Personal Time Off
Sam Houston State University offers both paid and unpaid time off to promote wellness for our employees and their families.
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Sick
Sick Leave
Sick leave with pay may be taken when sickness, injury, or pregnancy and confinement prevent the employee’s performance of duty or when the employee is needed to care for a member of their immediate family who is actually ill.
- Immediate family is defined as those individuals who reside in the same household and are related by kinship, adoption, or marriage, as well as foster children certified by the State.
- Minor children of the employee, whether or not living in the same household, will be considered immediate family for purposes of regular sick leave.
- An employee’s use of sick leave for family members not residing in that employee’s household is strictly limited to the time necessary to provide care to a spouse, child, or parent of the employee who needs such care as a direct result of a documented medical condition. This provision does not extend to an employee’s parent-in-law if they do not live in the same household.
- If an employee is on vacation and would otherwise be entitled to sick leave then the fact that such sick leave is requested while on vacation does not affect the employee’s entitlement to sick leave.
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Eligibility
Regular benefits eligible non-student employees will earn sick leave entitlement beginning on the first day of employment and terminating on the last day of duty.
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Accrual
Credit will be posted to each employee’s leave record on the first day of employment and on the first day of each succeeding month of employment thereafter. An employee who is on leave on the first day of a month may not use the sick leave that the employee accrues for that month until after they return to duty. An employee must be in a status of pay each month to be eligible to accrue.
The accrual rate is eight (8) hours for each month or fraction of a month employment and shall accumulate with the unused amount of such leave carried forward each month. Part-time regular employees accrue proportionate to their appointment.
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Reporting
An employee who must be absent from duty because of illness shall notify their supervisor or cause them to be notified of that fact as soon as possible.
Upon return to duty after sick leave the employee concerned shall, without delay, report on the bimonthly “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” any such leave taken. The “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” shall be approved by the departmental supervisor and sent to the Payroll Office. The method for keeping current sick leave records between payroll reporting periods shall be prescribed by the departmental supervisor. Faculty members must submit a Leave report for all sick leave even though no classes were missed if the absence occurred during the normal workday.
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Doctor's Note
To be eligible for accumulated sick leave with pay during a continuous period of more than three (3) working days (includes absences for part of a scheduled work day), an employee absent due to illness shall send to the supervisor a doctor’s certificate showing the cause or nature of the illness, or some other written statement of the facts concerning the illness which is acceptable to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Diversity. The administrative head has the discretion to require documentation concerning illnesses resulting in absences of three (3) working days or less. Also, a physician’s statement may be required when the nature of the illness has been such that the safety, health, or fitness of the employee to do their work may need assurance or clarification from a physician.
Donation of Sick Leave to an Individual
Employees eligible for sick leave and with available sick leave accruals may donate a portion of their sick leave balance to another employee provided the receiving employee has exhausted his or her sick leave, including any time he or she may be eligible to withdraw from the university’s sick leave pool. Sick leave donations are non-returnable whether used or not by the receiving employee.
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Taxes
Sick leave donation to a specific individual is a taxable event to the donor unless the situation qualifies as a medical emergency pursuant to IRS guidelines. For taxation purposes, a medical emergency is defined as “a major illness or other medical condition that requires a prolonged absence from work (40 hours), including intermittent absences that are related to the same illness or condition”. The cash value of donations not qualified as medical emergencies are included in the gross income of the donor and treated as wages for employment tax purposes.
Employees may not provide or receive remuneration or gift in exchange for a sick leave donation.
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Sick Leave Pool
The Sick Leave Pool is a dedicated fund that intended to assist an employee and his or her immediate family in dealing with catastrophic illnesses or injuries that force them to exhaust all available leaves.
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Eligibility
Employees who have at least twelve (12) continuous months of regular staff or faculty employment with SHSU immediately preceding their eligible condition, may request pool leave for their own catastrophic illness or injury or for one in their immediate family. A catastrophic injury or illness, as defined for eligibility to sick leave pool benefits, is any injury or illness, excluding routine pregnancy, which has caused an absence of thirty (30) working days (sequential or otherwise) within the immediate preceding six (6) calendar months.
