Effective: December 28, 2022

Policy Review Date: YEAR

Policy Executive: Senior Vice President – Finance and Administration

Responsible Office/Unit: Human Resources

Policy Statement:

Applicability:

Content:

          Policy
          Appendix A – Employee Leave Procedure
          Appendix B – Sick Leave for Student Employees, Temporary Hourly Employees and Graduate Assistants

(1) Introduction.

A. Central Washington University is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. Employees are advised to stay at home if they are feeling ill, to avoid placing other members of the university community at risk. Employees who feel ill while at work should disclose it to their supervisor and go home immediately.

(2) This policy:

A. Applies to all:

1. Non-represented classified employees,
2. Nonpermanent civil service employees,
3. Temporary, hourly employees,
4. Student employees, and
5. Graduate Assistants (staff).

B. Will prevail for terms not covered under collective bargaining agreements for represented employees.

C. Provides guidance to staff and supervisors in addressing employees’ time away from work.

D. Is to be used in conjunction with Chapters 357-31 and 296-128 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) and university procedures.

(3) Employee Leave

A. Central Washington University recognizes that employees have occasions to be absent from work and, therefore, provides a variety of leave intended to enable employees to balance their personal life and work responsibilities.

B. President, vice presidents, appointing authorities, and division and department heads will:

1. Ensure that leave use by personnel under their supervision is in accordance with applicable laws, WACs and university leave policies and procedures.

C. Managers and supervisors will:

1. Communicate expectations concerning leave requests and appropriate use of leave to employees.
2. Ensure employees understand they should stay home when ill or go home when they become ill while at work.
3. Ensure approval or denial of leave is in accordance with applicable laws, WACs, and university policies and procedures.
4. Identify, by delegation, who will review and approve employee leave requests in their absence.

D. Human Resources will:

1. Administer this policy in accordance with applicable laws, WACs and university policies and procedures.
2. Develop and administer procedures for the implementation of leave practices.
3. Provide consultation and interpretation regarding this policy, procedure and best practice.

History: 

Responsibility: BFA; Authority: Cabinet/UPAC; Reviewed/Endorsed by: Cabinet/UPAC;
Review/Effective Date: 04/01/2015; 06/13/2018; 08/05/2020; 12/28/22; Approved by: James L. Gaudino, President]
Reformatted and Assigned new Policy Number - Previous Policy CWUP 2-30-060, June 2025
Attached Procedure CWUR 3-40-040 as Appendix A and Procedure CWUR 3-40-042 as Appendix B, June 2025

Appendix A - Employee Leave Procedure

(1) Introduction

A. This procedure applies to all non-represented classified employees. To the extent that this procedure addresses the terms not covered under collective bargaining agreements for represented employees, the terms of this procedure will prevail.

(2) These procedures cover the following areas.

A. Approval or Denial of Leave
B. Bereavement
C. Compensatory Time
D. Domestic Violence
E. Family Care Emergency
F. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
G. Inclement Weather & Suspended Operations
H. Jury Duty
I. Leave Without Pay
J. Military Leave
K. Miscellaneous Paid Leave
L. Personal Holidays
M. Religious/Personal Conviction Holiday
N. Requesting or Reporting Absences
O. Shared Leave Requests
P. Sick Leave
Q. Vacation (Annual Leave)

(3) Requesting or Reporting Absences

A. The employee will submit their leave request to their immediate supervisor or designee in advance of the requested leave date. Individual departments may set standards for how far in advance requests shall be required.

B. If advance notice is not possible, the employee will provide the immediate supervisor with the soonest possible notification of absence.

C. The employee will contact their immediate supervisor or designee before the work shift if the employee is unable to work the assigned shift and daily thereafter unless prearranged. Individual departments may establish additional notification requirements, such as whether it is acceptable to leave a voice message or whether the employee must speak to a supervisor.

(4) Approval or Denial of Leave

A. With few exceptions requests for leave must be approved by the supervisor before the leave is taken.

B. Supervisors will review and approve or deny leave requests.

C. Failure to receive prior approval of leave, as described in the CWU leave policy, may be cause for denial of the leave request and/or designation of the absence as unauthorized. Unauthorized absence must be treated as leave without pay and may be grounds for discipline.

D. Conflicting requests for vacation, personal holiday, compensatory time off, and holiday equivalent time off shall be handled in a fair and equitable manner in accordance with departmental procedures.

(5) Bereavement Leave

A. Employees are entitled to bereavement leave in accordance with WAC 357-31-250

B. Family member is defined by WAC 357-01-172

(6) Compensatory Time

A. Compensatory time is earned in accordance with WAC 357-28-275.

B. Compensatory time is used in accordance with WAC 357-31-230.

C. Each employee is responsible to monitor their balance of compensatory time and use accumulated compensatory time before vacation leave, except when this requirement would result in loss of accumulated vacation leave. If vacation leave is submitted and compensatory time is available, the compensatory time will be used first, except when this requirement would result in loss of accumulated vacation leave.

D. Unused compensatory time will be cashed out in accordance with WAC 357-28-285. Appointing authorities may establish other measures to manage compensatory time.

