Graduate Employees Organization -- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign / Leave

From CGEU

XVII. Leaves and Holidays

A. Paid Leaves

Assistantships typically require services on a 9-month or semester-by-semester basis (“E” service), and some assistants will have separate summer appointments for part or all of the summer. Assistants on a 9-month or semester-by-semester basis do not earn any vacation.

Assistants who are appointed on a 12-month basis (“Y” service) are eligible for vacations of 24 work days each year at the percentage they are appointed, with a maximum accumulation of 48 work days at the percentage of their appointment. Vacation days are earned based on two days of vacation for each month of service to a maximum accumulation of 48 work days. The scheduling of vacation time is determined with the supervisor and may include time taken during semester breaks, at the discretion of the employing department.

B. Sick Leave

Assistants are eligible for 13 noncumulative and noncompensable work days of sick leave at the percentage of their appointment for each appointment year, whether they are appointed on a nine-month or a twelve-month basis. Graduate students appointed to one-semester assistantships earn 6.5 days of sick leave at the percentage of their appointment.

Assistants must promptly notify the department head or supervisor so that arrangements for coverage of duties can be made and the usage recorded. Assistants are subject to University policies (contained in the Campus Administrative Manual) concerning use of sick leave.

C. Parental Leave.

Eligible assistants are entitled to up to two weeks of parental leave without loss of pay immediately following the birth of a child, or upon either the initial placement or the legal adoption of a child under 18 years of age. Eligible assistants are those who hold an active appointment at the time the parental leave is taken. The requirement that academic staff members must have six months of service to receive this benefit does not apply to graduate employees. Parental leave will be counted as part of the twelve-week entitlement accorded by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for FMLA-eligible individuals and may be used in conjunction with other paid or unpaid leaves for which the individual is eligible.

D. Jury Duty

Assistants are eligible for leave of absence without loss of pay for the duration of jury duty or for service as a witness in response to a subpoena which is related to an assistant’s past or current duties, on the day or days when the assistants would have otherwise been performing assistant duties. An assistant may also retain funds paid in compensation for jury duty in keeping with University policy.

An assistant summoned as a juror or as a subpoenaed witness related to their past or current University duties shall immediately inform his/her supervisor of the absence. Teaching assistants who are called for jury duty shall discuss with their supervisor whether jury service will conflict with their teaching obligation and if so, whether requesting a deferral from jury duty is appropriate. An assistant who reports for jury duty and is dismissed shall resume his/her normal duties as soon as possible.

E. Military Leave

Military leave shall be in accordance with applicable state and federal law, and University policy.

F. Bereavement Leave.

Assistants are eligible to receive up to three days of paid leave to attend the funeral, for travel, and bereavement time upon the death of an assistant’s immediate family, same-sex domestic partner or household member, in-laws, grandchildren, and/or grandparents; and one day of paid leave for a relative other than the above, who is not a member of the assistant’s household.

G. Coverage Responsibility

If an assistant must be absent from work, it is the assistant's responsibility to follow established departmental policies and procedures. This may include a responsibility to inform the assistant's supervisor in advance of the absence, to explain to the supervisor the reason for the absence, to secure the supervisor's approval of the absence, and to follow the employing unit's policies concerning arranging for substitutes to perform the assistant's duties.

H. Personal Leave of Absence

An assistant may be granted an unpaid leave of absence during the term of his/her appointment, upon request to and at the sole discretion of the Employer and subject to such terms and conditions as the Employer may establish.

I. Holidays

Assistants shall receive holidays off without loss of pay in accordance with the campus holiday schedule, which may be modified from time to time.

J. Family Medical Leave Act of 1993

In compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”) and applicable rules and regulations, the University may adopt policies to implement the FMLA that are in accord with what is legally permissible under the Act and the applicable rules and regulations.