Employees may also use sick leave pool if they contributed sick leave to the pool and subsequently exhaust their sick leave balance. Such employees may receive only the number of hours they have contributed to the pool unless they suffer a catastrophic illness or injury. Employees must exhaust all earned leave with pay entitlements before they may use leave from the pool. Employees on sick leave pool for a full calendar month accrue paid leave for that month, provided they return to work following the leave.
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Contribute/Donate
Employees with catastrophic illnesses or injuries are not required to contribute to the pool before they can use pool leave. Also, employees who use pool leave are not required to pay back pool leave.
Contributions to the pool are strictly voluntary. To contribute time to the pool, an employee must complete a “Sick Leave Pool Donation Form”. Employees who contribute leave to the pool cannot get it back unless they are eligible to use it in accordance with this policy. Employees may contribute an unlimited number of their accrued days. Contributions should be in 8 hour increments.
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Requests
Requests for pool leave will be in writing along with a completed “Sick Leave Pool Application & Approval Form” and documentation from the treating physician and forwarded to the Pool Administrator through appropriate supervisory channels. The Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Diversity serves as the University's Pool Administrator. Requests will be considered by the Pool Administrator on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Pool Administrator will have up to ten (10) working days from the date they receive a request in which to approve all or part of the request,or deny the request.
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Amount
The amount of pool leave granted for each catastrophic illness or injury will be determined by the Pool Administrator. The amount cannot exceed one-third of the balance of hours in the pool, or ninety (90) working days, whichever is less. Any unused balance of pool leave granted to an employee returns to the pool.
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Reoccurring Illness
Illnesses of the same type or that may routinely re-occur, such as cancer, will have a lifetime maximum of ninety (90) days.
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Funding by Other Source
The employee should advise in the sick leave pool request if they are receiving subrogation benefits, i.e., by legal right collecting pay, reimbursement for loss of work time, or damages from a third party as a result of the catastrophic illness or injury.
Family and Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to have up to 12 weeks of leave per year. The law allows eligible employees to take job-protected leave for the birth a child, for the care of a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition, for the employee’s own serious health condition, or for the care of a covered military service member.
A serious health condition under FMLA is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee’s job.
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Eligibility
SHSU employees must have a total of at least twelve (12) months of state service credit and have actually worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of leave.
The 12 months do not have to be continuous or consecutive; all time worked for the employer is counted. However, an employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months preceding the FMLA leave period to meet eligibility for FMLA.
- The 1,250 hours include only those hours actually worked for the employer. Paid leave and unpaid leave, including FMLA leave, are not included.
- SHSU calculates a “rolling” 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses FMLA leave.
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Max
An employee who is eligible for FMLA is entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period. If taking leave to care for an injured service member an employee is eligible for a one time allotment of 26 weeks in a single 12 month period.
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Pay
The FMLA does not require your employer to pay you during your leave. SHSU requires one to use accrued paid and unpaid leave you are eligible to use.
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Insurance
For the duration of FMLA leave, the employer must continue to pay for the employee's health-insurance coverage as it normally would. The employee must pay for optional coverages while on leave. Payroll deductions for optional coverages will continue as long as the employee is on a paid-leave status during the leave period.
If a leave without pay status applies to the FMLA leave, an employee is encouraged to contact the Insurance and Benefit Specialist in Human Resources to inquire about appropriate payment procedures for optional coverages.
If an employee does not return to work after 12 weeks of FMLA, the employer can stop making insurance payments. The University may recover any premiums for maintaining coverage for the employee if he or she does not return from the leave; unless the failure to return is due to a continuance or recurrence of the cause of the medical leave or due to other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.
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Notice
The employee ordinarily must provide 30 days advance notice when the leave is foreseeable. An employer may require medical certification to support a request for leave because of a serious health condition and may require second or third opinions (at the employer's expense) and a fitness-for-duty report to return to work.
