If you have also exhausted all your vacation and compensatory time, if applicable, and need additional paid sick leave, your employer’s sick leave pool may be available to you for a catastrophic illness or injury affecting you or a family member if you meet certain requirements. Review the System Regulation 31.06.01, Sick Leave Pool Administration. To apply, contact your Human Resources office for the appropriate form. If you are not eligible for the sick leave pool or have exhausted your sick leave pool time, you may be granted up to 12 months of unpaid leave.
Under FMLA you may take a total of 12 weeks of paid and/or unpaid leave each fiscal year. Once you exhaust all paid leave (vacation, sick leave, sick leave pool, if eligible), you will be placed on leave without pay until you return to work. Sick leave may be taken only in situations when such leave would normally be permitted. If you must be on leave without pay while you are on FMLA leave, your job protection and the employer contribution toward your insurance premiums will continue. If you wish to continue your insurance coverage you must continue to pay your share of the premiums. You will need to complete a Benefit Change Form and a Dependent Enrollment Change Form, if applicable, to cancel the coverage you do not want to continue. You will be billed each month you are on leave without pay for the premiums, or you may elect automatic bank draft for payment of the premiums. The bank draft form is available from your Human Resources office. You may make Health Care Spending Account contributions directly to the spending account administrator while on unpaid leave. When you return from FMLA leave without pay, you may re-enroll in any coverage you dropped without providing evidence of good health or having pre-existing condition limitations by completing a new Benefit Change Form and Dependent Enrollment Change Form within 60 days.
If you are not eligible for FMLA leave, you are entitled to parental leave for up to 12 weeks immediately following the birth of a child or adoption or foster care placement of a child younger than three years. You must use your paid leave and FLSA and state compensatory time, if any. Once your paid leave and compensatory time are exhausted, you will be placed on leave without pay until you return to work. If you must be on leave without pay, your job protection will continue, but you will not receive the employer contribution toward your insurance coverage.
If you wish to continue your insurance coverage you must pay the full premium. You will need to complete a Benefit Change Form and a Dependent Enrollment Change Form, if applicable, to cancel any coverage you do not want to continue. You will be billed each month you are on leave without pay for the premiums. You may make Health Care Spending Account contributions directly to the spending account administrator while on unpaid leave. When you return from parental leave without pay, you may re-enroll in any coverage you dropped without providing evidence of good health or having pre-existing condition limitations by completing a new Benefit Change Form and Dependent Enrollment Change Form within 60 days.
Except for military leave without pay, any full calendar month in which you are on leave without pay will not count as state service for purposes of longevity or hazardous duty pay, vacation accrual or retirement benefits. You also will not earn vacation or sick leave for any such month.