New Professionals and Professional Faculty Leave FAQ

What holidays do I get as a professional employee or professional faculty member?

Please refer the Provost's Faculty & Staff Holiday Schedule for up to date holiday listings.

Note: In order to be paid for a holiday, an employee must work or be on paid leave the day before and the day after the holiday. Any employee who is on leave without pay the day before and/or the day after the holiday will not be paid for that holiday.

What can I use annual leave for?

Annual leave may be used for any reason including vacation or to cover other insufficient leave balances.

How many hours do I accrue? Does this amount ever increase?

New professionals and professional faculty members accrue 8 hours each pay period.

Do I need approval from my supervisor to take annual leave?

Yes, you must get prior approval from your supervisor in order to take annual leave.

What happens if I do not use all of my annual leave during the leave year?

If you do not use all of your annual leave during the leave year, you may accumulate leave up to the maximum number of hours shown above. The leave year begins on January 10th of a given year and ends on January 9th of the following year.

Can I be paid for unused annual leave if I leave William & Mary or retire?

Yes, any unused annual leave, up to 240 hours, can be paid to you following your separation from William & Mary due to resignation or retirement. Leave payoffs are subject to completion of an employee clearance form.

What sick and disability leave plan do I participate in as a professional or professional faculty?

Professional and professional faculty in unrestricted positions have a choice between two sick and disability leave plans: the University Sick and Disability Leave Plan (University plan) and the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP). The choice of leave plans is directly linked to the retirement plan that you choose. If you choose the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), then you will automatically be enrolled in the University plan. However, if you choose the Virginia Retirement System Hybrid Plan, you will have the choice between the University Plan and VSDP. A comparison of the University plan and VSDP can be found in the Appendix.

Note: Employees in restricted positions are not eligible for the University plan and are only eligible for VSDP if they enroll in the Virginia Retirement System Hybrid Plan.

How is sick leave used?

Under the University plan, you may use your sick leave for your own illnesses or medical appointments or for an ill or injured family member or child. For professionals in the University plan, up to six (6) consecutive workdays of sick leave may be granted for use in the event of the death of a family member.

Under VSDP, you may use your sick leave for only your own illnesses or medical appointments. For bereavement, an employee can use family and personal leave. If additional time is required, employees may use annual leave.

How many hours of sick leave do I receive?

How do I track University sick leave hours taken? What about VSDP sick leave hours?

Sick leave hours under both the University plan and VSDP are tracked in Banner by the employee during the pay period in which it is used.

Do my unused sick leave hours roll over each year?

Each year, you will be credited as of January 10th with sick leave based on whether you are in the University plan or VSDP. Previous unused sick leave does not roll over to the next year.

What additional sick and disability leave do I received beyond the sick leave that I receive in the University plan or VSDP?

Participants in the University plan have up to 120 calendar days or 696 hours of qualifying short‐term disability and sick leave in the event that they have a qualifying illness or injury and cannot work. This leave is paid at 100% of the pre‐disability salary and runs concurrently with the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. If an employee uses any of his or her balance of disability and sick leave hours, he or she is credited or earns up to an additional 30 days or 174 hours of leave each July 1st. An employee cannot accrue more than 120 days or 696 hours of leave. There is no waiting period before an employee may begin using this leave.

Participants in VSDP receive income protection if he or she has a qualifying illness or injury and cannot work. The amount of income protection is based on the length of State service and is illustrated in the table below. To be eligible, employees must have worked in a benefit‐eligible position for at least 12 consecutive months. Note: FMLA runs concurrently with VSDP.

For more information on short‐term disability under VSDP or the University plan, please contact Human Resources at 757‐221‐3169 or [[askHR]].

If I am ill or injured and cannot work, how soon can my income protection start? How long does it last?

Under the University plan, income protection begins immediately and lasts for up to 120 calendar days or 696 hours. If the illness or injury is such that return to work is impossible beyond the 120 days of short‐term disability, the employee may apply for long‐term disability. An employee in the University plan is eligible for long‐term disability following one year of continuous employment.

Under VSDP, income protection begins after the first seven days of absence due to the illness or injury. These first seven days can be covered using the employee’s available leave. The income protection lasts up to 125 workdays. If the illness or injury is such that return to work is impossible, the employee may apply for long‐term disability.

Do I have family and personal leave?

