The following section lists the various ways in which a member of the University of Michigan community may obtain time off work, either paid or unpaid, to meet the faculty member’s professional and personal needs. Because of the time commitment required of faculty members who teach, some of these leaves may not apply to them.

On the Ann Arbor campus, faculty absences must be reported to the faculty member’s department chair, dean, or director, and absences extending over more than three consecutive weeks must be reported to the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. At the UM-Dearborn or the UM-Flint campuses, absences over more than three consecutive weeks are reported to the chancellor (bylaw 5.16). See also section 14.C “Salary Payments.”

In the case of a death in the immediate family, the University provides up to three days (a maximum of 24 hours) paid time off from work for the employee to make necessary arrangements, attend the funeral or memorial services and to make necessary arrangements settle family affairs. If additional time is needed, accrued vacation time, Paid Time Off, or excused absence without pay may be granted.

For more information, see SPG 201.03.

To support the University of Michigan’s commitment to faculty and staff as they balance family, professional and academic responsibilities, the university is committed to providing paid time off for employees who give birth and other parents that supports both the physical recovery associated with birth and also provides bonding time with children new to the family. For that purpose, the university provides paid maternity (childbirth) and paid parental leave. For more information, see SPG 201.30-6. 

The University, consistent with its needs and requirements, wants to minimize the compensation loss of its faculty members during certain periods of absence from work that occur during their annual appointment periods (from September 1 through May 31 for University-year appointments or at any time for twelve-month appointments) due to personal illness, injury or preventive medical or dental care that is either unavoidable or in the best interest of the University and its faculty members. For more information, see SPG 201.11-1.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees up to twelve weeks of job-protected leave per year, provides for continuance of the employee’s pre-existing health, dental and vision coverage during this leave period, and restores the employee to the same or an equivalent position at the conclusion of the designated leave. The FMLA applies to all employees with at least one year of service who worked at least 1250 hours in the previous twelve months.  See SPG 201.11-1 for details about eligibility

SPG 201.11-1 describes the types of unpaid leaves of absence covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as other relevant details. See also workconnections.umich.edu.fmla/about/  (also https://hr.umich.edu/working-u-m/management-administration/resources-supervisors-managers/fmla)

Employees, including probationary employees, shall be excused from work and will not sustain loss of their regular compensation when called upon for jury duty or to testify at the order of a court or other agency of government or at the request of the University. This policy does not apply to an employee who is a plaintiff or serves as an expert witness. For more information, see SPG 201.29.

Excused absences without pay for longer than 21 consecutive calendar days must be covered by a leave of absence. Leaves of absence will be granted for these reasons: child care, disability, educational, government or public service, medical, military service, personal, outside teaching, research, and scholarly activity. See SPG 201.30-1 for details.

The president or his or her designated representative may grant leaves of absence without salary on recommendation by the dean or director to members of the instructional faculty for periods of up to one year, and to archivists, curators, librarians, and research track faculty. Only the Board of Regents may grant leaves exceeding one year in duration and extensions of leaves beyond one year for instructional faculty when an appropriate request is made on recommendation by the department head, the dean or director, and the president. Leaves of absence for instructional faculty will be reported monthly to the Board of Regents.

 See Leaves of Absence SPG 201.30-1 for information and benefit coverage during a leave.

Leaves of absence without salary for military service may be given to a person who is called up as a member of the National Guard or Reserve. Faculty members should contact the appropriate dean or director for more information. The University complies with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). See SPG 201.30-1 for more on unpaid leaves of an instructional nature.

All regular faculty and staff are granted up to 15 working days off in any one calendar year without loss of their regular compensation or any loss of their fringe benefits in order to participate in Military Reserve or National Guard Training Programs or for service required as a result of civil disorder or other emergency. The faculty member’s regular University compensation will be reduced by the amount of base military pay, if any, received for such services. On request, faculty may choose to use available vacation time to allow them to receive their full University pay. (SPG 201.33).

The University wishes to minimize the loss of compensation to faculty when illness, injury, disability or preventive medical care makes absence from the performance of duty unavoidable. Consistent with its needs and requirements, the University grants sick leave to eligible members of the faculty when they make application on these grounds. The duties of the individual on sick leave are to be provided for without additional funding from the staff member’s school or college.

Members of the faculty who become incapacitated by sickness or accident are eligible for sick leave for periods of time and at rates of compensation that vary according to the individual’s length of service with the University and his or her rank. For more details, see SPG 201.11-1.