Sick Leave for Nine – Month Faculty

By: Jonathan Gushen and Mia Myers

JUNE 26, 2018

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE SYSTEM
Knoxville, Tennessee
 Introduction
One of the benefits that organizations provide for employees that aligns with the basic
human needs for all is sick leave. At the University of Tennessee we do not currently
provide nine-month faculty with sick leave benefits.

As a result of this we have seen these employees have to reschedule surgeries and
other medical treatment for themselves and their family members. Pregnancy and child
birth are another common reason for absences that are difficult to plan for and can
cause challenging career decisions for nine month faculty.

Certainly there are operational needs of the university that make covering absences
very trying, particularly in departments that have a small number of faculty members to
cover for teaching of classes on short term notice.

It is becoming common amongst universities to address this issue by offering sick leave
to lecturers and faculty members on nine month appointments. The Tennessee Board
of Regents schools now offer sick leave benefits to these employees and for UT to
remain competitive in hiring and retaining quality faculty it is imperative that we address
this gap in our benefits package.

At the University of Tennessee, campuses have attempted to address this need through
campus policies and procedures. These policies are as follows:

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Existing UT Campus Policies and Procedures
There have been attempts to address this issue within the UT System. At UT Knoxville
there is the Faculty and Family Care Policy. This policy is as follows:
Lecturers and faculty members on nine-month, non-tenure-track appointments are
entitled to work directly with their department head or hiring unit supervisor to negotiate
mutually agreeable terms for leave and/or service/workload modifications. These
agreements should be made in writing with a copy to the faculty member’s Human
Resources and departmental files. Note: specific medical information should be
excluded from these agreements and should be maintained in a separate file either with
the department or with HR.
The provisions in the section below are intended to provide guidance for tenured or
tenure-track faculty members who require work modifications for reasons related to
family care-giving responsibilities in accordance with the Faculty Handbook which states
that:
“certain nine-month faculty members may be eligible for certain additional benefits such
as modifying service requirements and extending the tenure-track probationary status.”
In all circumstances noted above, actions taken under these policies should not affect
decisions concerning tenure or other merit-based evaluations. Annual merit reviews are
conducted according to job-related criteria, which are unrelated to those involved in the
family care policies.
Note: specific medical information should be excluded from the following agreements
and should be maintained in a separate file either with the department or with HR.
Leave of Absence Without Pay
Tenure-track faculty members who have a serious illness, or who have primary
responsibility for the care of a child or an ill or disabled parent, spouse, or other family
member, may request leave without pay pursuant to HR0355. This leave normally will
be approved for no more than one year. The faculty member should request leave
without pay in a letter to the department head or other administrative officer, who then
will forward the request and his/her recommendation to the appropriate dean. The dean
will forward the request and his/her recommendation to the vice provost for faculty
affairs who will make the final decision on the request.
Eligibility for fringe benefits during the leave of absence without pay for family care
reasons shall be governed by the policies applicable to other leaves of absence without
pay. Faculty members requesting leave of absence without pay should initiate this
process by completing the appropriate HR form for Family and Medical Leave and
submitting it to his/her department head who may require medical certification.
Faculty Modified Duties Assignment (FMDA)
If warranted by serious faculty illness or by illness of a family member for whom a
tenure track faculty member has primary care-giving responsibility, modifications in the
faculty member’s service, while maintaining full pay, may be requested by the faculty
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member and approved by his/her department head and dean who will forward their
recommendation to the vice provost for faculty affairs for approval. Modifications in
service may include the following:

1. temporarily reduced teaching/service load, or

2. Other mutually acceptable arrangement, such as course banking, and normally
will not exceed one year in duration.

Administrative cooperation in addressing the faculty member’s need for temporary time
away from the classroom/service is strongly encouraged.
FMDA Related to the Arrival of a Child
Tenured and tenure-track faculty may modify their responsibilities for up to one
semester at full pay while managing the arrival of a child through birth, adoption, or
foster care. These modified duties during leave would include:

 Complete teaching release for one semester

 Complete release from on-campus schedule meeting and obligations (although
remote attendance may be desirable),
 Research obligations/opportunities to be negotiated.
 Other desirable and negotiated accommodations.

This right applies, regardless of gender, to the primary care-giver for pre-school-aged
children. The maximum period of modified duties is one semester within twelve months
of the child’s arrival (even in the event of multiple birth or placement of multiple
children), and modified duties for this purpose may be requested twice in the course of
a career. If both parents qualify for a modified duties assignment, they may be required
to use it in different semesters, especially if they reside in the same department.
Eligibility for fringe benefits during any modification in service shall be determined in
accordance with the University Personnel Policy and Procedure for each fringe benefit.
Extending the Probationary Period
A tenure-track faculty member who is granted a leave of absence or modified duties
under the Family Care Policy (i.e., he/she has a serious illness or has primary
responsibility for the care of an ill or disabled parent, spouse, or other family member) is
eligible for an extension of the tenure-track probationary period for up to one academic
year upon agreement by the department head and dean. In the event of modified duties
and leave due to childbirth, adoption, or commencement of foster care, a one-year
extension of the probationary period will be granted.
The faculty member’s assumption of the primary care-giving responsibility offered as a
justification for extending the probationary period should have occurred within one year
prior to the date of the request, and the request must be made before the tenure review
process begins. The vice provost for faculty affairs may waive these time requirements
for what he/she deems to be good cause shown in a written statement of the faculty
member.