If you are participating in VSDP, you will be allotted between 4 and 5 days of family and personal leave on January 10th of each year depending on your length of State service. Participants in VSDP may not use the balance of their sick and disability days for qualifying family and dependent care leave. Unlike the University plan, sick and disability days with VSDP may only be used by the employee for his or her own illness or injury. However, VSDP provides six weeks of post‐partum income replacement following a normal delivery or C‐section.

Participants in the University plan do not receive family and personal leave. However, participants in the University plan may use the balance of their 120 calendar days of disability and sick leave for qualifying family and dependent care leave. This leave runs concurrently with FMLA. In the past, if both spouses worked for the university, the total parental leave taken by both parents could not in the aggregate exceed 120 calendar days for the birth or adoption of a child. However, the university has recently changed this practice and each parent in the University plan is now eligible for up to 120 days of parental leave.

How is family and personal leave used for employees in VSDP?

Family and personal leave is for use if a family member is ill, injured or has a doctor’s appointment. It can also be used for any reason including vacation, death of a family member, or to cover insufficient balances of another leave type.

How many hours of family and personal leave do I receive in the VSDP?

Family and personal leave is allotted each January 10th and the number of hours allotted is based on the length of state service as outlined in the chart below.

Do my unused VSDP family and personal leave hours roll over each year?

No, family and personal VSDP leave hours must be used during the leave year in which they are allotted. At the beginning of the subsequent leave year, a new allotment of sick leave hours are applied to your family and personal leave balance not to exceed the hours listed above.

How do I apply for long‐term disability?

Under the University plan, you must complete a long‐term disability application following a 180‐day elimination period during which you have not worked due to illness or injury. The application is then reviewed by The Standard Insurance Company. The long‐term disability application is available here and, once completed, must be returned to the Office of Human Resources for certification and submission to The Standard. If the application is approved, you receive 60% of your pre‐disability salary up to a maximum of $6,000 per month.

Under VSDP, once an employee has exhausted all 125 workdays of short‐ term disability, the VSDP third‐party administrator will automatically initiate a long‐term disability claim for review. If an employee’s long‐term disability claim is approved, then he or she will receive 60% of his or her pre‐disability salary. If the disability is due to a catastrophic condition, the income protection will be increased to 80%.

Once an employee transitions to long‐term disability, he or she ceases to be an employee of the university and will receive his or her monthly disability payment from either the Virginia Retirement System or long‐term disability carrier. Long‐term disability will end if the employee later returns to work or retires.

What is the FMLA?

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers unpaid job protection for up to 12 weeks when an employee cannot work due to illness or injury or when he or she is caring for a newborn or newly adopted child or for an ill or injured family member (child under 18, spouse, or parent). To be eligible, employees must have worked for William & Mary for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.

During FMLA, an employee may substitute his or her leave in order to continue to receive pay. Medical certification is required. To determine your eligibility or for more information on FMLA, please contact University Human Resources at 757-221-3169 or [[askHR]].

If it is determined that you are eligible, you must inform your supervisor of your intent to utilize FMLA whether paid or unpaid. 

If the employee is caring for a family member who is a current service member, then he or she is eligible for up to 26 weeks of unpaid job protection.

If I must be out for more than 12 weeks, do I receive job protection for the entire length of my absence under FMLA?

No, FMLA does not require an employer to provide job protection beyond 12 weeks (or 26 weeks when caring for a current service member).

What is compensatory leave and how do I earn it?

Compensatory leave is earned hour-for-hour when an employee is required to work on a scheduled College holiday or when William & Mary is officially closed due to inclement weather. In these instances, the employee is paid for the hours worked plus he or she receives one hour of compensatory leave for each hour worked provided that the he or she has made the election to receive leave for additional hours worked using the election form (see Overtime Leave section above). Compensatory leave is recorded on the employee’s timesheet at the time that it is earned. It may be used in lieu of annual or sick leave and must be used within 12 months of the date it is earned or it will lapse.

I am an active or reserve military member. Is there any leave available to me if I receive orders?

Yes, employees who are called to active military service are eligible to take up to 15 workdays in a federal fiscal year (October 1 – September 30) for military training duty. A copy of the orders must be attached to the leave form.

What is administrative leave and how is it used?

Administrative leave is available to employees for their use when attending various work-related or civic activities including:

• Serving on a jury;
• Appearing in court as a witness under subpoena;
• Accompanying a minor child to court;
• Attempting to resolve work-related problems;
• Attending a work-related hearing;
• Interviewing for a state position; and
• Serving on councils, commissions, boards or committees created by the General Assembly.

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.**

How is community service leave used and how much do I accrue each year?

