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Extended Sick Time Pay & Leave and Paid Parental Leaves
For Those Who Need a Leave (Planned or Unexpected)
If you are a faculty or staff member paid on sponsored funds, or a postdoctoral research fellow (regardless of funding source), and you must take an extended leave for surgery, maternity/parental leave, or a sudden injury, do the following:
- Schedule Leave - Work with supervisor & unit regarding when/how to schedule leave
- Michigan Medicine, Medical School, Flint, & Dearborn, you must work with your unit HR office
- Michigan Medicine, Medical School, Flint, & Dearborn, you must work with your unit HR office
- Notify Work Connections - For any medical-related leave, including maternity leave (but not parental leave), those paid on sponsored funds are required to go through Work Connections. (Parental leave by definition is not medical, so there is no need to contact Work Connections.)
- Notify Sponsor and Obtain Prior Approval - The Principal Investigator may need to contact sponsor which may have requirements to notify them or seek their approval for a change in plans related to a leave.
- Typically sponsors require notification. Seek their approval for reducing planned effort by >25% or for time away from the project for > 3 months for key personnel and possibly complete a Post-Award Change Request (PACR).
- Typically sponsors require notification. Seek their approval for reducing planned effort by >25% or for time away from the project for > 3 months for key personnel and possibly complete a Post-Award Change Request (PACR).
- Secure Reimbursement - OVPR can reimburse your unit with funds from an OVPR pool account. Please note that this pool is intended to provide support for those on sponsored funds as well all postdoctoral research fellows, regardless of funding source.
- Retroactive Salary Transfers - For those who need a retroactive salary transfer, units can submit a "Request for Salary Transfer" form to the University Payroll Office. You only have 120 days from each leave instance to do this. Also note that there are different forms for Postdoctoral Research Fellows and Faculty members.
As of September 1, 2018, the University of Michigan (U-M) has policies in place for paid maternity and parental leaves. Please visit the HR website and SPG 201.30-6 for comprehensive information on these policies and related HR processes. For quick reference, see the Summary Guide of Time-off Options for New Parents.
This Extended Leave page outlines the steps that must be taken by faculty, staff, and postdoctoral research fellows who request a leave while paid by sponsored funds (codes 20000 and 25000). This page also provides information on the funding available for all postdoctoral research fellows who are eligible for maternal and parental leave.
For Employees Paid From Sponsored Funds
Charges related to Extended Sick Time Pay (staff and faculty), Extended Leave (postdoctoral research fellows) and Maternity and Parental Leaves (staff, faculty, and postdoctoral research fellows) are typically not allowable expenses on sponsored funds (codes 20000 and 25000). OVPR maintains a central funding pool to cover these charges. (Note this coverage is not applicable to individuals appointed to the Non-Instructional Sponsored Pool Account.)
1. Eligibility Requirements
The qualifying illness/injury or pregnancy must be communicated to the University's Work Connections program, which provides authorization forms and confidential management of the event/condition while verifying the qualifying medical disability.
Work Connections will verify the qualifying medical disability, expected duration of absence and any work restrictions, and inform the employing unit which will determine the eligibility for the use of the Extended Sick Time, Extended Leave, or Maternity Leave.
The authority to grant Extended Sick Time pay/Extended Leave and Maternity Leave is a unit's responsibility.
The employee is required to submit appropriate medical documentation to Work Connections.
2. Implementation
a. Employees in the time and labor system (Staff, Research Faculty, Archivists, Curators, and Librarians)
Employees in the time and labor system submit biweekly or monthly time reports to record their exception time. Extended Sick Time, Maternity Leave and Parental Leave, once approved by the unit, is recorded using the following time reporting/earnings codes:
- ESF - Extended Sick Full Pay
- ESH - Extended Sick Half Pay
- ESF/ESY - Extended Sick Full Pay (Nurses)
- ESH/ESX - Extended Sick Half Pay (Nurses)
- ESP - Extended Sick Two-Thirds Pay
- MRL - Maternity Leave
- PRL - Parental Leave
b. Employees not in the time and labor system (Instructional Faculty, Clinical Faculty, and Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Postdoctoral Research Fellows and Faculty do not submit time sheets so no exception time is recorded. The employing unit must request a retroactive salary transfer by submitting a "Request for Salary Transfer" form to the University Payroll Office, if needed.
