Extended Sick Time Pay, Leave and Paid Parental Leaves

Eligibility requirements and audits

The authority to grant Extended Sick Time pay/Extended Leave and Maternity Leave is a unit’s responsibility. 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 (see more below).

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. 

Extended leave process

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 an illness or injury or maternity/paternity leave, do the following:

1. Schedule leave. Work with your supervisor and unit regarding when/how to schedule leave.
2. 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.) 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. For Maternity Leave, please submit your claim 4-6 weeks before your estimated due date to give Work Connections time to process it.
3. Notify sponsor or obtain prior approval. Read the sponsor guidelines, the funding opportunity, and the provisions of the award. The principal investigator may need to contact the sponsor to notify them or seek their approval for a change in plans related to a leave. Typically sponsors require notification for reducing planned effort by >25% or for time away from the project for > 3 months for key personnel. The change may require completion of an Award Change Request.
4. 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.
5. Record exception time. Employees in the time and labor system submit biweekly or monthly time reports to record their exception time. The payroll office will credit the sponsored grant that is funding the salary based on the time reporting codes used on the employee timesheet.
6. Request salary transfers. 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. The payroll office will do a journal entry to transfer the funds back to the sponsored grant. Note there are different forms for Postdoctoral Research Fellows and Faculty members. These requests must be submitted in compliance with the U-M Finance’s Retroactive Salary guidelines. 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 [email protected] if your grant hasn’t been reimbursed. 

Questions about leave while paid by sponsored funds? Contact [email protected]