Medical records are not provided. A medical certification form (WH-380-E or WH-380-F) is required to confirm a serious health condition exists.
If an employee's doctor does not submit a completed medical-certification form, the employee will not be protected by FMLA, and leave will not be approved. The employee is responsible for completing the application for leave form, providing supporting documentation, and following up on approvals. Disciplinary action may be taken for unapproved leave or job abandonment.
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Nonconsecutive
Family Medical Leave may be taken intermittently when medically necessary. An employee may take leave in blocks of time such as an hour, a half-day, a day, a week, four weeks or 12 weeks- to care for a family member.
FMLA permits you to take leave to receive “continuing treatment by a health care provider,” which can include recurring absences for therapy treatments such as those ordered by a doctor for physical therapy after a hospital stay or for other medically necessary treatment.
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Secondary Illness/Injury
FMLA leave can simply be extended (with proper documentation). This common situation comes up when an employee plans to be out for a few weeks (i.e. a surgical procedure) and then needs another few weeks to recover from complications that develop; all eligible leave counts toward the 12-week allotment.
One should know that an employee does not get a new 12-week entitlement each time a new serious health condition arises — whether the conditions are back-to-back or separate.
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Vacation
Vacation is defined as leave with pay granted to employees for the purpose of rest, relaxation, and attendance to personal matters.
Employees are encouraged to take vacation in the fiscal year in which the entitlement is earned. Vacation leave should be scheduled in advance by the employee at a mutually agreeable time to both the employee and supervisor.
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Eligibility
Staff employees and faculty with twelve-month appointments (such as deans, chairs, or directors of academic departments) shall be entitled to a vacation in each fiscal year without deduction in salary. Part-time eligible employees will accrue vacation leave on a proportionate basis and the maximum carryover will also be proportionate.
Vacation with pay may not be taken until the employee has been continuously employed with the state for six months, although credit will be accrued during that period.
An employee who is in a leave status on the first day of the month shall not be eligible to use leave accrued for such month until the employee returns to duty.
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Accrual
Credit will be posted to each employee’s leave record on the first day of employment and on the first day of each succeeding month of employment thereafter.
The accrual rate is based on the employee’s years of state service. Credit for the higher rate of accrual shall be given on the first calendar day of the month, if the employee's anniversary date falls on the first calendar day of the month; otherwise, the increase will occur on the first calendar day of the following month. If an employee begins working in an eligible status on the first workday of the month, the employee is deemed to have begun working on the first calendar day of the month for the purpose of this subsection.
Years of State Service Accrual Per Month Carry Over Limit 0-1 8 hrs 180 hrs 2-4 9 hrs 244 hrs 5-9 10 hrs 268 hrs 10-14 11 hrs 292 hrs 15-19 13 hrs 340 hrs 20-24 15 hrs 340 hrs 25-29 17 hrs 436 hrs 30-34 19 hrs 484 hrs 35+ 21 hrs 532 hrs -
Carry Over Limit
A limited amount of unused vacation hours will carry forward each fiscal year. Hours in excess of that limit will be credited to the employee's sick leave balance as of the first day of the next fiscal year.
Years of State Service Carry Over Limit 0-1 180 hrs 2-4 244 hrs 5-9 268 hrs 10-14 292 hrs 15-19 340 hrs 20-24 340 hrs 25-29 436 hrs 30-34 484 hrs 35+ 532 hrs -
Cash Out
An employee who resigns, is dismissed, or separated from employment (including death) shall be entitled to be paid for all their unused balance of vacation within thirty (30) days, provided the employee has had continuous employment with the state of Texas for six (6) months; and is not directly transferring to another Texas state agency into a position which accrues vacation time.
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Eligibility
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Family
Family-related leave allows employees time to provide care or grief the loss of an immediate family member.
