Procedure:     Leaves With and Without Pay
Department:      Human Resources
Contact:            Dennis Carr, 463-5583         carrd@lanecc.edu

Paid Leave

Paid leave benefits are provided according to the terms of the appropriate collective bargaining agreement or the management working conditions document, except as noted otherwise below under "Sick Leave Accrual for Non-bargaining Unit Employees".

Certain categories of paid leave are accrued (or earned) by employees on a monthly basis.  Accrued leave is not available for use until the first of the month following the month in which it is accrued.  Leave that is granted is available for use at the beginning of the fiscal year.  A monthly summary of leave balances is provided to employees by Human Resources.  Leave balance information is also available on-line to HP3000 users.

Questions about the accrual and usage of paid leave should be referred to a Human Resources representative.

Sick Leave Accrual for Non-bargaining Unit Employees

Employees hired before 7/1/00, who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement may continue to accrue sick leave or establish eligibility for sick leave accrual after that date.  Such employees are grandfathered under a past practice that allowed sick leave accrual for employees in PERS-eligible positions.  Non-bargaining unit employees hired after 6/30/00 are not eligible for sick leave accrual.

Unpaid Leave

Unpaid leave is available to employees according to the collective bargaining agreement or working conditions document for that group or as provided by state law.

Questions about the types and use of unpaid leave should be referred to a Human Resources representative.

Approval for Short-term Leaves

Requests for short-term leaves should be reviewed and acted upon by the department administrator according to the guidelines provided in the appropriate agreement or law.

Approval for Long-term Leaves

All unpaid leaves (and paid leaves except vacation and faculty and management professional development leaves) in excess of 10 consecutive working days are considered to be long-term leaves and require review and approval beyond the department administrator level.  A Request for Leave of Absence Form is available in Human Resources for this purpose and should be routed by the department administrator as indicated on the form.

Approval for Medical Leaves

Employees requesting paid or unpaid medical leave in excess of 10 working days must provide a doctor's statement before the leave can be approved.  An Injured/Illness Employee Status Report Form is available in Human Resources for this purpose.  At the end of the medical leave, a physician's release is required before the employee can return to work.  Department administrators should not allow employees to return to work following a medical leave without a statement from the physician releasing the employee to return to work and clearly explaining any activity restrictions.   Human Resources staff are available to help department administrators talk to physicians about the medical status of employees on medical leave.

Department administrators are asked to notify Human Resources when an employee's short-term sick leave needs to be extended into a long-term medical leave so that arrangements can be made for the employee to sign a leave request form.

Failure to Obtain Approval for Use of Leave

Department administrators are asked to contact Human Resources when an employee takes an unauthorized leave of absence.   In certain situations, disciplinary action may be appropriate.

Reporting Leaves

All short and long-term leaves taken by employees should be reported on the Leave Record Form submitted to Human Resources at the end of the month.  The department head is responsible for reviewing the Leave Record forms for all department employees and certifying that they reflect actual leave usage during the month.

Leave Balances

Leave balances (accruals minus usage) are reported to the employee and the department administrator monthly after the department's Leave Record forms are submitted to Human Resources and recorded.  Questions about the monthly report should be referred to a Human Resources representative.