1. Each 12-month faculty or staff member (9/10-month faculty or staff member excluded) of SAU shall be entitled to annual leave with full pay computed on the basis of the following schedule for each complete month of service:
2. Non-exempt:

2. Exempt

2. Usage of annual leave may be required at Christmas/New Year break and other times during the year. Notices will be provided stating the dates of the break and how many annual leave hours will be required.
3. Vacation leave is cumulative, but no faculty or staff member may carry forward more than 240 hours at the end of each calendar year (December 31). Vacation leave may not be accumulated during a period of leave without pay when such a leave is for ten (10) or more days within a calendar month.
4. The minimum amount of vacation leave a staff member can utilize is 15 minutes.
5. When 12-month faculty or staff members separate from the University, the unused vacation leave to their credit as of the last working day shall be liquidated by a lump sum payment not to exceed 240 hours. The accumulated (unused) vacation leave of a deceased faculty or staff member, not to exceed 240 hours, shall be payable to the estate of the deceased faculty or staff member or to an individual authorized to receive such payment.
6. Vacation leave may be requested at any time. Earned annual leave will be scheduled and must be approved by your supervisor and the dean/director before leave can be taken. Approval will be given based on the needs of the University. Leave for less than one day must be approved at least one day before leave begins. No one may borrow from anticipated future accruals or use accrual of leave of other faculty or staff.
7. When a holiday occurs during a vacation leave period, the holiday will not be considered a day of vacation time.
8. Appointed staff members (one-half but less than full-time) will receive vacation leave allowance proportionate to that given full-time faculty and staff members.
9. Some positions funded by external grants are designated to use all vacation leave during the year and records are not kept in the Office of Human Resources. These positions are designated in the notice of appointment or contract, and generally, are those that combine teaching with other responsibilities.
10. Twelve-month faculty and staff members will accrue half their monthly accrual of annual leave if they are employed on the first working day of the month and work through the 15th of the month. They will accrue half of their monthly accrual if they are employed on the 16th of the month and work through the last working day of that month.

1. Sick leave with pay shall be granted to faculty and staff members of SAU when they are incapacitated from performing their duties by sickness or injury, or for medical, dental, or optical treatment.  Full-time faculty and staff members shall be entitled to sick leave with full pay computed of the basis of one day (8 hours) for each complete month of service.  Such sick leave shall be cumulative but no more than 960 hours may be carried forward at the end of each calendar year (Dec. 31).
2. Part-time appointed faculty and staff members (one-half time or more) on regular appointments earn sick leave credits proportionate to that earned by full-time appointed faculty and staff members.  Extra help and adjunct do not earn sick leave.
3. Sick leave may be used for only the following purposes:
4. 1. When the employee is unable to work because of sickness or injury; or for medical, dental or optical treatment.
   2. Death or serious illness of a member of the employee’s immediate family.  Immediate family is defined as the father, mother, sister, brother, spouse, child, grandparents, grandchild, in-laws, or any individual acting as a parent or guardian of an employee.

The use of sick leave is contingent upon the occurrence of one of the events listed above.  If the event never occurs, the employee is not entitled to the sick leave benefits.

4. Twelve-month faculty and staff members will accrue half their monthly accrual of sick leave if they are employed on the first working day of the month and work through the 15^th of the month.  They will accrue half their monthly accrual if they are employed on the 16^th of the month and work through the last working day of the month.
5. Faculty and staff members are required to provide a certificate from an attending physician for five or more days of consecutive sick leave.  For purposes of requiring a certificate from an attending physician, four ten-hour days is equivalent to five eight-hour days.  The certifying language needs to state that the member is well enough to return to work.  The president with a recommendation from the Office of Human Resources may accept substitute confirmation of illness, if a certifying physician is not available for good cause.
6. Sick leave may not be accumulated during a period of leave without pay when such a leave is for ten (10) or more days within a calendar month.  Non-working days within a period of sick leave (i.e., holidays, weekends) will not be charged as sick leave.  Sick leave periods of less than one day may be granted with the supervisor’s approval.  The minimum amount of sick leave a faculty or staff member can utilize is 15 minutes.
7. Faculty and staff members who are absent from work due to an occupational injury or illness and are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits may, upon proper application, use their accrued sick leave as a supplement to their workers’ compensation benefits.  Benefits from both sources may be equal to, but not in excess of, their normal weekly pay at the time of the injury or onset of illness.  Such option, when exercised, shall reduce the faculty and staff member’s accrued sick leave on a proportional basis. Absences due to sick leave, except maternity leave, shall be charged in the following order: 1) sick leave, 2) compensatory time, 3) annual leave, and then 4) leave without pay.
8. Faculty or staff members on maternity leave do not have to exhaust annual and sick leave before taking leave without pay.  Accumulated sick leave and annual leave, if requested by the faculty or staff member, shall be granted for maternity use, after which leave without pay may be used.  See also 502.4 for certification.
9. When a faculty or staff member separates from the University, the unused sick leave will not be credited to the faculty or staff member.  Unused sick leave is voided at separation and will not be paid.  There is an exemption for some non-exempt staff at retirement, please refer to section 804 for eligibility.