Adoption, Birth, or Serious Family Illness
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to have up to 12 weeks of leave per year. The law allows eligible employees to take job-protected leave for the birth or adoption of a child, for the care of a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition, for the employee’s own serious health condition, or for the care of a covered military service member.
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Eligibility
SHSU employees must have a total of at least twelve (12) months of state service credit and have actually worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of leave.
The 12 months do not have to be continuous or consecutive; all time worked for the employer is counted. However, an employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months preceding the FMLA leave period to meet eligibility for FMLA.
- The 1,250 hours include only those hours actually worked for the employer. Paid leave and unpaid leave, including FMLA leave, are not included.
- SHSU calculates a “rolling” 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses FMLA leave.
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Max
An employee who is eligible for FMLA is entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period. If taking leave to care for an injured service member an employee is eligible for a one time allotment of 26 weeks in a single 12 month period.
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Pay
The FMLA does not require your employer to pay you during your leave. SHSU requires one to use accrued paid and unpaid leave you are eligible to use.
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Insurance
For the duration of FMLA leave, the employer must continue to pay for the employee's health-insurance coverage as it normally would. The employee must pay for optional coverages while on leave. Payroll deductions for optional coverages will continue as long as the employee is on a paid-leave status during the leave period.
If a leave without pay status applies to the FMLA leave, an employee is encouraged to contact the Insurance and Benefit Specialist in Human Resources to inquire about appropriate payment procedures for optional coverages.
If an employee does not return to work after 12 weeks of FMLA, the employer can stop making insurance payments. The University may recover any premiums for maintaining coverage for the employee if he or she does not return from the leave; unless the failure to return is due to a continuance or recurrence of the cause of the medical leave or due to other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.
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Family
“Family members” are defined as those individuals who reside in the same household and are related by kinship, adoption, or marriage, as well as foster children certified by the State. This would include
- the employee's parent;
- the employee's child, including adult children who are incapable of caring for themselves;
- the employee's spouse when he or she has a serious medical condition;
- the employee's “next of kin” but only in situations of caring for an injured service member.
Employees have the right to take FMLA leave only to care for someone who is a biological or adoptive parent. An employee can also take leave to care for an individual who acted as his or her parent during the employee's childhood.
An employee’s use of sick leave for family members not residing in that employee’s household is strictly limited to the time necessary to provide care as a direct result of a documented medical condition.
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Notice
The employee ordinarily must provide 30 days advance notice when the leave is foreseeable. An employer may require medical certification to support a request for leave because of a serious health condition and may require second or third opinions (at the employer's expense) and a fitness-for-duty report to return to work.
Medical records are not provided. A medical certification form (WH-380-E or WH-380-F) is required to confirm a serious health condition exists.
If an employee's doctor does not submit a completed medical-certification form, the employee will not be protected by FMLA, and leave will not be approved. The employee is responsible for completing the application for leave form, providing supporting documentation, and following up on approvals. Disciplinary action may be taken for unapproved leave or job abandonment.
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Nonconsecutive
Family Medical Leave may be taken intermittently when medically necessary. An employee may take leave in blocks of time such as an hour, a half-day, a day, a week, four weeks or 12 weeks- to care for a family member.
FMLA permits you to take leave to receive “continuing treatment by a health care provider,” which can include recurring absences for therapy treatments such as those ordered by a doctor for physical therapy after a hospital stay or for other medically necessary treatment.
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Secondary Illness/Injury
FMLA leave can simply be extended (with proper documentation). This common situation comes up when an employee plans to be out for a few weeks (i.e. a surgical procedure) and then needs another few weeks to recover from complications that develop; all eligible leave counts toward the 12-week allotment.
One should know that an employee does not get a new 12-week entitlement each time a new serious health condition arises — whether the conditions are back-to-back or separate.
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Same Employer Spouses
Spouses who are eligible for FMLA leave and are employed by the same covered employer may be limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave during any 12-month period if the leave is taken for:
- the birth of the employee’s son or daughter or to care for the child after birth;
- the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care, or to care for the child after placement; or
- to care for the employee’s parent with a serious health condition.