These requests must be submitted in compliance with the U-M Finance's Retroactive Salary guidelines. If the Extended Sick Leave, Maternity Leave, and/or Parental Leave is expected to exceed 120 days from the original journal date of the general ledger transaction, a "Request for Salary Transfer" form will need to be submitted before 120 days of each leave instance to remain compliant with these guidelines. Please note that there are separate forms for Postdoctoral Research Fellows and for Faculty. For postdoctoral research fellows, eligibility is now based on title and not how the postdoctoral research fellow position is funded.
3. Oversight
On a regular basis, the University will audit the individuals paid from the central fund against Work Connections' verifications of disability to ensure policy compliance. In instances of non-compliance the costs will be transferred to the employing unit.
Note - the employing unit is responsible for ensuring that all other HR actions associated with Extended Sick Time Pay (staff and faculty), Extended Leave (postdoctoral research fellows), and Maternity and Parental Leaves (staff, faculty, and research fellows) are performed in a timely manner (e.g. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) notification).
For more information please see the following Standard Practice Guide Policies:
FAQs
Follow the steps above, “For Those Who Need a Leave.” Note that an extended leave may be needed for unexpected medical events such as injuries, for a planned maternity leave, or for planned non-medical leaves such as a parental leave for the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child, or another qualified reason. If you have questions, contact UMOR.HR.Team@umich.edu.
Yes. The OVPR pool is intended to provide support for those on sponsored funds as well as all postdoctoral research fellows, funded through other means (e.g., faculty discretionary, departmental ). Follow the steps above, “For Those Who Need a Leave.”
These questions relate to maternity and parental leave and are handled by U-M Human Resources. They have policies in place. Please visit the HR website and SPG 201.30-6 for more information on these policies and related HR processes. Also see the Summary Guide of Time-off Options for New Parents.
Please visit the HR website and SPG 201.30-6 for comprehensive information on these policies and related HR processes. For quick reference, see the Summary Guide of Time-off Options for New Parents.
Read the sponsor guidelines, the funding opportunity, and the provisions of the award. The Principal Investigator may need to contact sponsor which may have requirements to notify them or seek their approval for a change in plans related to a leave.
- Typically sponsors require notification. Seek their approval for reducing planned effort by >25% or for time away from the project for > 3 months for key personnel and possibly complete a Post-Award Change Request (PACR).
Please direct inquiries to UMOR.HR.Team@umich.edu.
If the employee submits time using a timesheet, the payroll office will credit the sponsored grant that is funding the salary based on the time reporting codes used on the employee timesheet.
If the employee does not submit a timesheet, the employing unit must request a retroactive salary transfer by submitting a “Request for Salary Transfer” form to the payroll office. The payroll office will do a journal entry to transfer the funds back to the sponsored grant.
Please allow four weeks for the reimbursement to be applied to your sponsored grant. Once month-end has closed after the 4 weeks, please contact UMOR.HR.Team@umich.edu if your grant hasn’t been reimbursed.
No. Only sponsored grants are eligible for reimbursement (Allowable Fund Codes: 20000 and 25000).
Employees who are not paid on sponsored funds are not required to report their maternity leave to Work Connections, but if you are paid on a grant, you must submit a claim. Please submit your claim 4-6 weeks before your estimated due date to give Work Connections time to process it.
To report your maternity leave, go to the Work Connections website and select “Personal Injury/Illness.” Choose the “Online Request Form” button, and select “Employee Injury or Illness.” In the text box for “Description of Incident,” add the phrase: “Grant-funded pregnancy.”
References and Resources
Questions?
Feel free to direct questions to UMOR.HR.Team@umich.edu