Leave Policies - General Provisions

It is the University's objective to establish uniform policies by which employees are permitted to take time off from work.

I. Employees to Whom Policy Applies

This policy applies to full-time and part-time classified salaried employees, University staff, and salaried research assistants.

II. Leave Policies

The following is a list of the leave policies:

• Civil and Work-Related Leave

• Annual Leave 

• Compensatory Leave 

• Educational Leave 

• Emergency/Disaster Leave

• Family and Medical Leave

• Guidelines for Converting from Classified Staff to Administrative & Professional Faculty

• Holidays

• Implementation Procedures for 32-hour per Week Classified Salaried Employees, University Staff, and Salaried Research Assistants

• Leave Policies - General Provisions 

• Leave Sharing

• Leave to Donate Bone Marrow or Organs 

• Leave Without Pay-Conditional/Unconditional 

• Military Leave 

• Overtime Leave

• School Assistance and Volunteer Service Leave 

• Traditional Sick Leave 

• Virginia Sickness and Disability Program Leave

• Workers' Compensation

III. Approval of Leaves

A. Management’s approval necessary for all leaves of absence 

Before taking a leave of absence from work, whether with or without pay, employees should request and receive their management’s approval of the desired leave.
 

B. Employee requests for leave
 

1. Procedure for requests

a. Employees should request leaves of absence as far in advance of the desired leave as practicable.

b. Employees also should submit requests for leaves of absence in accordance with the specific requirements set forth in the respective leave policies, and which may be set forth in their department’s procedures for requesting leaves.

2. Special circumstances

If an employee could not have anticipated the need for a leave of absence, the employee should request approval for the leave as soon as possible after leave begins. In reviewing the request for approval, the department should consider, among other things, the circumstances necessitating leave and whether the employee could have anticipated the need.
 

C. Department action on requests for leaves of absence
 

1. When practicable, and for as long as the department operations are not affected adversely, a department should attempt to approve an employee's request for a leave of absence for the time requested by the employee, except that compensatory and overtime leave may be scheduled by the department at a time convenient to the department’s operations. 
 

2. If the time requested for a leave of absence conflicts with the department’s operations, the department has the discretion to approve the employee's request for an alternate time.
 

D. Sufficient accrued leave
 

1. Departments may not approve paid leaves of absence to be taken in a pay period in which an employee does not have sufficient accrued leave to cover the absence.
 

2. Employees are responsible for knowing the amount of accrued leave to which they are entitled and that they have earned. Employees will be required to reimburse the University for time taken off from work if they did not have sufficient accrued leave to cover such time off. Reimbursement may be in the form of money or annual, sick, compensatory, or overtime leave.
 

E. If department denies request for leave of absence

If a department does not approve an employee's request for leave, but the employee still takes the requested time off from work, the employee may be subject to the actions listed below.

• the absence will be designated as unauthorized; 

• the employee will not be paid for the time missed;  

• because the employee has experienced Leave Without Pay, he or she will not accrue annual or traditional sick leave for the pay period(s) when the absence occurred; and

• the University may also take disciplinary action under Standards of Conduct policy.

IV. Maintenance of Records Related To Leaves Of Absence

A. Records subject to audit

Payment for leaves of absence is an expenditure of Commonwealth funds and, therefore, records related to employee leaves of absence are subject to audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts, the State Internal Auditor, and the University’s internal auditor.
 

B. Requirements for records

The University must maintain accurate and up-to-date leave records in sufficient detail that they can be evaluated during an audit by the University's internal auditor, the State Internal Auditor, or the Auditor of Public Accounts.
 

C. Recording date of termination and accrued leave
 

1. Employee not on leave 

The termination report of an employee not on leave shall state the termination date as the last day that the employee actually worked and shall include the amounts to be paid for accrued leave.
 

2. Employee on leave with pay  

The termination report of an employee on leave with pay shall state the termination date as the last day that the employee was on paid leave. 

3. Employee on leave without pay  

The termination report of an employee on leave without pay who fails to return to state service shall state the termination date as the last day of leave without pay.

V. Treatment of Accrued Leave On Change Of Status

Upon certain changes in employment status, including an employee's termination from the University, an employee may receive payment for all or a portion of his or her accrued annual, sick, compensatory and/or overtime leave. For further information regarding treatment of leave balances, see the applicable sections of those policies.

VI. Retroactive Leave Adjustments

Declared Leave – Once a timecard has been processed, University Human Resources will not make retroactive leave adjustments that involve the exchange of one leave absence type to another leave absence type.