Employees are allotted 16 hours of community service leave each leave year to provide service within their communities through school assistance or as a volunteer member of a community service organization. 

For school assistance, employees may attend school-related functions/meetings with teachers of their preschool, elementary, middle, or high school-aged children. Alternatively, employees may perform school approved volunteer work to assist any public preschool, elementary, middle, or high school.

Employees may also volunteer with a charitable organization that provides assistance to those in need in the employee’s community. Employees who volunteer in their community as fire fighters or rescue squad members are eligible for up to 24 hours of community service leave each leave year.

I would like to donate an organ/bone marrow. Can I receive leave for that?

Yes, employees who are not on probation may receive up to 30 days of leave to donate an organ or bone marrow. Medical certification is required for approval. This leave is not covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP).

What happens if I experience medical complications after my organ or bone marrow donation?

If medical complications arise, you would then apply for short‐term disability under either the University plan or VSDP.

Who is eligible for leave share?

Professionals and professional faculty participating in the Professional Sick, Disability and Family Care Leave program may donate and receive leave for the purposes of paid medical/disability leave or paid family, infant or child care leave.

Professionals and professional faculty participating in the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program are not eligible to receive leave donations for themselves. They are, however, eligible to donate or receive leave to manage a family member’s illness or injury when the employee is using Family and Medical Leave (FMLA).

For the purposes of this policy, the definition of family includes an employee’s:

• Spouse as defined or recognized by the laws of the Commonwealth;
• Parents, including parents‐in‐law, step‐parents or persons who stood in the place of the parent and performed parental duties and responsibilities;
• Siblings, including step‐siblings;
• Aunts and uncles;
• Grandparents;
• Children, including step‐children, foster children, and legal wards; and
• Any other adults living in the employee’s household.

How do I qualify for leave share?

You must have exhausted all personal leave balances including annual, family/personal, compensatory, and any sick leave afforded under the Virginia Sickness and Disability Plan for family reasons. In addition, any administrative approvals or notice required for unpaid leave must be made.

An employee is ineligible to use donated leave during any period of disciplinary suspension or if they would otherwise be ineligible to use paid leave under the applicable leave policy.

What is my employment status while receiving donated leave and how does it affect my benefits?

Eligible employees who receive income through the Leave Share Program are considered to be on leave without pay, although they receive compensation (compensation received through the donation of annual leave is based on the salary of the employee receiving the donated hours). This has the following effects:

• Leave accrual: A leave share recipient will not accrue annual leave, paid sick, family or disability leave, or VSDP leave credits while receiving pay through leave donations.
• Holiday Pay: Recipients of leave share donations are not eligible to receive pay for holidays falling during the leave period.
• Salary increases: Leave share recipients may not receive any salary increases until they return to active work status.
• Leave Anniversary: Periods of leave without pay that exceed fourteen (14) consecutive days will alter an operational employee’s anniversary leave date as those periods will not be counted toward that date.
• Health Benefits: William & Mary will continue to pay its portion of the employee’s health care premium based on the health plan in which the employee is enrolled.
  • VSDP: While an employee who is enrolled in the VSDP is receiving leave share donations under FMLA Leave for a family illness, William & Mary will continue to pay its portion of the health care premium for the duration of the leave share donations received or up to twelve (12) weeks of FMLA leave
  • Disability/Family Care Leave: While a professional or professional faculty member is receiving leave share donations for personal illness/injury, family illness/injury or infant care, William & Mary will continue to pay its portion of the health care premium for the duration of the leave share donations received.
• Retirement Credit: Periods of leave share are not considered creditable compensation for retirement calculations by the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). Therefore, contributions to VRS will be discontinued when an employee is receiving leave share donations. Similarly, William & Mary will not make contributions to a professional or professional faculty member’s ORP.
• Payroll Deductions: Certain payroll deductions, such as health care premiums, 403(b) contributions, or other voluntary deductions, may continue while an employee is receiving leave share donations if the employee receives income replacement sufficient to cover the deductions. If the income replacement received through leave share donations is insufficient to cover these payroll deductions, the employee must make arrangements with William & Mary to continue or cancel the deductions.
  
  • NOTE: Employees who are under contract to purchase VRS service credit must make arrangements with VRS to continue their payments as they cannot be deducted from leave share donations.
• Group Life Insurance: Employees receiving leave share donations continue to be covered under the Commonwealth’s group life insurance policy for up to two years.
• Family Medical Leave Act: Employees using leave share donations for FMLA‐eligible leave conditions will have such leave counted towards their FMLA allotment.