(7) Domestic Violence

A. Leave for domestic violence will be in accordance with WAC 357-31-730.

B. Employees may use paid leave or leave without pay.

C. Leave for domestic violence reasons is not required to be approved in advance.

(8) Family Care Emergency Leave

A. Leave for Family Care Emergency will be in accordance with WAC 357-31. Family member is defined in accordance with WAC 357-01-172. A family care emergency is a circumstance which causes an employee's inability to report for or continue scheduled work because of a serious situation or occurrence that happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action related to the employee's responsibility to provide care for the employee's family member such as unexpected absence of the regular care provider, unexpected closure of a child's school, unexpected need to pick up a child at school earlier than normal, or unexpected closure of an assisted living facility.

B. The employee may be required to provide verification of the need to take leave and that the emergency situation was such that advance notice was not possible.

(9) Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

A. Qualifying employees will be granted FMLA leave in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act, RCW 49.78, WAC 357-31 and university policy.

(10) Inclement Weather and Suspended Operations

A. Leave for Inclement Weather and Suspended Operations will be used in accordance with WAC 357-31 and university policy CWU 203-16.

(11) Jury Duty

A. Leave for jury duty will be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31.

B. Reasonable travel time must be approved.

(12) Leave of Absence without Pay (LWOP)

A. Leave without pay will only be approved after applicable paid leave is exhausted.

B. Leave without pay must be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31-327.

C. Leave without pay may be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31-330.

D. The supervisor may allow leave of absence without pay without exhausting accrued leave of employees as a cost saving strategy.

E. Except as required by federal law, a leave of absence without pay generally will not be granted for a period exceeding six months.

F. A leave of absence without pay extends from the time an employee's absence commences until they are scheduled to return to continuous service, unless the employing official agree to an earlier date.

G. Employees on approved Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), parental leave, or military leave may intersperse paid leave and leave without pay at their discretion. The amount of paid leave necessary to cover the employee paid premiums for continuing insurance coverage during the leave period will be calculated by the benefits office in accordance with established benefit and payroll procedures. An employee without sufficient paid leave to cover the premium must contact the benefits office prior to their leave to arrange premium payment.

(13) Military Leave

A. Military leave will be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31 and university policy and procedure.

B. When possible, employee must give advance notice of military leave and fill out the Military Leave Request Form and review the Military Checklist,

C. Employees may use military leave, accrued leave, comp time and leave without pay in their absence, however it is the employee’s responsibility to specify to their supervisors how they want their leave to be used while on military leave.

D. For employees who work an alternate schedule, supervisors should consider changing the employee to a five day schedule to facilitate use of the employee’s leave while they are a military leave of absence.

(14) Miscellaneous Paid Leave

A. Miscellaneous paid leave must be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31-325.

B. Miscellaneous paid leave may be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31-326.

C. The employee may be required to provide verification of the examination or interview. Additional time off must be charged to applicable paid leave or leave without pay if no applicable paid leave is available. During the employee’s scheduled work hours, no more than two hours per incident and two occurrences within the calendar year will be approved. Requests for miscellaneous paid leaves may be denied based upon operational necessity.

(15) Personal Holiday

A. Personal holiday will be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31.

B. In addition, non-represented full-time employees are eligible for two additional days (16 hours) personal holidays per calendar year.

C. Personal holidays which are not used by the end of the calendar year are lost.

D. If the employee requests the use of their personal holiday before the end of the calendar year in accordance with this procedure and the request is denied, another day can be re-scheduled. If the day off cannot be scheduled by the supervisor before year-end, the employee may carry over one personal holiday to the next calendar year. The employee or supervisor must notify HR in writing to facilitate the carryover of the personal holiday.

E. Conflicting requests to use personal holidays shall be handled in a fair and equitable manner in accordance with departmental procedures.

(16) Religion/Conscience Holiday

A. Employees will be allowed two unpaid holidays per calendar year for reasons of religion or conscience or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church or religious organization in accordance with WAC 82-56-010 (Purpose) and RCW 1.16.050 (Unpaid Holidays).

B. Requests for this type of leave may only be disapproved when the employee’s absence would create an undue hardship as described in WAC 82-56-020 (Definition of Undue Hardship) and WAC 82-56-030 (Application of definition of undue hardship to request).

(17) Shared Leave

A. Shared leave will be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31.

B. To request shared leave employees must:

1. Submit shared leave request. If the employee is incapacitated, a family member or other designated representative may complete the form for the employee.
2. Submit appropriate documentation, such as Health Care Provider’s Certification or copy of military orders, to support shared leave request.

C. Requests for Shared Leave should be submitted no later than 10 working days following the end of the employee's shared leave eligibility.

D. Computation of transferred leave will be carried out through the Payroll Office and will convert employee’s donated leave to a monetary value. The receiving employee will be paid at their regular rate of pay; therefore, the value of one hour of shared leave may cover more or less than one hour of the recipient's salary.

