Executive Leave

Annual Leave

Annual leave accrues at the rate of 8 hours per pay period (24 days per year). Leave may be accumulated up to 40 days (320 hrs) per calendar year. The maximum leave payout is 240 hours.

During the last pay period of the leave year (December 25 - January 9), leave taken is removed from the leave balance and the carryover limits are applied. After that, the leave accrual for the pay period is credited and available for use on the first day of the new leave year. This means that an employee's starting leave balance may exceed the previous year's carryover limit.

University Sickness/Disability and Paid Dependent Leave Plan

Eligible employees may elect the university sick and disability plan that offers 120 calendar days of paid sick/disability and paid dependent leave. Please note that ORP participants are automatically enrolled in this plan. Employees who use all or any portion of the initial 120 days of paid disability leave during any contract year shall be credited with up to 30 additional days of paid disability leave effective the beginning of each subsequent contract year. All eligible employees may not accumulate or use more than 120 days of paid disability leave during any contract year. 

When employees on 12-month contracts take disability/sick leave for more than ten working days (cumulative) or when they take annual leave, they must report their leave to University Human Resources (available under the “Employee” tab on Banner).

The following kinds of dependent care leave may qualify for up to 120 days of paid leave:

• Care for an ill or injured family member (“family care”);
• Care for the employee's child, including a step-child, under the age of one without regard to illness or injury (“infant care”); and
• Care for the employee's newly adopted child under the age of seven during the first year of adoption without regard to illness or injury (“newly-adopted child care"). Paid leave for family care, infant care or newly-adopted child care leave is available only when the employee is the person who primarily provides for the physical care of the family member, infant or newly-adopted child. When practicable, paid leave for infant care or newly-adopted child care should be taken wholly within one semester. Disability leave associated with pregnancy and dependent care leave may be combined, provided that the total paid leave does not exceed 120 days (per III.D.3.a.).

Eligible employees may not take more than 120 calendar days for sick leave and/or paid dependent care leave.

Access the Faculty Handbook for more information.

Access the Professional Handbook for more information.

New Employee Sick Leave

This leave does not carry over. The following set hours will be initially credited on your first day of employment. Sick leave is credited as 80 hours on January 10 each year.

Employees with reduced appointment receive hours proportionate to the percentage of hours they work in a full 40-hour workweek.

• Example: Employees working 32 hours per week and started during the beginning of the year are entitled to 64 hours (32 / 40 = 80% appointment * 80 hours) of sick leave.

Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP)

If you choose the Virginia Retirement Plan, you may choose to enroll in the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP) rather than the university's sickness and disability plan. VSDP provides eligible employees with income security when they cannot work due to a partial or total disability. The program includes sick, family and personal leave; short-term disability; long-term disability and a long-term care program. VSDP benefits cover non-work related and work related conditions. Employees must satisfy a one year waiting period to be eligible for short-term and long-term disability; as well as long-term care. Only participants who elect VRS as their retirement plan are eligible to participate in the VSDP plan.

Access the VSDP Handbook for more information.

This sickness and disability leave program provides employees supplemental or replacement income during periods of partial or total disability.

Who Is Covered

Effective January 10, 2003, all active employees were converted to VSDP unless they opted out. (Employees hired after January 1, 1999 were automatically enrolled in this program. Active employees were given the option to opt into this program until April 24, 1999.)

Effective Coverage Dates

The effective coverage date is the first day of employment and includes sick leave, family and personal leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage for work-related illnesses or injuries and long-term care benefits.

If you were hired or rehired effective July 1, 2009 you must complete one year of continuous employment before becoming eligible for short-term and long-term disability coverage for non-work related illnesses or injuries. 

New Employee Sick and Family/Personal Leave

This leave does not carry over. The following set hours will be initially credited on your first day of employment.

Full-Time or Quasi Full-Time:

Part-Time:

Annual Renewal of Sick and Family/Personal Leave

This leave does not carry over. VSDP leave is credited as follows on January 10 each year.

Full-Time or Quasi Full-Time:

Part-Time:

When to Use Sick Leave vs. Family and Personal Leave

Sick leave may be used if you are sick or injured, or for medical appointments. Your supervisor may request the proof of any illness requiring the use of sick leave. Family and personal leave can be used for any reason, such as but not limited to vacation, personal sickness, or sickness or death of a family member.

When to Use Disability Leave

A VSDP eligible employee may qualify for short term disability benefits if they experience an illness, surgery or accidental injury that requires the employee to be absent from work more than seven (7) calendar days.

Note: Employees with VSDP must call Alight at 877-928-7021, the state disability administrator to initiate disability benefits as well as University Human Resources to complete forms. To schedule an appointment with University Human Resources regarding your absence, please contact [[AskHR]].

