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Policy 1425 – Leave Record Establishment and Regulations for All Unclassified, Non-Civil Service Employees

Revision Date:  02/09/2023

Last Review:  02/09/2023

Responsible Office: Office of Human Resources

Reference:  ULS Policy #FS.III.XXI.-1

Policy:

The rules and policies set forth below shall be applicable to all unclassified, non-civil service employees under the jurisdiction of Louisiana Tech University. It is the policy of Louisiana Tech University and the Board of Supervisors that unclassified employees shall enjoy benefits comparable to other classes of State employees, and these rules and policies are promulgated under that concept.

At the University, permission to take any kind of leave is granted by the department head/supervisor prior to taking leave if at all possible. For extended periods of time (10 days or more), approval is granted through the appropriate chain of command (usually department head/supervisor, dean/director/budget unit head, and if necessary, the appropriate vice president, president).

Definitions:

  1. Faculty leave is leave granted to faculty members employed on the nine-month (academic year) basis in lieu of annual leave and is comprised of the days between terms and at holiday periods when students are not in classes. This special form of leave shall be taken as it is earned.
  2. Annual leave is leave with pay granted to unclassified 12-month employees for the purpose of rehabilitation, restoration, maintenance of work efficiency, or attention to other personal concerns.
  3. Sick leave is leave with pay granted to an employee who is suffering with a disability which prevents him/her from performing his usual duties and responsibilities and who requires medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment; or to care for an immediate family member who is ill or injured; or to accompany an immediate family member to a medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment. As used in this subsection, “immediate family member” means a spouse, parent, or child of an employee.
  4. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law enforced by the United States Department of Labor.  Generally, the FLSA requires employers to pay minimum wage to employees and sets forth overtime and recordkeeping rules.  Subject to limitation, the FLSA allows a public employer like the University to use FLSA compensatory leave in lieu of cash to satisfy the overtime requirements for nonexempt employees. 
  5. FLSA Compensatory leave is leave hours accrued and used by unclassified employees who are not exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA for work and duties performed in excess of the normal 40-hour work week. 
  6. Compensatory leave is leave hours accrued and used by FLSA overtime-exempt unclassified employees (12-month) for work and duties performed in excess of the normal 40-hour work week.

Procedures:

Work Weeks and Attendance Records for Unclassified Employees

  1. For purposes of leave, appointing authorities shall establish work weeks of 40 hours per week for full-time employees. The purpose of establishing the 40-hour week is to provide appointing authorities a system of accounting for and the taking of leave. It is understood that some faculty work is done outside the office such as the library and laboratories as well as off-campus sites.
  2. For purposes of leave, appointing authorities shall establish work weeks proportionate to the provisions of the previous paragraph for part-time employees.
  3. Daily attendance and leave records shall be maintained for all unclassified employees. The University may, in the exercise of its discretion, adopt an attendance form designed to indicate that academic personnel were either present or absent from their usual duty posts during the usual working day for such personnel. These records shall be signed by the employee and the supervisor and reported at least monthly to the appropriate office at the end of each regular pay period.

Faculty Leave for Employees on Other Than 12-Month Basis

  1. Faculty leave shall be earned by each eligible faculty member who is employed for the academic year and has a regular tour of duty.
  2. Faculty leave shall be earned and taken as it is earned as specified by the official calendar of the University.

Annual Leave by Unclassified Employees on the Twelve-Month Basis

Annual leave shall be earned by each eligible employee who has a regular tour of duty. Personnel not employed on a continuing basis (temporary employees) shall not earn annual leave.

Annual leave earned shall be based on the equivalent of years of full-time State service and shall be creditable at the end of each pay period or calendar month in accordance with the following general schedules:

DAYS OF ANNUAL LEAVE EARNED PER PAY PERIOD BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

LENGTH OF SERVICE

AMOUNT EARNED

PER

HOUR WORKED

HRS/PAY PERIOD

BASED ON 80 HOURS

WORKED

DAYS PER YEAR

Less than 3 years

.0461

3.6880

12

3 but less than 5

.0576

4.6080

15

5 but less than 10

.0692

5.5360

18

10 but less than 15

.0807

6.4560

21

15 or more

.0923

7.3840

24

 

LENGTH OF SERVICE

 

 

DAYS (HOURS) OF ANNUAL LEAVE EARNED PER MONTH BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL TIME EMPLOYEES

Less than 3 years

 

 

1 (8 hours)

3 but less than 5

 

 

1 ¼ (10 hours)

5 but less than 10

 

 

1 ½ (12 hours)

10 but less than 15

 

 

1 ¾ (14 hours)

15 or more

 

 

2 (16 hours)

 

No 12-month unclassified employee shall be credited with annual leave for any pay period or calendar month:

  1. Until completion of that pay period or calendar month as an employee; or
  2. During which the employee was on leave without pay for ten or more working days; or
  3. While serving in the military.

