Administrative leave with pay

The University of California has modified the emergency temporary leave policies issued on March 9th in accordance with an Executive Order issued by President Napolitano on March 16th granting paid administrative leave to university employees who are impacted by the COVID-19 emergency. This message provides guidance about how we will implement the Executive Order (EO) for academic, staff and student employees at UC Santa Cruz.

This remains a very fluid situation, and the guidance below may be updated as new information becomes available. Managers and supervisors are encouraged to provide as much flexibility as possible to employees needing to take leave.

All Employees

• Effective immediately, all employees (including staff, academic and student employees) will be eligible to receive up to 128 hours paid administrative leave in order to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Paid Administrative Leave may only be used for the following purposes:
  • When an employee is unable to work due to the employee’s own COVID-19-related illness or that of a family member;
  • When an employee is unable to work because the employee has been directed not to come to the worksite for COVID-19-related reasons and/or the work site has implemented a COVID-19-related remote-work program or is under a shelter in place order and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely;
  • When an employee is unable to work because a COVID-19-related school or daycare closure requires the employee to be at home with a child or dependent, and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely or in conjunction with the dependent care commitment.
• The allocation for employees with less than full time appointments shall be prorated based on appointment percentage
• The 128 hours may be used consecutively in one block or incrementally
• In making the determination as to whether to grant the leave, supervisors must take into account the operational needs of the University with special consideration given to the critical importance of maintaining the continuity of medical center operations
• Employees may still use accrued sick, vacation or paid time off in order to address their own illness or the serious medical condition of a family member.
• The Paid Administrative Leave may be used prior to usage of other accrued leave.
• Paid Administrative Leave can be used retroactively to March 1, 2020.
• Subject to the University’s ongoing operational needs, the paid administrative leave provided pursuant to the Executive Order must be used no later than December 31, 2020.
• Paid Administrative Leave is available for any new employees hired during the duration of President Napolitano’s March 16, 2020 Executive Order.
• An employee who separates from the employment of the University before December 31, 2020 will lose eligibility for Paid Administrative Leave; there is no “cash-in” value connected to the leave.

Employees who are essential to on-campus operations may be required to come to work to ensure educational and business continuity. Managers and employees are encouraged to work together to formulate plans for shift coverage in these essential operational areas to ensure social distancing practices are being followed.

Staff Employees

All individual staff employees are eligible for administrative leave with pay. However, individuals who do not meet one of the three criteria described in the EO for using administrative leave with pay will need to cover unplanned absences with accruals. Additionally, supervisors are required to approve the administrative leave with pay, and such approval will be based on operational necessity to continue essential services.

At this time, formal telecommuting agreements are not being used for COVID-19 related remote work. Supervisors and managers should exercise discretion in determining whether individuals may take home university property to complete work from home. If university property, such as laptops, keyboards, or other items, are brought home by employees, supervisors are encouraged to log equipment serial numbers to track which items are being used in employee homes.  

Individual staff members who meet one of the four criteria for administrative leave outlined in the executive order shall enter the appropriate number of hours into CruzPay. Employees will select “Admin Leave with Pay” and indicate “COVID” in the note section on their timesheet on that day.   

Supervisors and managers will need to work with their employees before approving timesheets to ensure administrative leave with pay is used appropriately for one of the four criteria. Once timesheets are approved, the administrative leave will be paid according to the hours entered into individual time records. The campus is no longer requiring use of the administrative leave with pay form to complete the request for administrative leave with pay for COVID related reasons.

Part time employees are eligible for the 128 hours of administrative leave with pay, prorated based on their percent of time and regularly scheduled hours of work. Administrative leave with pay should be recorded according to the employee’s hours of work and should not exceed their part time schedule. 

Employees who are currently on an approved leave of absence (not related to COVID-19) should continue to record your sick leave and/or vacation leave as discussed in your leave consultation.  If your circumstances have changed, due to COVID-19, please work directly with your Leave Coordinator.

Student employees are eligible for the 128 hours of administrative leave, prorated based on their percent of time and regularly scheduled hours of work. Administrative leave with pay should be recorded according to the employee’s hours of work and should not exceed their part time schedule. 

Individual student employees who meet one of the four criteria for administrative leave outlined in the executive order shall enter the appropriate number of hours into CruzPay. Student employees will select “Admin Leave with Pay” and indicate “COVID” in the note section on the timesheet.   

Supervisors and managers will need to work with their student employees before approving timesheets to ensure administrative leave with pay is used appropriately for one of the COVID related reasons. Once timesheets are approved, the administrative leave will be paid according to the hours entered into individual timesheets. The campus is no longer requiring use of the administrative leave with pay form to complete the request for administrative leave with pay for COVID related reasons.

Academic Employees

Paid Administrative Leave is available for all academic appointees, policy-covered and represented, for the COVID-19-related reasons described in President Napolitano’s March 16, 2020 Executive Order.

Use of Paid Administrative Leave must not adversely affect the delivery of essential university services. The delivery of instruction is an essential university service. Faculty who are unable to continue delivering instruction should immediately notify their department chair.

Employees who report time or absences in CruzPay should record Paid Administrative Leave on their timesheets. Employees will select “Admin Leave with Pay” and indicate “COVID” in the note section on the timesheet on that day. When approving timesheets, supervisors are affirming that Paid Administrative Leave is being used in accordance with the Executive Order.

• For exempt academic employees, Paid Administrative Leave only needs to be reported for full-day absences; a day is defined as the regular time that an appointee would have worked on that day. For such exempt employees, there will be up to 16 days on which the Paid Administrative Leave would occur.
• For non-exempt hourly employees, Paid Administrative Leave should be reported on the timesheet in hourly increments. Non-exempt employees are eligible for the 128 hours of administrative leave with pay, prorated based on the appointment percentage.

For faculty and academic student employees who do not complete timesheets (TAs, GSIs, and GSRs), Paid Administrative Leave of 16 days or less should be arranged with the chair/ supervisor. Employees must notify their department chair or faculty supervisor and divisional academic personnel coordinator if they anticipate an absence of more than 16 days, whether consecutive or intermittent. Divisional academic personnel staff will advise employees and supervisors about all available paid leave options on a case by case basis. Divisional staff may consult with the Academic Personnel Office as needed.

Paid medical leave policies in the Academic Personnel Manual (APM 710) and respective collective bargaining agreements (Academic Researchers, Postdocs, Academic Student Employees, Non-Senate Instructional Unit, and Librarians) that are currently available for an appointee’s own illness will extend to cover all COVID-19 qualifying situations, including to care for a family member’s COVID-19 illness, and/or when working remotely is not operationally feasible and the appointee is directed or is under a public order to not to come to work. These extensions of academic policy are in place for the duration of President Napolitano’s March 16, 2020 Executive Order.

Paid Administrative Leave is not available for academic appointees in courtesy or without-salary appointments.

Deans retain the authority to provide leave with pay to academic employees for other good cause as delegated in CAPM 900.700.

For academic employees who are currently on leave, have by-agreement appointments, or for other questions, please consult with your Divisional Academic Personnel Office.