Parental Leave

Provided to employees who are enrolled in VSDP upon the birth or placement of a child to allow time for bonding. Up to 320 leave hours may be available for eligible full-time employees to use within 6 months of the birth or placement. Detailed information about the program is available in the parental leave frequently asked questions page.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (pdf) is a law entitling eligible employees to take unpaid leave in certain situations where the employee, or a member of the employee’s immediate family, suffers a qualifying injury or illness. An eligible employee is an employee who has been employed for at least one year, and who has worked 1,250 hours within the previous 12-month period. The required 1,250 hours do not have to be worked during consecutive months. The hours of work requirement applies to the 12 months immediately preceding the start of leave date.

Eligible employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave, which is equivalent to 480 work hours, or 60 workdays.

Administrative Leave (Civil and Work-Related Leave)

Provided to employees for these purposes:

• as required by a summons to jury duty
• to appear as a crime victim or as a witness in a court proceeding or deposition as compelled by a subpoena or summons
• to accompany the employee’s minor child when the child is legally required to appear in court
• to serve as an officer of election
• to serve as a member of a state council or board
• to attend their own naturalization ceremony
• to interview for other state positions
• to participate in resolution of work-related conflicts or of complaints of employment discrimination
• to attend work-related administrative hearings as a party or witness
• to attend one initial session with the Employee Assistance Program per qualifying incident. Employees who are not eligible for the EAP because they have waived state health coverage may
  consult the third-party administrator to obtain a referral to other behavioral health resources

Administrative leave will not be granted for use by an employee:

• who is a defendant in a criminal matter, where criminal matter means either an alleged misdemeanor or felony
• who has received a summons to appear in traffic court (except as a witness)
• who is a party to a civil case, either as a plaintiff or defendant, or who has any personal or familial interest in the proceedings

Documentation (summons, subpoena, letter from State agency verifying interview, approval from the Chief Human Resources Officer for resolution of work-related problems, or any other documentation verifying compliance with this leave policy) must be provided to your supervisor in order for him or her to verify that the absence qualifies for the use of administrative leave.

To use administrative leave for jury duty, an employee must surrender the jury duty pay to his or her supervisor, who will then submit it to the Bursar’s Office. If an employee chooses to keep the jury duty pay, then he or she must use another type of leave for their absence from work. If an employee serves on a Virginia Circuit Court jury, then he or she may keep the jury duty pay and use administrative leave for the absence from work.

Community Service Leave (School Assistance and Volunteer Service Leave)

Provides employees 16 hours of paid leave for services within their communities through school assistance or as a volunteer member of a community service organization.

For school assistance, employees may:

• meet with a teacher or administrator of a public or private preschool, elementary school, middle school, or high school concerning their children, step-children, or children for whom the employee has legal custody
• attend a school function in which such children are participating
• alternatively, employees may perform school-approved volunteer work to assist any public preschool, elementary, middle, or high school

For homeschooling, employees may be granted paid leave under this policy to assist in the education of their child (or step-child or child for whom the employee has legal custody) in state-approved home education curricula, including meetings with local school board officials and required field trips.

For volunteer service, employees may be granted paid leave under this policy to provide voluntary service as part of an organized service project sponsored by a community, national or other service organization. Some examples include:

• deliver meals to the elderly or to needy community citizens through an organization such as Meals on Wheels
• attend non-profit boards and committee meetings (Scouts, Big Brother/Big Sister, Red Cross, etc.)
• participate in activities directly related to non-profit fundraising (e.g., set up/take down, registration, answering phones, recruiting/organizing/training volunteers)
• do yard work, painting, cleaning, maintenance through a non-profit organization
• volunteer for Scouts, Big Brother/Big Sister, or other non-profit organization

Employees with reduced appointment receive hours proportionate to the percentage of hours they work in a full 40-hour workweek.

• Example: Employees working 32 hours per week are entitled to 12.8 hours (32 / 40 = 80% appointment * 16 hours) of community service leave.

Leave to Donate Bone Marrow or Organs

Provides eligible employees with an additional 30 workdays of paid leave to donate bone marrow or organs. Medical certification is required for approval.

Holiday Leave

Employees receive 13 paid holidays per year. For the most current information, please visit the Provost's Faculty & Staff Holiday Schedule.

• New Year's Day - January 1
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Third Monday in January
• George Washington Day - Third Monday in February (*W&M saves this holiday until winter break)
• Memorial Day - Last Monday in May
• Juneteenth - June 20th
• Independence Day - July 4th
• Labor Day - First Monday in September
• Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day - Second Monday in October (*W&M saves this holiday until winter break)
• Election Day - Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November
• Veteran's Day - November 11 (*W&M saves this holiday until winter break)
• Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday in November
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day - December 25th

* The university shifts these state holidays to the winter break (Christmas through New Year's Day) to enable the university to close during that period. Essential personnel may be required to work during these times. This leave is non cumulative and no severance payments are made with respect to unused holiday leave.