy 420.7) (Revised May 21, 2020)

A regularly appointed employee may be granted educational leave by the President of the University on the following basis:

1.   The employee will continue in the service of the University for a period of time as statutorily required or in the absence of a specific law, at least twice the length of his or her course of training.  Any employee who does not fulfill these obligations shall be required to pay to the University the total cost or a proportionate share of the cost of the out-service training and compensation paid during the training period.

2.   A written contract setting forth all terms of the agreement shall be signed by the employee and the President or Chancellor.  The employee shall retain all rights in the position held at the time when the leave was granted or in one of comparable security and pay.

The amount of salary paid during the training period will be agreed upon by the employee and the President or Chancellor but may not in any case exceed the regular salary paid the employee. Payments for tuition, fees, books, and transportation may be made only if such sums have been specifically appropriated by the General Assembly for such purposes. Each campus, division or unit may develop procedures for this purpose.  

Leave for Children’s Educational Activities (Board Policy 420.7) (Revised May 21, 2020)

All full-time employees shall be entitled to eight (8) total hours of leave (regardless of the number of children) each calendar year for the purpose of engaging in and traveling to or from the educational activities of a child. An educational activity is a school-sponsored activity.  For purposes of this policy, child generally means a person enrolled in an educational program for prekindergarten through grade twelve (pre K-12) who is of the following relation to the employee:  natural child; adopted child; stepchild; foster child; grandchild; ward; or any other legal capacity in which the employee is acting as the parent for the child.  Child also includes a person over the age of eighteen (18) who meets the foregoing criteria and has a developmental disability as defined by Arkansas law, or who has declared legally incompetent.

Unused leave may not be carried over to the next year and is not payable to the employee at the time of termination.  

Family and Medical Leave

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), the university provides up to 12 weeks (480 hours) of unpaid leave and job protection per 12-month period per year for employees with qualifying life events, continuation of health benefits during leave, and reinstatement to the same or an equivalent job upon return.

In general, when an employee cannot report to work due to either a personal or family illness for greater than three consecutive working days, they may be eligible for unpaid leave under the FMLA.

Qualifying events include:

• Birth or adoption of a child
• Placement of a child in foster care
• Spouse or an immediate family member with a serious health condition requiring care
• Inability to work due to a serious health condition
• Covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness requiring care if the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin
• Qualifying exigency rising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent is a military member on covered active duty

An employee's spouse, children and parents are immediate family members for the purposes of FMLA. Immediate family member includes a parent, but does not include a parent-in-law. The term son or daughter does not include individuals age 18 or over unless they are incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability limiting one or more major life activities as defined by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Employees are eligible to take FMLA leave if they:

• Were employed by the university for 12 months (does not have to be continuous or consecutive)
• Worked for the university at least 1,250 hours within the previous 12 months (paid leave and unpaid leave, including FMLA leave, is excluded)
• Experienced an FMLA-qualifying event

For the complete text of the policy and procedures regarding Family and Medical Leave and employee and institution responsibilities, see the Human Resources web site https://hr.uark.edu/benefits/leave/fmla.php.  For questions about the policy and procedures, contact an Absence Partner.