Accrued unused annual leave earned by an employee shall be carried forward to the succeeding years without limitation.

When an employee changes his/her position from one state agency to another, his/her accumulated annual leave shall be forwarded to the new agency and shall be credited to him/her.

Legal holidays and other holidays declared by the President of the University shall not be charged to annual leave.

Annual leave shall be applied for in advance by the employee and may be taken only when approved by the appointing authority. Requirements concerning the use of annual leave include the following:

An appointing authority may require an employee who has sufficient annual leave to his/her credit to take annual leave whenever the authority feels that it is best for the employee or the appointing authority.

Except when given special advance approval for absence from duty, an employee must be at his/her work station for the day in order to be classified as on duty. A work station normally will be one’s office or elsewhere on the employer’s premises, or at other locations while representing the employer.

Upon resignation, death, removal, or other termination of employment of an unclassified employee, annual leave amounting to the same maximum as is provided for members of the classified service of the State by the Civil Service Commission and approved by the Governor, and accrued to his/her credit shall be computed and the value thereof shall be paid to the employee or the heirs, provided that the annual leave has been accrued under established leave regulations and attendance records have been maintained for the employee by his/her supervisor. Such pay shall be computed at the employee’s base rate of pay at the time of termination. Employees that return to work after accrued leave is paid due to retirement/DROP are not eligible for an additional payout of accrued annual leave upon death or termination.

Sick Leave for all Unclassified Employees

Sick leave shall be earned by each eligible employee who has a regular tour of duty. (A regular tour of duty for eligibility purposes shall include faculty and other unclassified employees appointed for an entire fiscal or academic year whether employed on a full or part-time basis.) Personnel not employed on a continuing basis (temporary employees) shall not earn sick leave.

Sick leave earned shall be based on the equivalent of years of full-time State service; and shall be creditable at the end of each pay period or calendar month in accordance with the following general schedules:

DAYS OF SICK LEAVE EARNED PER PAY PERIOD BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

LENGTH OF

SERVICE

AMOUNT EARNED

PER

HOUR WORKED

HRS/PAY PERIOD

BASED ON 80 HOURS

WORKED

DAYS/ YEAR

Less than 3 years

.0461

3.688

12

3 but less than 5

.0576

4.6080

15

5 but less than 10

.0692

5.5360

18

10 but less than 15

.0807

6.4560

21

15 or more

.0923

7.3840

24

 

DAYS OF SICK LEAVE EARNED PER MONTH BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

LENGTH OF

SERVICE

 

 

DAYS/ HRS PER MONTH

Less than 3 years

 

 

1 (8 hrs)

3 but less than 5

 

 

1 ¼ (10 hrs)

5 but less than 10

 

 

1 ½ (12 hrs)

10 but less than 15

 

 

1 ¾ (14 hrs)

15 or more

 

 

2 (16 hrs)

 

No unclassified employee shall be credited with sick leave for any pay period or calendar month

  1. until completion of that pay period or calendar month as an employee (except that nine-month faculty employed during the summer shall accrue sick leave prorated during the actual weeks of employment. For example, a faculty member employed for nine weeks in the summer shall be credited with 2 1/4 days).
  2. during which the employee was on leave without pay for 10 or more working days.
  3. while serving in the military.
  1.  

Accrued unused sick leave earned by an employee shall be carried forward to the succeeding years without limitation.

When an employee changes his/her position from one state agency to another, his/her accumulated sick leave shall be forwarded to the new agency and shall be credited to him/her.

Sick leave with pay may be taken by an employee with sufficient leave to his/her credit for the following:

  1. Illness or injury which prevents performance of his/her work duties.
  2. Medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment.
  3. To care for an immediate family member who is ill or injured; or to accompany an immediate family member to a medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment.
  1.  

There is no minimum charge for sick leave. It is to be charged on an hourly basis.

The employee may use sick leave for maternity purposes when her postnatal or prenatal condition prevents the performance of usual duties, provided the employee has sufficient sick leave credit. The limit to the use of sick leave for a postnatal condition shall be six weeks unless a physician certifies the employee’s inability to return to work.

