Leave of Absence and Time Away from Work

Any time an employee will be away from work for an extended period of time (more than 5 days), he/she must request and be approved by HR for a Leave of Absence from the University. 

Faculty Leave of Absence requests must also be approved by the President. 

The Leave of Absence Process

When an employee recognizes the necessity for time away from work due to reasons such as illness or injury, a structured Leave of Absence process is set in motion. The initial steps involves the employee informing their supervisor about the anticipated start date and the expected duration of the leave. Find out how to engage with Human Resources to discuss the leave process, including the required paperwork at Kennesaw State.

Types of Leave

  • Employees who have a death in the immediate family may be allowed to use accrued sick leave for absences related to the death. Time off for Bereavement in excess of five days requires the employee to request a personal leave of absence. Submit the request using the Non FMLA Leave Request Form.

    Immediate family includes the employee’s spouse, children and parents.

  • Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Leave of Absence

    FMLA provides 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave in a rolling 12 month period for an eligible employee for one or more of the following reasons:

    • For the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee
    • For placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care
    • Care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition
    • Take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition
    • For qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty or call to active duty status as a member of the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation.
    • Or up to 26 weeks for an eligible employee who is a family member of a “covered servicemember” with a “serious injury or illness”.  

    To be eligible for FMLA, you must have worked for KSU for a total of 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.

    Intermittent Leave

    Leave for one’s own serious health condition, or for the care of a family member with a serious health condition, may be taken on a continuous basis – or on an intermittent basis in increments as small as one hour – if medically indicated.  Intermittent leave may include leave periods of an hour or more, up to several weeks.

    To request an FMLA Leave, submit the Request for Leave form along with the applicable Physician Certification form to HR:

    FMLA leave runs concurrently with your sick or vacation paid leave time.

    Disability benefits may also apply if your FMLA leave is for your own medical condition.  Disability benefits are approved and paid through the disability carrier.  While you are on an approved leave of absence, your Benefits Specialist will enter your paid sick and vacation (if applicable) leave time in e-time.

    Paid Leave Accrual and Short Term Disability

    You are required to use your sick leave accruals while out on a medical leave of absence. If you have short term disability coverage, you must freeze your paid sick time while being paid disability.  Once short term disability is exhausted and you are still out on leave, you can start being paid sick time.  Once sick is exhausted, you may elect to use vacation hours. Hours will be utilized in whole day increments. 

    If you participate in the Donated Sick Leave Program you will not be considered to receive a donation until all of your own paid leave time has been exhausted and you do not have any Short Term Disability benefits.

    Non-FMLA Medical Leave of Absence

    If you do not meet the qualifications for an FMLA Leave or need additional medical leave time after your FMLA leave time is exhausted, you may request a non-FMLA Medical Leave. Based on the business needs of the department, Non-FMLA Medical Leave may or may not be granted. Submit the request to HR using the Non FMLA Leave request form.

  • Military duty includes any military duty in the service of the State of Georgia or the United States. This includes schools conducted by the armed forces of the United States.

    Regular benefits eligible employees are entitled to up to 18 days of leave with pay while engaged in the performance of military duty and while going to and from such duty during normal working hours. The maximum length of military leave with pay is 18 work days (144 hours) in any one federal fiscal year from October 1st through September 30th. The maximum leave time without pay allowable can not exceed five years. To request a Military Leave of Absence, an employee must submit the Non FMLA Leave Request form to HR along with a copy of his/her military orders.

  • Beginning July 1, 2021; up to three (3) weeks of paid Parental Leave will be available to employees at the University System of Georgia as part of House Bill 146.

    Eligibility is contingent upon the employee meeting the following criteria:

    Full-time regular, part-time regular and temporary employees who have six (6) months of continuous service and have worked a minimum of 700 hours over the six months immediately preceding the requested paid Parental Leave date.

    Qualifying life events include:

    • The birth of a child
    • Placement of a minor child for adoption
    • Placement of a minor child for foster care

    For more information, visit the Paid Parental Leave webpage.

  • If an employee is in need of an extended period of time off that does not qualify under another Leave option, they may request a Personal Leave. This request must be in writing and is approved at the discretion of the President of the University or the President's appointed designee (VP of Human Resources). A Personal Leave of Absence is unpaid and cannot exceed one year. Submit the request to HR using the Non FMLA Leave request form.

  • Faculty members may not be absent from their teaching responsibilities except for illness, extraordinary personal circumstances, or performing professional obligations. The faculty member must notify the chair prior to any class cancelations or substitutions. In addition, faculty members may not cancel scheduled classes or meetings to take personal time.

    Requests for leave will be handled in accordance with the policies and procedures detailed in the KSU Employee Handbook (Vacation, Sick Leave and Leave of Absence) and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act policy. 

    When leave circumstances may result in faculty member returning to duty when the semester is in progress, every effort will be made to minimize the potential disruption of the instructional experiences of the students involved. A primary goal of this policy is to allow both the faculty member and KSU the opportunity to maintain the integrity of the classroom and avoid placing undue burden on the faculty member or the department.  Generally, altering course instructors is only permissible when unavoidable due to the unexpected and/or sudden need for a faculty member to be removed from the classroom.  In such cases, once HR and/or Academic Affairs has notified the faculty member that he/she has been relieved of classroom duties and a substitute instructor has replaced the faculty member, then the faculty member will not be placed back in that classroom for the remaining semester.  In consultation with HR, Academic Affairs, and the department chair, upon return, and as applicable, the faculty member will be expected to resume non-classroom duties, including, but not limited to advising, committee work, course preparation, research and scholarship, and other duties which faculty members typically carry out beyond the classroom.

  • Schedule a meeting with an HR representative by calling 470-578-6030 or e-mail benefits@kennesaw.edu.
  • Depending on the type of leave you request, benefits may or may not continue during an approved leave of absence.  

    Please contact HR for more information by calling 470-578-6030 or e-mail benefits@kennesaw.edu.
     
    *All LOAs are subject to the University System of Georgia and Kennesaw State University’s Leave of Absence policies.