General Eligibility

Staff members who need additional sick leave may benefit from the provisions of the catastrophic leave policy authorized by Arkansas Code Section 21-4-214.  Under this program, a leave bank is created by donations and the program is administered through the Office of Human Resources.  Donations may be made in November and December of each year or when a staff member terminates or retires from the University.  To be eligible to apply for the program, staff members must meet the specific conditions. Applicants who do not meet the 80 hour rule must submit a written explanation to the Committee why an “extraordinary circumstance waiver” should be granted. Contact the Office of Human Resources for complete guidelines.

All catastrophic leave will be considered a part of the twelve weeks of leave
authorized by the Family Medical Leave Act. SAU follows the Arkansas State
Personnel Policy definitions of Catastrophic Leave.

1. Special Eligibility for Maternity

Pursuant to Act 182 of 2017, catastrophic leave under A.C.A. §21-4-214 may be used by eligible employees for maternity leave under certain circumstances.  Generally, the provisions are as follows:

1. 1. Up to four consecutive weeks of catastrophic leave with full pay may be granted to an employee for maternity purposes.
   2. An employee shall be eligible for catastrophic leave for maternity purposes only within the first twelve weeks after the birth or adoption of a child.
   3. After the expiration of the four weeks of catastrophic leave for maternity purposes, the employee’s maternity leave shall be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability.
   4. Maternity leave shall be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability. Accumulated sick leave and annual leave, if requested by the employee, shall be granted for maternity use, after which leave without pay may be used.
   5. Catastrophic leave for maternity purposes shall run concurrently with any leave under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2601.
   6. Catastrophic leave for maternity purposes may be granted to a female employee after: (a) the birth of the employee’s biological child; or (b) the placement of an adoptive child in the home of the employee.
   7. An employee on catastrophic leave for maternity purposes is not required to exhaust sick or annual leave before being granted catastrophic leave for maternity purposes.
   8. Employees on catastrophic leave for maternity purposes do not accrue sick or annual leave while on catastrophic leave for maternity purposes.

The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible faculty and staff members to a total of twelve (12) work weeks of leave without pay during any 12-month period for any one of the following reasons:

1. The birth of a child and subsequent care,
2. The placement with the faculty or staff member of a child for adoption or foster care,
3. The care of the faculty or staff member’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition, or
4. A serious health condition that makes the faculty or staff member unable to perform his/her job.

The 12-month period used by SAU for determining eligibility is a rolling year based on the onset of the serious medical condition that FMLA is being requested for.  An employee’s entitlement is determined by looking at the 12 months prior to the time leave is requested to determine the total number of FMLA hours the employee is eligible to receive.  The employee is entitled to any balance of unpaid leave not taken during that 12-month period.  In the case of birth or adoption, eligibility for FMLA leave shall expire at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the child’s birth or placement.  However, leave used for this purpose shall also be calculated on a rolling year basis.  Additional information and application forms are available in the Office of Human Resources.

The University’s holiday schedule conforms to the state schedule of holidays in terms of total number of days; however, there is some variance in the specific days.  Several holidays are not taken at their originally scheduled time in order that they might be taken the day after Thanksgiving and between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  These holidays include President’s Day, Veteran’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day/Robert E. Lee’s Birthday, and the faculty or staff member’s birthday.  If a faculty or staff member wishes to observe any of these holidays, supervisors are requested to allow faculty or staff members to schedule a day of annual leave if the departmental work load will permit. SAU observes the following holidays each year:

Independence Day                                          July 4

Labor Day                                                       First Monday in September

Thanksgiving                                                   Fourth Thursday in November and following Friday (2 days)*

Christmas and New Year’s Break                  Usually begins the day before Christmas Eve and ends the day after New Year’s Day (7 days)

Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday                Faculty and Students only

Memorial Day                                                 Last Monday in May

*A mandatory vacation day may be used if the governor does not declare the day after Thanksgiving a holiday.