Upon death or retirement of an unclassified employee, sick leave accrued to his/her credit shall be computed and the value thereof shall be paid to the employee or heirs, provided that the sick leave has been accrued under established leave regulations and a daily attendance record has been maintained for the employee by his/her supervisor, except that such payment shall not exceed the value of 25 working days computed on the basis of a 5-day week and on a 4-week per month basis for personnel employed on less than the 12-month employment basis and on the basis of a 5-day week and 52-week year for 12-month employees. The rate of pay shall be computed using the base rate the employee is receiving at the time of termination.  Employees that return to work after accrued leave is paid due to retirement/DROP are not eligible for an additional payout of accrued sick leave upon death or termination.

 Compensatory Leave Policy for FLSA Overtime-Exempt Unclassified Professional Staff (12-Month)

FLSA overtime-exempt unclassified employees (12-month) are hired on an annual basis and are not compensated for extra work beyond the normal 40-hour work week. All types of leave, other than compensatory leave, are the same for both unclassified and classified employees as outlines by Civil Service Rules.

The compensatory leave policy for FLSA overtime-exempt unclassified professional staff of the Colleges and Universities of Louisiana System office and of the System institutions is as follows:

An appointing authority may require an employee to work overtime on a holiday or at a time that the employee is not regularly required to be on duty. Compensatory leave may be granted for overtime hours worked outside the regularly assigned 40-hour work week, or when the employee has not worked in excess of 40 hours due to holidays observed or leave taken. Earning of compensatory leave must have prior approval of the immediate supervisor and the appropriate vice president or his/her designee. The amount of such leave shall be equal to the number of extra hours the employee is required to work.

Compensatory leave shall not be earned by the following employees: presidents, vice presidents, deans, athletic directors, and athletic coaches. Exceptions may be made to permit these employees to be exempted from having to take leave when the university is officially closed. Such exceptions shall be included in the appointment letter of the individuals involved.

Compensatory leave shall be promptly credited to the employee and may be used with the approval of the immediate supervisor and the appropriate vice president or his/her designee. Not more than 240 hours of accrued unused compensatory leave shall be carried forward into any fiscal year. An appointing authority may require employees to use their earned compensatory leave at any time. An employee will not be paid the value of his/her accrued compensatory leave upon separation from his/her unclassified position.

In the event that an employee transfers without a break in service to another position within the State service, compensatory leave may be credited to the employee at the discretion of the new appointing authority. Compensatory leave shall be terminated when an employee separates from State service.

Compensatory leave should not be confused with a flexible time policy. Employees cannot arbitrarily determine their own work schedules. In addition, work undertaken while at home does not constitute the earning of compensatory time.

The following administrative procedures will apply in earning and recording compensatory leave:

    1. The detail of compensatory leave earned will be recorded each pay period in Workday.
    2. During official duty or travel on a regular University work day, an employee may earn a maximum of five (5) hours of compensatory leave for hours worked. During weekend official duty or travel, an employee may earn up to eight (8) hours per day.
    3. Employees will not earn compensatory leave while on “on call” status unless specifically approved by the President of the University.
    4. Compensatory leave earned and taken must be reported in whole numbers. Sum the total compensatory leave earned for the pay period, then round any fraction up to the nearest whole number. (I.e., 2.6 earned would round up to 3.) Sum the total compensatory leave taken for the pay period, then round any fraction down to the next whole number. (I.e., 3.4 taken would be rounded down to 3.)
    1.  

FLSA Compensatory Leave Policy for Nonexempt Unclassified Employees

The compensatory leave policy for FLSA non-exempt unclassified professional staff of Louisiana Tech University is as follows:

  1. An appointing authority may require an employee to work overtime on a holiday or at a time that the employee is not regularly required to be on duty. For those unclassified employees not exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements, any hours worked over forty (40) in a work week shall be credited to the nonexempt employee as FLSA compensatory leave at a rate of not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked. All FLSA compensatory leave must receive prior approval of the immediate supervisor before being earned. 
  2. Nonexempt employees may accumulate up to the FLSA maximum (240 hours) of FLSA compensatory leave. FLSA Compensatory leave is granted at a rate of one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked.  Thus, the 240 hour limit represents 160 hours of actual overtime worked.  Nonexempt law enforcement personnel are allowed to accumulate 480 hours of FLSA compensatory leave.  Lower limits may be established by individual departments but not for individual employees.  Once an employee reaches the maximum FLSA compensatory time accrual, the University must pay for additional overtime hours worked.  Any overtime required to be paid due to an employee exceeding the 240 hour limit must be financed from the department’s budget for that employee. 
  3. FLSA compensatory leave must be earned before it is taken, and may be used at the discretion of the employee, subject to supervisory approval.  The supervisor may not deny the request to use FLSA compensatory leave unless it would unduly disrupt University operations.  Supervisors may require that an employee use accrued FLSA compensatory leave to cover absences instead of utilizing non-FLSA compensatory leave or annual leave.  Absent exigent circumstances, it is the policy of the University to require employees to take time off to reduce accumulated FLSA compensatory leave.  Except for emergencies, any overtime hours which would cause the employee to exceed the FLSA compensatory leave maximum must receive prior approval of the employee’s supervisor and, if necessary, the appropriate vice president or his/her designee.  Supervisors should give as much advance notice as possible to employees when mandating the use of FLSA compensatory leave. 
  4. FLSA overtime-exempt employees are not credited with FLSA compensatory leave; therefore the balance of unused FLSA compensatory leave will either be taken or paid to the employee before a nonexempt employee becomes overtime-exempt. Upon resignation or termination, payment for all accumulated FLSA compensatory leave will be made in one lump-sum payment.  Unused FLSA compensatory leave shall be paid at the higher of either:  (1) the average regular hourly rate received by such employee during the last 3 years of employment or (2) the final regular hourly rate received by such employee. 
  5. FLSA compensatory leave should not be confused with a flexible time policy. Employees cannot arbitrarily determine their own work schedules.
  6. The following administrative procedures will apply in earning and recording compensatory leave:
    1. The detail of compensatory leave earned will be recorded each pay period in Workday.
    2. “Working Hours” to be counted for FLSA compensatory leave purposes include hours spent traveling for official University business and hours spent working away from campus. 
    3. Employees will not earn FLSA compensatory leave while on “on call” status at the employee’s home away from campus unless specifically approved by the President of the University.
    4. FLSA compensatory leave earned and taken must be reported in whole numbers. Sum the total compensatory leave earned for the pay period, then round any fraction up to the nearest whole number. (I.e., 2.6 earned would round up to 3.) Sum the total compensatory leave taken for the pay period, then round any fraction down to the next whole number. (I.e., 3.4 taken would be rounded up to 3.)  The employee will record the actual hours earned and the earned hours will be converted to rate of one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked when the Attendance and Leave Report is processed.

Leave for Civil and National Service

An employee shall be given time off without loss of pay, annual, or sick leave for civil and national services. The following are recognized by the Board as appropriate reasons:

  1. for performing jury duty;
  2. when summoned to appear as a witness before a court, grand jury, or other public body or commission;
  3. for performing emergency civilian duty in relation to national defense;
  4. for voting in a primary, general, or special election which falls on his/her scheduled working day, provided that not more than two hours of leave shall be allowed an employee to vote in the parish where he/she is employed, and not more than one day to vote in a parish other than the one where he/she is employed;
  5. when the appointing authority determines that employees are prevented from performing their duties by an act of God;
  6. when the appointing authority shall determine that local conditions or celebrations make it impracticable for employees to work.

Maternity/Paternity Leave

Louisiana Tech University considers absences from work caused by maternity/paternity reasons to be a temporary disability similar to any other illness, and affected employees are eligible to use their accumulated sick leave for this purpose. Employees may still request annual leave and leave without pay after exhausting their accumulated sick leave. Leave without pay for maternity/paternity reasons must be requested and approved in writing by the appointing authority.

Employees absent from work due to maternity/paternity leave are required to request Family Medical Leave (FMLA) for this absence. FMLA paperwork can be obtained in the Office of Human Resources or found online on our Louisiana Tech University website.

Military Leave

Employees who are members of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard shall be granted leaves of absence from their positions without loss of pay, time, or annual or sick leave when ordered to active duty for field training or training authorized in lieu thereof when the individual is given constructive credit for such training. Such leaves shall be for periods not to exceed 15 working days in any calendar year, but an appointing authority may grant an employee annual leave or leave without pay or both, in accordance with other provisions of these leave regulations for such periods which exceed 15 working days in any calendar year.

Employees who are inducted or ordered to active duty to fulfill reserve obligations or who are ordered to active duty in connection with reserve activities for indefinite periods or for periods in excess of their annual field training shall be ineligible for leave with pay.

Other Leave

The University recognizes other categories of leave for its employees:

  1. When an employee is absent from work because of disabilities for which he/she is entitled to Workmen’s Compensation, he/she may, at his/her option, use sick or annual leave or any appropriate combination of sick and annual leave (not to exceed the amount necessary) to receive total payment for leave and Workmen’s Compensation in accordance with law.
  2. Probationary and permanent employees may be given time off without loss of pay, annual leave, or sick leave when attending the funeral or burial rites of a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, brother, step-brother, sister, step-sister, spouse, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparent, step-grandparent, or grandchild provided such time off shall not exceed two days on any one occasion.
  3. At the discretion of the appointing authority, a full-time faculty member may be granted leave with pay to attend to personal emergencies. Such time may be charged against sick leave.

