The University has a number policies related to leave and pay options for when employees are on leave, such as the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act Policy, Paid Sick Time Policy, Personal Leave of Absence Policy, and Compassionate Transfer of Leave Policy. University leave policies can be found in the Classified Staff Policy Manual and University’s Handbook on Appointed Personnel.
In addition, if a disabled or pregnant employee is not eligible for Family and Medical Leave (FML) or has exhausted her FML and the Department has not approved other leave (e.g., approved the use of paid sick time or a personal leave of absence), she may request leave as a reasonable accommodation through the DRC. Similar to FML, an employee may request additional leave that is continuous, reduced work schedule, or intermittent.
Requesting Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation:
- To make a request, an employee must submit an Accommodation Request Form (Note: you must be signed into your UA email account to access the Request Form) and Medical Provider Form according to the instructions on the form. (We recommend using Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the fillable PDF version.) If a medical provider is unsure of how much leave the employee needs, she should provide her best estimate.
- The DRC encourages employees who are interested in requesting leave as a reasonable accommodation to contact HR Benefits at (520) 621-3662 to receive information about any potential impact on their benefits.
Interactive Process and DRC Determination:
- If an employee requests additional leave as a reasonable accommodation, the DRC will notify and discuss the request with the employee’s department. The DRC will determine whether additional leave is reasonable and will notify the employee and department of its decision in writing.
Subsequent Requests for Additional Leave:
- If additional leave is approved through a particular date and the employee learns they are unable to return to her normal work schedule by the expected date, they should notify her department as soon as possible. If the employee would like to request additional leave beyond the original approved leave, they should contact the DRC to make this request, giving as much notice as possible.
- If the DRC does not receive a new request for additional leave, the DRC will not reach out to the employee to confirm whether the employee plans to return to his normal work schedule on the expected date and will not contact the Department about whether the employee is returning to his normal work schedule. Departments should be in touch with their employees on leave to confirm and discuss their transitions back to their normal work schedules. If an employee informs her department that she is unable to return to her normal work schedule on the expected date and would like additional leave, the Department can approve leave on its own, otherwise the Department should refer the employee to the DRC to make a new request.