Additional Leave Classifications

Extended Sick Leave (ESL) is paid time off (PTO) accrued beyond the maximum allowance of PTO for staff and faculty with 12-month appointments. Review Paid Time Off Accrual Rates here. Extended Sick Leave can be used for absence due to personal illness after you have used five consecutive working days of paid leave for missed work time. If you do not have paid leave to cover the first five consecutive days, then you must take unpaid leave before you can use ESL.

Faculty with 9-month appointments* accrue 96 hours (12 days) of ESL per year instead of PTO. There is no maximum accrual amount for full-time 9-month faculty members with the rank of instructor or above who hold continuous appointments. Nine-month faculty do not accrue other paid leave. Extended Sick Leave can be used for personal illness or illness of a family member and may be used immediately. Faculty on a 9-month contract who will be out more than three days may qualify for FMLA. Absences of 9-month faculty for reasons other than personal illness or illness of a family member will be charged as leave without pay.

NOTE: Employees on Extended Sick Leave do not accrue Paid Time Off.

*HSC programs may also rarely have faculty appointed to 10-month positions. In those cases, policies for 9-month faculty also apply to 10-month faculty.

For further details, please refer to Staff Handbook, Section 3.10.1.1.

Leaves of absence without pay for personal reasons may be recommended by the budget unit head when it appears to be in the best interest of the university and the employee. Such leaves may not exceed one year in length. Leave without pay does not count as service time for computation of benefits other than for retirement as specified. Leave without pay for monthly-paid employees may not be for absences of less than one day's duration.

For further details, please refer to Staff Handbook, Section 3.11.

The University of Oklahoma provides leave in accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 designed to enable employees to balance their work responsibilities with the demands of caring for family members or in the event of serious personal illness or injury.

For more information please visit the Human Resources FMLA page and/or consult the Staff Handbook, Section 3.11.2

When ordered by the proper authority to active or inactive duty, Employees who are members of the Oklahoma National Guard or any branch of the United States military (including its reserve components) are entitled to a leave of absence with pay. This leave of absence covers the first 30 regularly scheduled work days of active military duty during any federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30). The leave with pay will not be charged against paid leave or other accrued benefits. 

Employees who are employed by the university for brief, nonrecurring employment that is not expected to last indefinitely or for a significant period of time are not entitled to military leave except under limited conditions. Contact Human Resources for assistance regarding such determinations.

The employee must provide their department a copy of written military orders before time off can be granted. The employee must also submit the Military Leave Acknowledgement form to their campus HR office.

The following guidelines are applicable for military leaves on or after September 11, 2001, and during the period that “Operation Enduring Freedom” is in effect:

• During the first 30 regularly scheduled work days, employees will receive their full regular pay.
• For leave that extends beyond 30 regularly scheduled work days, the university will pay the difference between the employee’s full regular pay and their military pay, if any.

For necessary Military Leave forms and information please visit the Human Resources Military Leave page and/or refer to the Staff Handbook, Section 3.10.5.

The university allows employees to donate paid leave to eligible employees through the shared leave program. The employee receiving leave must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. 12-month faculty or staff 
2. Benefits-eligible appointment 
3. Continuous employment with the university for at least 12 months 
4. Used all paid leave, including but not limited to accrued paid leave, extended sick leave, and compensatory time 
5. Experiencing a life-threatening or catastrophic health condition which has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to take leave without pay. 

Requests to receive or to donate leave must be submitted on the required forms below to the campus Shared Leave Committee. The Committee approves the distribution of shared leave.

• Shared leave is meant to cover only the duration of the life-threatening or catastrophic health condition for which it was approved.
• Donated paid leave is transferable between employees within each campus with the approval of the Shared Leave Committee.
• No employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated, or financially induced into donating paid leave.
• Employees receiving shared leave will not accrue paid leave.

For necessary documentation or more information please visit the Human Resources Shared Leave Program page and/or refer to the Staff Handbook, Section 3.10.8.

Sabbatical leaves of absence are among the most important means by which an institution's academic program is strengthened, a faculty member's teaching effectiveness enhanced, and scholarly usefulness enlarged. The major purpose is to provide opportunity for continued professional growth and new or renewed intellectual achievement through study, research, writing, and training.

For more information regarding Sabbatical leave please refer to the Staff Handbook, Section 3.21.1.