 

Policy 1425 – Leave Record Establishment and Regulations for All Unclassified, Non-Civil Service Employees

Revision Date:  02/09/2023

Last Review:  02/09/2023

Responsible Office: Office of Human Resources

Reference:  ULS Policy #FS.III.XXI.-1

Policy:

The rules and policies set forth below shall be applicable to all unclassified, non-civil service employees under the jurisdiction of Louisiana Tech University. It is the policy of Louisiana Tech University and the Board of Supervisors that unclassified employees shall enjoy benefits comparable to other classes of State employees, and these rules and policies are promulgated under that concept.

At the University, permission to take any kind of leave is granted by the department head/supervisor prior to taking leave if at all possible. For extended periods of time (10 days or more), approval is granted through the appropriate chain of command (usually department head/supervisor, dean/director/budget unit head, and if necessary, the appropriate vice president, president).

Definitions:

  1. Faculty leave is leave granted to faculty members employed on the nine-month (academic year) basis in lieu of annual leave and is comprised of the days between terms and at holiday periods when students are not in classes. This special form of leave shall be taken as it is earned.
  2. Annual leave is leave with pay granted to unclassified 12-month employees for the purpose of rehabilitation, restoration, maintenance of work efficiency, or attention to other personal concerns.
  3. Sick leave is leave with pay granted to an employee who is suffering with a disability which prevents him/her from performing his usual duties and responsibilities and who requires medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment; or to care for an immediate family member who is ill or injured; or to accompany an immediate family member to a medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment. As used in this subsection, “immediate family member” means a spouse, parent, or child of an employee.
  4. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law enforced by the United States Department of Labor.  Generally, the FLSA requires employers to pay minimum wage to employees and sets forth overtime and recordkeeping rules.  Subject to limitation, the FLSA allows a public employer like the University to use FLSA compensatory leave in lieu of cash to satisfy the overtime requirements for nonexempt employees. 
  5. FLSA Compensatory leave is leave hours accrued and used by unclassified employees who are not exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA for work and duties performed in excess of the normal 40-hour work week. 
  6. Compensatory leave is leave hours accrued and used by FLSA overtime-exempt unclassified employees (12-month) for work and duties performed in excess of the normal 40-hour work week.

Procedures:

Work Weeks and Attendance Records for Unclassified Employees

  1. For purposes of leave, appointing authorities shall establish work weeks of 40 hours per week for full-time employees. The purpose of establishing the 40-hour week is to provide appointing authorities a system of accounting for and the taking of leave. It is understood that some faculty work is done outside the office such as the library and laboratories as well as off-campus sites.
  2. For purposes of leave, appointing authorities shall establish work weeks proportionate to the provisions of the previous paragraph for part-time employees.
  3. Daily attendance and leave records shall be maintained for all unclassified employees. The University may, in the exercise of its discretion, adopt an attendance form designed to indicate that academic personnel were either present or absent from their usual duty posts during the usual working day for such personnel. These records shall be signed by the employee and the supervisor and reported at least monthly to the appropriate office at the end of each regular pay period.

Faculty Leave for Employees on Other Than 12-Month Basis

  1. Faculty leave shall be earned by each eligible faculty member who is employed for the academic year and has a regular tour of duty.
  2. Faculty leave shall be earned and taken as it is earned as specified by the official calendar of the University.

Annual Leave by Unclassified Employees on the Twelve-Month Basis

Annual leave shall be earned by each eligible employee who has a regular tour of duty. Personnel not employed on a continuing basis (temporary employees) shall not earn annual leave.

Annual leave earned shall be based on the equivalent of years of full-time State service and shall be creditable at the end of each pay period or calendar month in accordance with the following general schedules:

DAYS OF ANNUAL LEAVE EARNED PER PAY PERIOD BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

LENGTH OF SERVICE

AMOUNT EARNED

PER

HOUR WORKED

HRS/PAY PERIOD

BASED ON 80 HOURS

WORKED

DAYS PER YEAR

Less than 3 years

.0461

3.6880

12

3 but less than 5

.0576

4.6080

15

5 but less than 10

.0692

5.5360

18

10 but less than 15

.0807

6.4560

21

15 or more

.0923

7.3840

24

 

LENGTH OF SERVICE

 

 

DAYS (HOURS) OF ANNUAL LEAVE EARNED PER MONTH BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL TIME EMPLOYEES

Less than 3 years

 

 

1 (8 hours)

3 but less than 5

 

 

1 ¼ (10 hours)

5 but less than 10

 

 

1 ½ (12 hours)

10 but less than 15

 

 

1 ¾ (14 hours)

15 or more

 

 

2 (16 hours)

 

No 12-month unclassified employee shall be credited with annual leave for any pay period or calendar month:

  1. Until completion of that pay period or calendar month as an employee; or
  2. During which the employee was on leave without pay for ten or more working days; or
  3. While serving in the military.