If one spouse uses a portion of the 12 weeks for one of the above events, the other would be entitled to the difference for that event and may use the remainder of their 12 weeks for another qualifying event.
Example
If each spouse took 6 weeks of leave to care for a newborn child, each could use an additional 6 weeks of leave due to their own serious health condition or to care for a child with a serious health condition.
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Return
Upon return from FMLA, an employee will be restored to the original or an equivalent position with equivalent pay and benefits.
Bereavement
The death of a member of the employee’s immediate family shall constitute adequate need for bereavement leave. Employees who experience a death in their immediate family may receive, if needed, up to five (5) days bereavement leave that do not to be taken consecutively.
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Immediate Family
For bereavement, immediate family members are defined as:
- Employee’s spouse
- Employee’s parents, step-parents, children, step-children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and grandchildren
- Spouse’s parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents and grandchildren
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Notice
Request for approval of bereavement leave must be submitted to the supervisor on or before the first day the employee returns to work. The request for leave must show the name, relationship and date of death of the employee’s immediate family member.
Foster Parent
An employee who is a foster parent to a child under the protection of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS) is entitled to a leave of absence with full pay for the purpose of attending staffing meetings held by the DPRS regarding the employee’s foster child. In addition, the employee may attend, with a paid leave of absence, the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting held by a school district regarding his or her foster child.
Parent-Teacher Conference
An employee may use up to eight (8) hours of sick leave each calendar year to attend parent-teacher conference sessions for the employee’s children who are in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Employees must give reasonable notice of intention to use sick leave to attend such conferences. Part-time, regular, benefits eligible employees receive this leave on a proportional basis.
Parental Leave
Those employees with less than twelve (12) months of state service or who have worked less than 1,250 hours in the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of leave are eligible to take a Parental Leave of absence, not to exceed twelve (12) weeks (480 hours), provided that the employee utilizes all available applicable paid vacation and sick leave while taking the parental leave. The leave period begins with the date of birth of a natural child or the adoption or foster care placement with the employee of a child under three years of age.
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Eligibility
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Civic Duties
Civic duties are responsibilities employees are required or highly encouraged to fulfill as a citizen.
Jury Service and Appearance in Official Capacity or as a Witness
An employee is entitled to serve on a jury during regular work hours without any deduction from wages, including a deduction for any fee or compensation the employee receives for the jury service. The employee must be responding to a jury duty summons, serving on a jury, or appearing in an official capacity for the state. Appearances in another capacity or any time required for jury service outside the employee’s regular work schedule is on the employee’s own time.
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Funding from Other Sources
An employee called to appear in an official capacity in any judicial action or legislative investigation is not entitled to any witness fees for such a governmental appearance. However, if the appearance is not in an official capacity but is for the purpose of testifying from personal knowledge, an employee may accept any customary witness fees. In the case of an employee whose appearance as an expert witness is not in an official capacity, the employee may receive compensation only when such an appearance is made on his or her own leave time. Employees may receive per diem, expense reimbursements, and mileage allowances for serving as a witness in an official governmental capacity, as long as there is no double reimbursement to the employee for expenses.
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Reporting
In order for an employee to receive pay for jury duty, certification from the Court Clerk or some other written statement which is acceptable to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Diversity, must be attached to the approved “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” form.
Voting
Employees should be allowed sufficient time off, without a deduction in pay, to vote in each national, state, or local election.
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Funding from Other Sources
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Military
A state employee who is called to active duty or authorized training is entitled to a leave of absence of fifteen (15) days in each federal fiscal year (October 1 – September 30) without loss of pay or benefits. The fifteen (15) days need not be consecutive. In addition, these days are “working” days, not “calendar” days. After exhausting the fifteen (15) days, the employee may use accrued vacation or be placed in a leave without pay status (or combination of the two) for the remainder of the active duty period.
