OTHER LEAVE

Funeral Leave

In the event of the death of your spouse or other immediate family (your or your spouse's children, parents, grandparents, brothers, or sisters,) you are eligible for paid funeral leave of up to three days, depending on the circumstances. You should notify your supervisor as soon as possible if you need time off for bereavement. Based on the circumstances, you and your supervisor should work out how many of the three days you will need. This time off is to be recorded on your time record as Funeral Leave. It will not be charged against your leave accruals.

If circumstances require that you be off more than three days, or if you need time off to attend a funeral of someone who is not a member of your immediate family, you may request your supervisor to grant you the time off. If the time is granted, you must use your vacation leave or compensatory time accruals for the time away from work. If you have no accruals, the request will be considered as a request for emergency leave.

Emergency Leave

The vice president for human services administration may determine and approve reasons for granting emergency leave, including a grant of days greater than those established for funeral leave or for individuals other than those for which funeral leave is granted. Upon considering the recommendation of your department head or dean, the vice president for human services administration may grant or deny your request for emergency leave. To be eligible for a grant of emergency leave, you must establish good cause for the leave that is satisfactory to the vice president for human services administration. If you are granted emergency leave, you will be required to use your applicable leave or compensatory time accruals for the time away from work. If you have no applicable leave accruals, the vice president for human services administration may grant the emergency leave as paid, non-paid, or a combination of both. A grant of paid emergency leave will be made only under the most extraordinary circumstances and in consideration of your historical use of leave accruals.

Inclement Weather

Because UT Southwestern is involved in medical care, teaching, and research, it is necessary that it be open for business on all regular working days. Although you are always expected to be at work at your scheduled time, sometimes tardiness or absence may be unavoidable because of severe weather or other natural disasters. You must exercise your own judgement concerning your personal safety if hazardous conditions exist. You will not be subjected to repercussions if you decide not to travel because of hazardous conditions. Supervisors will use discretion in distinguishing genuine safety issues from routine absences or tardiness. If a genuine, verifiable hazardous travel condition did not exist, you may be subject to disciplinary action.

• If you arrive at work late due to hazardous driving conditions caused by severe weather or other natural disaster, your supervisor may allow you to make up the lost time. If your supervisor determines that it is not practical for you to make up the lost time, the lost time must be charged against your vacation leave or compensatory time accruals or, if you have no accruals, recorded as non-paid leave.
• If you are unable to report to work at all, you will be required to use your vacation leave or compensatory time accruals or, if you have no accruals, the time will be recorded as non-paid leave.

Physical Plant has prepared a list of the safest campus routes to buildings in the event of snow or ice. All campus streets and sidewalks will be cleared as soon as possible; however, the maps show those paths that will be cleared first.

Military Leave

Annual Military Training and National Guard Activation

If called to active duty or authorized training as a member of the state military forces or any of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, you will be granted a leave of absence from your duties without loss of time, efficiency rating, vacation time, or salary for not more than 15 working days in a federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 31).

• You will receive an emergency leave with full pay if you are called by the Governor of Texas to active duty as a member of the National Guard because of a state emergency without loss of paid military or vacation leave.
• The 15 days of military leave need not be consecutive if you are ordered to report on nonconsecutive days. Days are counted as 15 working days and not calendar days.
• If you are called to active duty during a national emergency by a reserve branch of the United States Armed Forces, you will continue to accrue state service credit, but you will not accrue vacation or sick leave. However, you retain any accrued vacation or sick leave and will be credited with that leave upon your return.
• If you remain on active duty after exhausting your fifteen days of annual entitlement, you may use vacation leave accruals to the extent available, or be placed on non-paid leave, or a combination of the two leaves for the remainder of your active duty period.

Extended Military Leave

If you are restored to a position upon returning from extended military service, you are considered to have been on non-paid leave during the period of such service. To be eligible for restoration, you must, (1) have been honorably discharged no later than the fifth anniversary of your induction, enlistment or call to active service; (2) make written application for restoration within 90 days of your discharge or release from such service; and (3) be physically and mentally qualified to perform the duties of the position.

• If you return to work under the restoration provisions, you are entitled to include time spent on active military duty as state service credit for purposes of vacation leave, sick leave and longevity of employment.
• No vacation or sick leave is accrued while you are on active duty and you are not considered employed by UT Southwestern.

Voting Leave

You are encouraged to take advantage of the early voting periods to cast your ballots in public elections. However, when you do not vote during the early voting period and it is not possible for you to vote before or after your normal working hours on the official election day, your supervisor may grant you a reasonable period of paid time off for voting pursuant to a proper request. The time off is to be reported on your time record as time worked, and no charge will be made against your leave accruals nor will it be charged as non-paid leave. All employees are eligible for time off to cast their ballots in public elections.

Court or Administrative Appearance Leave

If you are summoned to perform jury duty or subpoenaed to serve as a witness in a court or administrative proceeding to which you are not a party, you will be excused from work. No deduction will be made from your salary when you are called for jury service, and you may keep the jury service fee you receive from the court. You are expected to work, if reasonably possible, during the time you are not actually in a court or administrative proceeding in connection with such service. You should refer to the complete policy on Court and Administrative Proceeding Appearances (Including Jury Service) in the Handbook of Operating Procedures for specific information concerning witness fees.

Nonpaid Leave

If you have no applicable leave or compensatory time accruals and you are confronted with an extraordinary situation that requires your absence from work, you may be eligible for non-paid emergency leave. Upon considering the recommendation of your department head or dean, your historical use of leave accruals, and having made a determination that satisfactory good cause exists, the vice president for human services administration may grant you a limited period of non-paid emergency leave.

Extended Leave of Absence Without Pay

A regular employee may be eligible for a limited leave of absence without pay where good cause is shown and the grant is in the interests of UT Southwestern. Except for disciplinary reasons or use of approved Workers' Compensation and military leave, all applicable paid leave entitlements must be exhausted before the granting of a period of non-paid leave. During a period of extended leave of absence without pay, your leave accruals will be suspended. You will be required to make arrangements for the payment of your share of any group insurance premiums during any complete pay period you are on extended leave of absence without pay.

Absences without Leave Accruals

If you are absent from work and have no applicable leave accruals, UT Southwestern is under no obligation to grant you leave, even non-paid leave, for absences related to illness, injury, or other reasons, unless the absence results from an injury subject to the Texas Workers' Compensation Act; you are eligible for and entitled to non-paid leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); you are granted non-paid leave as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); or you apply, qualify, and are granted leave, with or without pay, pursuant to UT Southwestern policies.

Work Attendance

It is your responsibility to report for work as scheduled, on time, and ready and able to carry out your assigned duties and responsibilities. Failure to report for work as scheduled, whether due to absence, tardiness, or other reason may subject you to disciplinary action. You are allowed to use sick leave accruals to meet your health-care needs and to use vacation leave for pre-approved scheduled time away from work and for certain other absences. However, if you regularly experience unscheduled absences whether due to illness, injury, or personal reasons, you are unavailable to carry out your job duties. Such unavailability creates a hardship for your co-workers who must attempt to carryout your job duties as well as their own, and it limits your department's ability to efficiently carry out its responsibilities. If you regularly experience unscheduled absences for any reason, even if you have applicable leave accruals sufficient to continue your pay during your absence, you may be subject to disciplinary action.