Accrued unused annual leave earned by an employee shall be carried forward to the succeeding years without limitation.

When an employee changes his/her position from one state agency to another, his/her accumulated annual leave shall be forwarded to the new agency and shall be credited to him/her.

Legal holidays and other holidays declared by the President of the University shall not be charged to annual leave.

Annual leave shall be applied for in advance by the employee and may be taken only when approved by the appointing authority. Requirements concerning the use of annual leave include the following:

An appointing authority may require an employee who has sufficient annual leave to his/her credit to take annual leave whenever the authority feels that it is best for the employee or the appointing authority.

Except when given special advance approval for absence from duty, an employee must be at his/her work station for the day in order to be classified as on duty. A work station normally will be one’s office or elsewhere on the employer’s premises, or at other locations while representing the employer.

Upon resignation, death, removal, or other termination of employment of an unclassified employee, annual leave amounting to the same maximum as is provided for members of the classified service of the State by the Civil Service Commission and approved by the Governor, and accrued to his/her credit shall be computed and the value thereof shall be paid to the employee or the heirs, provided that the annual leave has been accrued under established leave regulations and attendance records have been maintained for the employee by his/her supervisor. Such pay shall be computed at the employee’s base rate of pay at the time of termination. Employees that return to work after accrued leave is paid due to retirement/DROP are not eligible for an additional payout of accrued annual leave upon death or termination.

Sick Leave for all Unclassified Employees

Sick leave shall be earned by each eligible employee who has a regular tour of duty. (A regular tour of duty for eligibility purposes shall include faculty and other unclassified employees appointed for an entire fiscal or academic year whether employed on a full or part-time basis.) Personnel not employed on a continuing basis (temporary employees) shall not earn sick leave.

Sick leave earned shall be based on the equivalent of years of full-time State service; and shall be creditable at the end of each pay period or calendar month in accordance with the following general schedules:

DAYS OF SICK LEAVE EARNED PER PAY PERIOD BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

LENGTH OF

SERVICE

AMOUNT EARNED

PER

HOUR WORKED

HRS/PAY PERIOD

BASED ON 80 HOURS

WORKED

DAYS/ YEAR

Less than 3 years

.0461

3.688

12

3 but less than 5

.0576

4.6080

15

5 but less than 10

.0692

5.5360

18

10 but less than 15

.0807

6.4560

21

15 or more

.0923

7.3840

24

 

DAYS OF SICK LEAVE EARNED PER MONTH BY UNCLASSIFIED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

LENGTH OF

SERVICE

 

 

DAYS/ HRS PER MONTH

Less than 3 years

 

 

1 (8 hrs)

3 but less than 5

 

 

1 ¼ (10 hrs)

5 but less than 10

 

 

1 ½ (12 hrs)

10 but less than 15

 

 

1 ¾ (14 hrs)

15 or more

 

 

2 (16 hrs)

 

No unclassified employee shall be credited with sick leave for any pay period or calendar month

  1. until completion of that pay period or calendar month as an employee (except that nine-month faculty employed during the summer shall accrue sick leave prorated during the actual weeks of employment. For example, a faculty member employed for nine weeks in the summer shall be credited with 2 1/4 days).
  2. during which the employee was on leave without pay for 10 or more working days.
  3. while serving in the military.
  1.  

Accrued unused sick leave earned by an employee shall be carried forward to the succeeding years without limitation.

When an employee changes his/her position from one state agency to another, his/her accumulated sick leave shall be forwarded to the new agency and shall be credited to him/her.

Sick leave with pay may be taken by an employee with sufficient leave to his/her credit for the following:

  1. Illness or injury which prevents performance of his/her work duties.
  2. Medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment.
  3. To care for an immediate family member who is ill or injured; or to accompany an immediate family member to a medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment.
  1.  

There is no minimum charge for sick leave. It is to be charged on an hourly basis.

The employee may use sick leave for maternity purposes when her postnatal or prenatal condition prevents the performance of usual duties, provided the employee has sufficient sick leave credit. The limit to the use of sick leave for a postnatal condition shall be six weeks unless a physician certifies the employee’s inability to return to work.

