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218.0 VII-7.12 - POLICY ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY
(Approved by the Board of Regents, May 1, 1992; Amended
November 12, 1993)
I. Purpose and Applicability:
A. This policy governs voluntary leaves of absence
without pay (LWOP) for regular full-time and part-
time administrative and classified employees of the
University of Maryland System.
B. Emergency military leave, temporary military leave,
and indefinite military leave shall be granted to
eligible employees in accordance with applicable
state and federal law, and shall be governed by the
Policy on Military Leave.
C. Leaves for family and medical reasons shall be
granted to eligible employees in accordance with
applicable state and federal law, and shall be
governed by the UMS Policy on Family and Medical
Leave.
II. Eligibility:
A. Granting of requests for a leave of absence without
pay shall be at the discretion of the Chief
Executive Officer or designee after his/her
consideration and determination of the following:
1. The employee shall:
a. hold a regular full-time or regular part-
time (50% or more) position, and
b. have completed a total of at least twelve
(l2) months of service at the UMS
institution from which the employee
wishes to take leave, and
c. have a satisfactory record of work
performance, and
d. shall not have a record of abuse of
accrued leave usage.
2. Granting of the request shall:
a. not disrupt or interfere with the
operations or work schedules of the
institution or institutional unit.
III. Duration of Leave:
All regular employees may request a full or partial leave
of absence without pay up to a maximum of a two-year (24
month) period in accordance with the provisions of this
policy.
IV. Reasons for Leave:
A. A leave of absence without pay may be requested by
an eligible employee for reasons such as:
1. loan of an employee to another governmental
agency, higher education institution or
related organization;
2. outside employment that would lessen the
impact of a potential layoff or a layoff;
3. professional activities related to academic
research, advanced study, career development,
or other professional activities that are
determined by the institution's Chief
Executive Officer or designee to be of benefit
to the University of Maryland System or system
institution;
4. anticipated low demand for the employee's
services during slow periods in the
institution's or unit's operations (seasonal
leave), or
5. other activities as determined to be
appropriate by the Chief Executive Officer.
V. Job Protection:
A. Unless otherwise agreed to by the employee and the
Chief Executive Officer or designee, a leave of
absence without pay granted within the provisions
of this policy assures the employee a right to
return to his/her former position or to another
equivalent position within the same department
having the same pay, benefits, other terms and
conditions of employment, status and
responsibilities as the former position upon
expiration of the leave.
B. If during the leave the Chief Executive Officer or
designee determines in his/her discretion that the
position cannot be held available, the Chief
Executive Officer or designee shall notify the
employee in writing of his/her decision and shall
provide information regarding the equivalent
position to which the employee will be returned
upon expiration of the leave. The employee shall
have the right to return to work within fifteen
(15) working days from receipt of such notice in
order to keep the position from which he/she had
taken leave.
C. If there are reductions in the work force while the
employee is on leave and the employee would have
lost his/her position had he/she not been on leave,
then except as provided under UMS Policy on Layoff
and UMS Policy on Reinstatement, an employee has no
rights under this policy to be returned to his/her
former or to an equivalent position.
D. If there are increases or decreases in pay,
benefits, or other terms and conditions of
employment while the employee is on leave that
would have affected the employee had he/she not
been on leave, then except as provided under
applicable UMS policy, the employee shall be
returned to employment consistent with current
applicable, appropriate pay, benefits and other
terms and conditions of employment.
E. An employee on leave of absence without pay shall
not return from leave prior to the agreed upon
expiration of the leave without written approval of
the Chief Executive Officer or designee.
VI. Status of Benefits While on Leave:
A. All benefits, including health care and service
credit for retirement and other purposes, shall be
suspended for the period of the leave of absence
without pay. However, an employee on leave of
absence without pay for more than thirty (30) days
may elect to continue health care and other
benefits, as permitted by law or regulation, by
paying the full cost of the benefits, including the
share ordinarily paid by the employer.
B. An employee who elects to discontinue health
benefits may not re-enroll in the State of Maryland
health benefits program within the same benefit
year without certification that the employee has
been enrolled in another health plan during the
period of leave.
C. Under exceptional circumstances and on a case by
case basis, the chief Executive Officer or designee
may approve the continuation of the employer's
subsidy for health care benefits if the reason for
the leave is determined by the Chief Executive
Officer or designee to be of benefit to the UMS
institution. Employer costs of any payments made
to maintain the employee's health benefit coverage
while on a leave of absence without pay shall be
recovered if the employee fails to return from
leave.
VII. Compensation During Leave:
A. This policy governs unpaid leaves of absence;
however, the Chief Executive Officer or designee,
may require that accrued annual leave, personal
leave, holiday leave or compensatory leave (in the
case of non-exempt employees) be used prior to
granting LWOP.
VIII. Providing Information About Leave:
A. The employee shall provide complete, accurate and
timely information related to the request for,
continuation of, modification(s) to, and return
from leave.
IX. Failure to Return from Leave:
A. An employee who will not be returning to the
institution at the conclusion of a leave shall
notify the Chief Executive Officer or designee in
writing as soon as practicable. In the absence of
written notification, failure to return from leave
shall be interpreted as a resignation.
X. Miscellaneous:
A. Upon request of the Chief Executive Officer or
designee, an employee granted a leave of absence
without pay shall provide progress reports and/or
verification that the conditions of the leave are
being/were met.
B. Service credit shall not be granted to an employee
on a leave of absence without pay.
C. An employee may elect to purchase service credit at
the time of retirement for prior leaves without pay
that are qualified by the Maryland State Retirement
and Pension Systems. Upon approval of a leave
without pay, an employee shall follow the
institution procedure to assure that this option
may be exercised.
D. When LWOP is approved for employees who are on
probation status, the probation period shall be
adjusted upon the return of the employee by the
length of time used for LWOP.
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES:
Each Chief Executive Officer shall identify his/her
designee(s), as appropriate for this policy; shall develop
procedures as necessary to implement this policy; shall
communicate this policy and applicable procedures to his/her
institutional community; and shall forward a copy of such
designation and procedures to the Chancellor.
Replacement for: UMS BOR VII - 7.12 as adopted May 1, 1992.
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