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The faculty member must submit a written request for the extension to the department
head or other administrative officer who then will forward the request and his/her
recommendation to the appropriate dean. The dean will forward the request and his/her
recommendation to the vice provost for faculty affairs, who will make the final decision
on the request. The UT Board of Trustees limits probationary period extensions to a
maximum of two years (or two one-year extensions).
Tenure-track faculty members who are granted an extension of the probationary period
will continue to receive annual merit reviews in a process that is independent of the
request for extension.
Except in the cases where an extension has been granted, the probationary period at
the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus shall not exceed seven years.

Note: This policy was reviewed and approved by the provost, the Council of Deans, the
Faculty Senate Benefits Committee, and the Commission for Women (December 2008).

At UT Chattanooga the faculty handbook addresses leaves of absence as a non-paid

period for nine-month faculty:
7.1.3. Leaves of Absence
Extended periods of time spent away from
campus, for professional growth or personal
reasons, must be requested in writing by the
faculty member and specifically approved by
the department head, dean, Provost and
Chancellor.
Leaves of absence are normally granted for
no more than one year and are normally
without University compensation.
Faculty members on twelve-month
appointments should consult University
Personnel Policies and Procedures for
information concerning annual leave, funeral
leave, maternity leave and military leave.
Faculty on leaves of absence must complete
the EDO process in the appropriate time
frames if they are to be eligible for merit pay
increases.

At UT Martin the Faculty Family Accommodations Procedure addresses their leave

provisions for nine-month faculty:
SUBJECT: Faculty Family Accommodations (formerly “Arrival of a Child”)
AUTHORITY: VCAA
EFFECTIVE: 4/28/2016
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REVISION: 7/27/17
PURPOSE: To provide guidance for faculty members who require work modifications related to
the arrival of a child.
Full-time faculty members (nine-month term, tenure-track and tenured) are entitled to work
directly with their department chairs or hiring unit supervisors to negotiate mutually
agreeable terms for leave and/or service/workload modifications necessitated by the arrival
of a child. These agreements should be made in writing, with a copy to the Human Resources
office and department files. Note: Specific medical information should be excluded from
these agreements and maintained in a separate file with the Office of Human Resources.
The provisions contained herein are intended to provide guidance for tenured, tenure-track or
term faculty members who require work modifications related to the arrival of a child.
Actions taken under this procedure should not affect decisions concerning tenure or other
merit-based evaluations. Annual performance and merit reviews are conducted according to
job-related criteria, which are unrelated to those involved in this arrival of a child procedure.
Working directly with their department chair or hiring unit supervisor, tenured, tenure-track
or term faculty may modify their responsibilities for up to one semester at full pay while
managing the arrival of a child through birth, adoption or foster care. These modified duties
during leave might include:

 Reduced or modified teaching load;

 Release from on-campus meetings and obligations (although remote attendance may
be desirable);

 Negotiation of research/creative obligations or opportunities; and/or

 Other desirable and negotiated accommodations.

This right applies, regardless of gender, to the primary care-giver for pre-school-aged
children. The maximum period of modified duties is one semester within 12 months of the
child’s arrival, and applies even in the event of multiple births or placement of multiple
children. If both parents qualify for a modified duties assignment, they may be required to
use it in different semesters, especially if they reside in the same department.
Eligibility for fringe benefits during any modification in service shall be determined in
accordance with the University of Tennessee personnel policies and procedures for each
fringe benefit.
A tenure-track faculty member who is granted a leave of absence or modified duties under
this policy may negotiate an extension of the tenure-track probationary period for up to one
academic year upon agreement by the department chair and dean. The faculty member’s
assumption of the primary care-giving responsibility offered as a justification for extending
the probationary period should have occurred within one year prior to the date of the
request, and the request must be made before the tenure review process begins. The faculty
member must submit a written request for the extension to the department chair, who will
then forward the request and his/her recommendation to the appropriate dean. The dean will
forward the request and his/her recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
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who will make the final decision on the request. Faculty members who are granted extensions
of the probationary period will continue to receive annual performance/merit reviews in a
process independent of the requests for extensions.
This procedure supplements the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Family Medical
Leave Act, the provisions of which remain in full force and effect.