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Eligibility
State employees are eligible for leave to accommodate
- Authorized training or duty for the state’s military forces and members of any reserve branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- Activation of the State’s National Guard by the Governor.
- National emergency activation for members of a reserve branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
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Options
Adjusted Work Schedule for Military Leave
State agencies and institutions of higher education are required to adjust the work schedule of a military member so that two of the employee’s days off each month coincide with two days of military duty.
Differential Pay
The President of Sam Houston State University shall grant sufficient emergency leave to provide a pay differential if the employee’s military gross pay is less than the employee’s state gross pay. The combination of gross military pay and emergency leave may not exceed the employee’s actual state gross pay.
Full Pay Without Limit
A member of the state military forces called to state active duty by the Governor because of a state emergency is entitled to receive emergency leave without loss of military or annual leave. This leave is not limited and will be provided with full pay.
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Return
To be eligible for restoration of employment at the conclusion of military service, the employee must be honorably discharged no later than five (5) years after induction, enlistment, or call to duty and must be physically and mentally qualified to perform the duties of the job.
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Eligibility
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Emergency
The President of Sam Houston State University may grant leave with pay to an employee for good cause, subject to the recommendation of the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Diversity and/or the Divisional Vice President.
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Volunteer
Donation of Blood
A state employee shall be allowed sufficient time off, without a deduction in salary or accrued leave, to donate blood. An employee may not receive time off under this section unless the employee obtains approval from his or her supervisor before taking time off. On returning to work after taking time off under this section, an employee shall provide his or her supervisor with proof that the employee donated blood during the time off. If an employee fails to provide proof that the employee donated blood during the time off, Sam Houston State University shall deduct the period for which the employee was granted time off from the employee’s salary or accrued leave, whichever the employee chooses. An employee may receive time off under this section not more than four times in a fiscal year.
Certified Red Cross Activities
An employee who is a certified disaster service volunteer of the American Red Cross, or who is in training to become such a volunteer, may be granted leave of up to ten (10) days each year to participate in specialized disaster relief services. The employee must have supervisory authorization in addition to a request from the American Red Cross and the approval of the Governor’s Office. If the above conditions are met, the employee will not lose pay, vacation time, sick leave or earned overtime, and/or compensatory time during such leave. The pool of certified disaster volunteers must not exceed 350 participants at any one time.
Organ or Bone Marrow Donors
A state employee is entitled to a leave of absence without a deduction in salary for the time necessary to permit the employee to serve as a bone marrow or organ donor. The leave of absence provided by this section may not exceed
- Five working days in a fiscal year to serve as a bone marrow donor; or
- 30 working days in a fiscal year to serve as an organ donor.
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Training
Leave for Employees with a Disability
A state employee who is a person with a disability as defined by the Human Resources Code section 121.002 shall be granted a paid leave of absence not to exceed ten (10) days each fiscal year for the purpose of attending a training program to acquaint the employee with an assistance dog to be used by the employee.
Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services Training Leave
- Employees who are volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services volunteers shall be granted a leave of absence with full pay to attend training schools conducted by state agencies provided such leave does not exceed five (5) working days in any one (1) fiscal year. The leave of absence, authorized by this subsection, shall in no way be charged against the employee’s vacation or sick leave privileges by this Act.
- In addition to the five (5) days granted for training, leave with full pay not to exceed forty (40) hours per fiscal year will also be granted to volunteer firefighters or emergency medical service volunteers for the purpose of responding to emergency fire or medical situations.
- Required verification of volunteer training and responders participation shall be reported on the bimonthly “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” with appropriate supporting documentation. The “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” shall be signed by the departmental supervisor and sent to the Payroll Office.
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Administrative
In addition to employee leave authorized elsewhere in this policy, administrative leave with pay maybe granted by the President as a reward for outstanding performance provided the exceptionally superior performance is properly documented. In no event shall the aggregate amount of administrative leave granted exceed thirty-two (32) hours in any fiscal year.
For more information, please review our leave policy.