Leaves of Absence

Family and Medical Leave (FMLA/CFRA): Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying family or medical reasons.

• Eligibility – One year employment and 1,250 hours worked in the previous 12 months.  
  • Exception – Full Time faculty requires one year of employment
    
    
• Pay While on Leave – May use available paid leave (Sick, vacation, 50% pay)
  
  
• FMLA Qualifying Reasons: 
  • The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care;  
  • To bond with a child (leave must be taken within one year of the child’s birth or placement);  
  • To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition;  
  • For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job;  
  • For qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.  
    
    
• CFRA Qualifying Reasons: 
  •  To bond with a child (leave must be taken within one year of the child’s birth or placement);  
  • To care for the employee’s child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling who has a qualifying serious health condition;  
  • For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job;  
  • For qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.  

Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL): Up to 4 months of job-protected leave for a pregnancy-related disability.

• Eligibility – As of date of hire 
• Pay While on Leave – May use available paid leave (Sick, vacation, 50% pay)
  Note: Adjunct Instructors must have an active assignment to be absent from.
• PDL may include, but is not limited to, additional or more frequent breaks, time for prenatal or postnatal medical appointments, and doctor-ordered bed rest, and covers conditions such as severe morning sickness, gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, recovery from childbirth or loss or end of pregnancy and/or post-partum depression.

Parental Leave: Additional leave may be available under CFRA for bonding with a new child.

• Eligibility – Permanent employees and adjunct instructors with one year of employment. 
• Pay While on Leave – May use available paid leave (Sick, vacation, 50% pay)
  • Note: Adjunct Instructors must have an active assignment to be absent from.
  • Faculty – Eligible for district paid parental leave for first five (5) consecutive weeks. 

Personal Necessity Leave: Paid leave for urgent personal matters, as defined by policy or bargaining unit contracts.

• Eligibility – Permanent employees and Adjunct Instructors
• Amount of personal necessity time available varies  amongst the employee groups. Please review your contract to determine amount available.

If an employee has sustained a work-related injury or illness and taken off work by the treating physician or if the District is unable to accommodate work limitations, then the employee shall be off work and placed on leave.

• This leave can run concurrently with FMLA and CFRA if the employee is eligible for those leaves.
• Pay – Accepted Claims
  • Permanent employees, staff and faculty, are eligible for salary continuation for 60 days. After that. Pay will consist of 2/3 pay from Total Temporary Disability (TTD) and 1/3 pay from their sick and vacation accruals.
  • Temporary/Adjunct employees and student workers are eligible for TTD payments after an elimination period.
• Pay - Delayed Claims
  • Employees must use their accruals to cover any absence while the claim is being reviewed.
  • If the claim is later accepted, then workers comp benefits are applied and accruals are adjusted.

Bereavement Leave: Paid leave for the death of an immediate family member.

• Eligibility – Permanent employees and Adjunct Instructors
• Amount of Time – Up to 5 days
• Qualifying Family Members - Immediate Family: Father, father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, brother or sister of the faculty member, grandparents, grandchild of the faculty member or of the spouse of the faculty, spouse, eligible domestic partner, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or any relative living in the immediate household of the faculty. The previous enumeration shall apply to the immediate family of eligible domestic partners.
• Bereavement leave is applicable for a reproductive loss event:
  • Miscarriage
  • Stillbirth
  • Failed adoption – for example, if a birth mother or legal guardian breaches or dissolves an adoption agreement, or if an adoption is not finalized for another reason
  • Failed surrogacy – for example, if a surrogate breaches or dissolves a surrogacy agreement, or if an embryo transfer fails
  • Unsuccessful assisted reproduction – for example, a failed intrauterine insemination or embryo transfer 

Jury Duty or Witness Leave: Paid leave to fulfill civic obligations.

• Eligibility – Permanent employees and Adjunct Instructors
• Amount of Time for Jury Duty:
  • Classified – Unlimited
  • Faculty – 14 days
    
    

• Catastrophic Leave
• Faculty Specific Leaves (See Guild Contract for information)
  • Sabbatical Leave
  • Faculty Enhancement Leave
  • Pre-retirement reduced workload Leave
  • Personal Leave: Temporary Reduction in Assignment