In order that University faculty and staff members may fulfill their civic responsibilities as jurors or witnesses and when involved as party litigants, faculty and staff are granted leave of absence with pay when subpoenaed for jury duty or as witnesses or when involved as a party litigant.  Reasonable notice must be provided to the University of court appearances.  A copy of the subpoena or jury attendance slip should be attached to the leave slip or timesheet.  When released from jury or witness duty, the faculty or staff member returns to work.

Jury or witness duty is that service and time spent away from the job because of a subpoena issued by the court.  A faculty or staff member who volunteers as a witness or for other court duty, such as serving as an expert witness, will not be granted jury/court leave and must take annual leave.

A leave of absence without pay may be granted to faculty and staff members for the following purposes:

1. Educational reasons
2. Personal reasons, when such absences extend beyond available earned vacation or sick leave.

For either of these reasons a request should be submitted through supervisor channels to the president.  The request should be in memorandum format and include specifics of the request and reason(s).  Supervisors should indicate how the request will affect their unit and what costs if any are associated with the request.  If the leave of absence extends beyond the coverage provided by federal or state laws (FMLA, etc.), the faculty or staff member may be placed on extended leave without pay status.  When a faculty or staff member is certified by a physician as being able to return to work, the faculty or staff may apply for available positions at the University for which the employee is qualified.  Further information can be obtained from the Office of Human Resources.

Faculty or staff participating in military training programs or the US Public Health Service training programs shall be entitled to a leave of absence for a period of fifteen (15) days plus necessary travel time for annual training requirements or other duties performed in an official duty status in any one (1) calendar year. To the extent this leave is not used in a calendar year, it will accumulate for use in the succeeding calendar year until it totals fifteen (15) days at the beginning of the calendar year. A maximum number of military leave days available in one (1) calendar year may only be thirty (30) days. Faculty and staff requesting leave will provide a copy of the orders or equivalent documents for personnel file.

Whenever any faculty or staff is granted a leave of absence, he or she shall be entitled to his or her regular salary during the time he or she is away from his or her duties during such leave of absence. This leave of absence shall be in addition to the regular annual accrual leave accrued by the faculty or staff member.

During a leave of absence, the faculty or staff member shall be entitled to preserve all seniority rights, efficiency or performance ratings, promotional status, retirement privileges, life and disability insurance benefits, and any other rights, privileges, and benefits to which they have become entitled.

The period of military service shall, for purposes of computations to determine whether such person may be entitled to retirement benefits, be deemed continuous service and the faculty or staff member shall not be required to make contributions to any retirement fund. The institution shall continue to contribute its portion of any life or disability insurance premiums during the leave of absence so that continuous coverage may be maintained.

1. University faculty or staff members, as citizens, have the right to engage in political activity.  However, no faculty or staff member may involve the institution’s name, symbols, property, or supplies in political activities.  Campaign activities by a faculty or staff member must be restricted to hours that do not conflict with the discharge of University responsibilities and not on the University campus.
2. Political bumper stickers or decals should never be displayed on or in state cars or state (University) property except for occupants of faculty/staff housing.  State vehicles must not be used during or after working hours to promote or assist the candidacy of any person in any way.  Faculty and staff may not display political advertising on personal vehicles when using these vehicles in the performance of official duties for which they will be reimbursed for official travel.  This does not preclude the use of campaign material for academic purposes.

Each section under leave provides specific record keeping requirements to keep track of the time off work.  It is very important that these records be kept because they are subject to audit.

Additional documentation is necessary when a faculty or staff member has been off work for illness or injury and is returning to work at less than full capacity.  When this arises, faculty or staff members should provide statements from their physicians stating the limitation.  Progress reports should follow stating when a return to full capacity occurs.  SAU will work with each faculty or staff member to determine appropriateness of duties during this period of light duty.

Full-time faculty and staff members are authorized eight hours of leave each academic year to participate in, assist with or attend their children’s educational activities.  For the purposes of children’s educational activities leave, “child” is defined as any person enrolled in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 (preK-12) who is the faculty or staff members natural child, adopted child, stepchild, foster child, grandchild, legal ward or for whom faculty/staff are the legal guardian or act in any other legal capacity as a parent.  Educational activities are defined as: parent-teacher conferences, your participation in school-sponsored tutoring, school-sponsored volunteer programs, field trips, classroom programs and academic competitions, and your assisting with athletic, music or theater programs.  Unused children’s educational activities leave may not be carried over to the next academic year and you will not receive compensation for unused children’s educational activities leave at retirement or when your employment with the University ends.  An academic year is from July to June (corresponds to the University fiscal year July 1 to June 30).