Leaves of Absence

We recognize that situations may arise requiring an employee to request a leave of absence. The leave may be personal, medical, or for military service. Leaves of absence will generally be for less than six months, although leaves up to twelve months may be considered if operationally feasible and approved by the supervisor and Human Resources.

Carleton College will comply with all applicable laws such as FMLA, federal, state, and any applicable regulations.

Employees will meet with Human Resources to determine the proper designation of the type of leave, its applicable provisions, statutes/regulations and forms, and how the leave is to be monitored. In order to ensure we have up-to-date information on all these leaves, we prefer to check the governmental websites instead of listing statutes.

Any accrued sick, vacation or floating holiday hours will be used during a leave of absence. The amount of paid leave is calculated based on the employee’s budgeted weekly hours. If the absence is due to illness or injury, accumulated sick leave will be paid out according to amount of time indicated by the employee’s physician; time off in addition to the physician’s request will require the use of employee’s accrued vacation and/or floating holiday. College holiday hours will not be paid during a leave of absence.

Any unpaid time in lieu of absence accruals will be at the discretion of the supervisor and Human Resources. Employees may, with supervisor approval, take the option of unpaid leave in lieu of vacation or sick pay for hours not worked in cases where the employee does not have a substantial amount of leave accrued. This option is intended for absences not covered under FMLA and should be of limited duration. Employees do not accrue vacation, sick or floating holiday hours during an unpaid leave.

During this leave time, the employee is responsible for paying the employee portion of health care premiums and any other payroll deductions during the period of the leave to ensure continuation of coverage. Arrangements for payments must be made through the Human Resource’s office. Employees who are more than two months behind on payments and do not make arrangements with Human Resources risk losing coverage. If the employee is still on leave after a six-month period, COBRA benefits will be offered. Under COBRA the employee is responsible for paying the entire premium (employee and employer portions) on any COBRA eligible insured benefit plans in which the employee participates. It is important to make payments on time to prevent loss of coverage.

Additional information on leaves and eligibility can be found in the Employee Handbook. Leave of absence forms are available in the Human Resources office.