Approved: January 8, 2024
Monitor: President
In accordance with Illinois law, effective January 1, 2024, the University is establishing a Personal Leave time benefit for part-time employees. This benefit will be determined by the employee's classification and is not intended to be additional leave for current or future benefit eligible employees. This benefit is intended to provide part time employees the ability to have paid benefit time to use for any reason of the employee's choosing as outlined in this policy.
An employee is defined by the Illinois Wage and Payment Act. (Student Employees and Graduate Assistants are not eligible for this benefit)
Employees in the following classifications are eligible for this personal time benefit:
Effective January 1, 2024 or at time of hire after January 1, 2024, eligible employees will earn 1.0 hour for every 40 hours worked up to 40 hours of Personal Leave time per fiscal year. Any leave time not used in the fiscal year will carry over to the next fiscal year. An eligible employee's Personal Leave time balance may be no more than 40.0 hours at any time. In addition, any leave time remaining is not payable at the time of separation from employment.
Eligible employees cannot earn more than 40 hours per fiscal year and will be allocated on a per employee basis - regardless of the number of positions an employee may hold during the fiscal year with the University.
Employees who leave and are re-hired within a year will have any remaining leave hours at the time of separation restored at the time of re-hire.
Employees who earn Personal Leave time may begin using the leave time March 31, 2024, or when appropriate balances are available after March 31, 2024.
Personal Leave time shall be granted upon written or oral request by the employee, provided the employee has sufficient Personal Leave time available. Departments do not have the authority to deny a Personal Leave time request when the employee has sufficient personal leave time available to cover the requested time off. Each department, however, may have periods in which operational need will determine if leave time can be requested or awarded. Departments should make available in advance (beginning of each fiscal year) those periods in which Personal Leave time will not be approved.
If the need for use of personal leave time is foreseeable, the employee must provide their supervisor with at least seven (7) calendar days' notice before the Personal Leave time is to begin. If the need for Personal Leave time is not foreseeable, the employee must provide notice to their supervisor as soon as is practicable in accordance with normal department call-in procedures.
Personal Leave time may be used for any reason of the employee's choosing, and the employee cannot be required to provide justification for the requested personal time off. Documentation of need for the time off cannot be requested from the employee.
Personal Leave time must be taken and reported on the employee's timesheet to the nearest quarter of an hour and can be used in no less than 2-hour increments. Academic units will be responsible for ensuring that proper reporting of leave time occurs for those who do not regularly complete leave reports.
Working days or hours cannot be changed to avoid the utilization of Personal Leave time. Personal Leave time cannot be considered for performance evaluations or disciplinary actions.
Failure to comply with the procedures outlined in this policy may result in the denial of benefit usage and possible disciplinary action.