Upon death or retirement of an unclassified employee, sick leave accrued to his/her credit shall be computed and the value thereof shall be paid to the employee or heirs, provided that the sick leave has been accrued under established leave regulations and a daily attendance record has been maintained for the employee by his/her supervisor, except that such payment shall not exceed the value of 25 working days computed on the basis of a 5-day week and on a 4-week per month basis for personnel employed on less than the 12-month employment basis and on the basis of a 5-day week and 52-week year for 12-month employees. The rate of pay shall be computed using the base rate the employee is receiving at the time of termination.  Employees that return to work after accrued leave is paid due to retirement/DROP are not eligible for an additional payout of accrued sick leave upon death or termination.

 Compensatory Leave Policy for FLSA Overtime-Exempt Unclassified Professional Staff (12-Month)

FLSA overtime-exempt unclassified employees (12-month) are hired on an annual basis and are not compensated for extra work beyond the normal 40-hour work week. All types of leave, other than compensatory leave, are the same for both unclassified and classified employees as outlines by Civil Service Rules.

The compensatory leave policy for FLSA overtime-exempt unclassified professional staff of the Colleges and Universities of Louisiana System office and of the System institutions is as follows:

An appointing authority may require an employee to work overtime on a holiday or at a time that the employee is not regularly required to be on duty. Compensatory leave may be granted for overtime hours worked outside the regularly assigned 40-hour work week, or when the employee has not worked in excess of 40 hours due to holidays observed or leave taken. Earning of compensatory leave must have prior approval of the immediate supervisor and the appropriate vice president or his/her designee. The amount of such leave shall be equal to the number of extra hours the employee is required to work.

Compensatory leave shall not be earned by the following employees: presidents, vice presidents, deans, athletic directors, and athletic coaches. Exceptions may be made to permit these employees to be exempted from having to take leave when the university is officially closed. Such exceptions shall be included in the appointment letter of the individuals involved.

Compensatory leave shall be promptly credited to the employee and may be used with the approval of the immediate supervisor and the appropriate vice president or his/her designee. Not more than 240 hours of accrued unused compensatory leave shall be carried forward into any fiscal year. An appointing authority may require employees to use their earned compensatory leave at any time. An employee will not be paid the value of his/her accrued compensatory leave upon separation from his/her unclassified position.

In the event that an employee transfers without a break in service to another position within the State service, compensatory leave may be credited to the employee at the discretion of the new appointing authority. Compensatory leave shall be terminated when an employee separates from State service.

Compensatory leave should not be confused with a flexible time policy. Employees cannot arbitrarily determine their own work schedules. In addition, work undertaken while at home does not constitute the earning of compensatory time.

The following administrative procedures will apply in earning and recording compensatory leave:

    1. The detail of compensatory leave earned will be recorded each pay period in Workday.
    2. During official duty or travel on a regular University work day, an employee may earn a maximum of five (5) hours of compensatory leave for hours worked. During weekend official duty or travel, an employee may earn up to eight (8) hours per day.
    3. Employees will not earn compensatory leave while on “on call” status unless specifically approved by the President of the University.
    4. Compensatory leave earned and taken must be reported in whole numbers. Sum the total compensatory leave earned for the pay period, then round any fraction up to the nearest whole number. (I.e., 2.6 earned would round up to 3.) Sum the total compensatory leave taken for the pay period, then round any fraction down to the next whole number. (I.e., 3.4 taken would be rounded down to 3.)
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FLSA Compensatory Leave Policy for Nonexempt Unclassified Employees

The compensatory leave policy for FLSA non-exempt unclassified professional staff of Louisiana Tech University is as follows:

  1. An appointing authority may require an employee to work overtime on a holiday or at a time that the employee is not regularly required to be on duty. For those unclassified employees not exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements, any hours worked over forty (40) in a work week shall be credited to the nonexempt employee as FLSA compensatory leave at a rate of not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked. All FLSA compensatory leave must receive prior approval of the immediate supervisor before being earned. 
  2. Nonexempt employees may accumulate up to the FLSA maximum (240 hours) of FLSA compensatory leave. FLSA Compensatory leave is granted at a rate of one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked.  Thus, the 240 hour limit represents 160 hours of actual overtime worked.  Nonexempt law enforcement personnel are allowed to accumulate 480 hours of FLSA compensatory leave.  Lower limits may be established by individual departments but not for individual employees.  Once an employee reaches the maximum FLSA compensatory time accrual, the University must pay for additional overtime hours worked.  Any overtime required to be paid due to an employee exceeding the 240 hour limit must be financed from the department’s budget for that employee. 
  3. FLSA compensatory leave must be earned before it is taken, and may be used at the discretion of the employee, subject to supervisory approval.  The supervisor may not deny the request to use FLSA compensatory leave unless it would unduly disrupt University operations.  Supervisors may require that an employee use accrued FLSA compensatory leave to cover absences instead of utilizing non-FLSA compensatory leave or annual leave.  Absent exigent circumstances, it is the policy of the University to require employees to take time off to reduce accumulated FLSA compensatory leave.  Except for emergencies, any overtime hours which would cause the employee to exceed the FLSA compensatory leave maximum must receive prior approval of the employee’s supervisor and, if necessary, the appropriate vice president or his/her designee.  Supervisors should give as much advance notice as possible to employees when mandating the use of FLSA compensatory leave. 
  4. FLSA overtime-exempt employees are not credited with FLSA compensatory leave; therefore the balance of unused FLSA compensatory leave will either be taken or paid to the employee before a nonexempt employee becomes overtime-exempt. Upon resignation or termination, payment for all accumulated FLSA compensatory leave will be made in one lump-sum payment.  Unused FLSA compensatory leave shall be paid at the higher of either:  (1) the average regular hourly rate received by such employee during the last 3 years of employment or (2) the final regular hourly rate received by such employee. 
  5. FLSA compensatory leave should not be confused with a flexible time policy. Employees cannot arbitrarily determine their own work schedules.
  6. The following administrative procedures will apply in earning and recording compensatory leave:
    1. The detail of compensatory leave earned will be recorded each pay period in Workday.
    2. “Working Hours” to be counted for FLSA compensatory leave purposes include hours spent traveling for official University business and hours spent working away from campus. 
    3. Employees will not earn FLSA compensatory leave while on “on call” status at the employee’s home away from campus unless specifically approved by the President of the University.
    4. FLSA compensatory leave earned and taken must be reported in whole numbers. Sum the total compensatory leave earned for the pay period, then round any fraction up to the nearest whole number. (I.e., 2.6 earned would round up to 3.) Sum the total compensatory leave taken for the pay period, then round any fraction down to the next whole number. (I.e., 3.4 taken would be rounded up to 3.)  The employee will record the actual hours earned and the earned hours will be converted to rate of one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked when the Attendance and Leave Report is processed.

Leave for Civil and National Service

An employee shall be given time off without loss of pay, annual, or sick leave for civil and national services. The following are recognized by the Board as appropriate reasons:

  1. for performing jury duty;
  2. when summoned to appear as a witness before a court, grand jury, or other public body or commission;
  3. for performing emergency civilian duty in relation to national defense;
  4. for voting in a primary, general, or special election which falls on his/her scheduled working day, provided that not more than two hours of leave shall be allowed an employee to vote in the parish where he/she is employed, and not more than one day to vote in a parish other than the one where he/she is employed;
  5. when the appointing authority determines that employees are prevented from performing their duties by an act of God;
  6. when the appointing authority shall determine that local conditions or celebrations make it impracticable for employees to work.

Maternity/Paternity Leave

Louisiana Tech University considers absences from work caused by maternity/paternity reasons to be a temporary disability similar to any other illness, and affected employees are eligible to use their accumulated sick leave for this purpose. Employees may still request annual leave and leave without pay after exhausting their accumulated sick leave. Leave without pay for maternity/paternity reasons must be requested and approved in writing by the appointing authority.

Employees absent from work due to maternity/paternity leave are required to request Family Medical Leave (FMLA) for this absence. FMLA paperwork can be obtained in the Office of Human Resources or found online on our Louisiana Tech University website.

Military Leave

Employees who are members of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard shall be granted leaves of absence from their positions without loss of pay, time, or annual or sick leave when ordered to active duty for field training or training authorized in lieu thereof when the individual is given constructive credit for such training. Such leaves shall be for periods not to exceed 15 working days in any calendar year, but an appointing authority may grant an employee annual leave or leave without pay or both, in accordance with other provisions of these leave regulations for such periods which exceed 15 working days in any calendar year.

Employees who are inducted or ordered to active duty to fulfill reserve obligations or who are ordered to active duty in connection with reserve activities for indefinite periods or for periods in excess of their annual field training shall be ineligible for leave with pay.

Other Leave

The University recognizes other categories of leave for its employees:

  1. When an employee is absent from work because of disabilities for which he/she is entitled to Workmen’s Compensation, he/she may, at his/her option, use sick or annual leave or any appropriate combination of sick and annual leave (not to exceed the amount necessary) to receive total payment for leave and Workmen’s Compensation in accordance with law.
  2. Probationary and permanent employees may be given time off without loss of pay, annual leave, or sick leave when attending the funeral or burial rites of a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, brother, step-brother, sister, step-sister, spouse, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparent, step-grandparent, or grandchild provided such time off shall not exceed two days on any one occasion.
  3. At the discretion of the appointing authority, a full-time faculty member may be granted leave with pay to attend to personal emergencies. Such time may be charged against sick leave.