E. CWU employees may donate leave to employees of other state agencies in accordance with WAC 357-31-410

1. Days donated are considered time taken and will be subtracted from the hours eligible for the annual sick leave compensation program

(18) Sick Leave

A. Sick leave will be granted in accordance with WAC 357-31

B. Supervisors may require an employee to provide a written statement or medical certification to support their need for sick leave

C. Supervisors may allow the use of accrued sick leave for condolence or bereavement, or when employee is unable to report to work due to inclement weather in accordance with CWU 203-16.

(19) Vacation Leave

A. When considering requests for vacation leave, the supervisor must consider the needs of the employee but may require that leave be taken when it will least interfere with the operational needs of the department. Management has the right to cancel or adjust approved vacation as program needs dictate, giving an employee the earliest possible notification. Conflicting vacation requests shall be handled in a fair and equitable manner in accordance with departmental procedures.

Appendix B - Sick Leave for Student Employees, Temporary Hourly Employees and Graduate Assistants (Staff) Procedure

(1) Introduction

A. This procedure applies to all student employees, temporary hourly employees and graduate assistants (staff) and are administered in accordance with WAC 296-128.

(2) Paid Sick Leave Accrual and Availability

A. Accrual

1. Employees accrue incremental paid sick leave of one hour for every 40 hours worked.
2. Employees are not entitled to accrue paid sick leave for non-work hours paid (i.e. when using paid sick leave).

B. Availability

1. Employees are entitled to use their accrued, unused paid sick leave beginning on the ninetieth (90th) calendar day after the start of their employment. Employees are entitled to use paid sick leave incrementally.

(3) Authorized Uses of Paid Sick Leave

A. Care of the employee or the employee’s family member

1. Employees may use their accrued, unused paid sick leave hours to care for themselves or a family member (definition below) for;
   a. Mental or physical illnesses, injuries, or health conditions;
   b. The need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of mental or physical illnesses, injuries, or health conditions; or
   c. The need for preventive medical care.
2. For the use of paid sick leave for an employee’s family member, family member is defined as a:
   a. Child: including a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, is a legal guardian, or is a de facto parent, regardless of age or dependency status;
   b. Parent: including a biological, adoptive, de facto, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child;
   c. Spouse;
   d. Registered domestic partner;
   e. Grandparent;
   f. Grandchild; or
   g. Sibling.

B. Closure of the university or the employee’s child’s school or place of care

1. Employees may use their accrued, unused paid sick leave when the university has been closed by order of a public official for any health-related reason; or
2. When an employee's child's school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official for any health-related reason.

C. To address issues related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking

1. Employees may use their accrued, unused paid sick leave to:
   a. Seek legal or law enforcement assistance or remedies to ensure the health and safety of the employee and their family members including, but not limited to: Preparing for, or participating in, any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
   b. Seek treatment by a health care provider for physical or mental injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
   c. Attend health care treatment for a victim who is the employee's family member;
   d. Obtain, or assist the employee's family member(s) in obtaining, services from: a domestic violence shelter; a rape crisis center; or a social services program for relief from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
   e. Obtain, or assist a family member in obtaining, mental health counseling related to an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking in which the employee or the employee's family member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
   f. Participating, for the employee or for the employee's family member(s), in: safety planning; or temporary or permanent relocation; or other actions to increase the safety from future incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
2. For purposes of leave related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, family member has the following definition:
   a. Any individual whose relationship to the employee can be classified as a child, spouse, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or person with whom the employee has a dating relationship.

(4) Verification for Absences Exceeding Three Days

A. Supervisors may require an employee to provide a written statement or medical certification to support their need for sick leave that exceeds three consecutive workdays. Supervisors will notify an employee of their right to assert that the verification requirement results in an unreasonable burden or expense on the employee, prior to requiring the employee to provide verification. The request for verification is to be used in conjunction with WAC 296-128-660.

(5) Requesting or Reporting Absences

A. The employee will submit their leave request to their immediate supervisor or designee in advance of the requested leave date. Individual departments may set standards for how far in advance requests shall be required.

B. If advance notice is not possible, the employee will provide the immediate supervisor with the soonest possible notification of absence.

C. The employee will contact their immediate supervisor or designee before the work shift if the employee is unable to work the assigned shift and daily thereafter unless prearranged. Individual departments may establish additional notification requirements, such as whether it is acceptable to leave a voice message or whether the employee must speak to a supervisor.

(6) Paid Sick Leave Rate of Pay for Use of Paid Sick Leave

A. Employees will be paid their normal hourly compensation for the paid sick leave used.

(7) Carryover of Accrued, Unused Paid Sick Leave

A. Accrued, unused paid sick leave balances of 40 hours or less will carry over to the following year. The accrual year is January 1 – December 31.

(8) Reinstatement of Paid Sick Leave Hours Upon Rehire

A. CWU will reinstate an employee's previously accrued, unused paid sick leave (not to exceed more than 40 hours) if it rehires an employee within 12 months of separation.

B. If an employee is rehired within 12 months of separation, the employee will not be required to wait another 90 calendar days to use their accrued, unused paid sick leave if the employee met that requirement during the previous period of employment.

1. If an employee did not meet the 90-day requirement for the use of paid sick leave prior to separation, the previous period of time the employee worked for the university will count towards the 90 days for purposes of determining the employee’s eligibility to use paid sick leave.