Paid Leave

Classified staff members in regular appointments accrue vacation leave in the following way:

If you take unpaid time off work, CU will reduce your leave accruals for the time frame in question. You cannot use leave until the beginning of the month following the one in which you earned it.

Vacation payouts

You cannot receive pay in exchange for vacation time while employed at CU. When you leave or retire from CU, you will receive a vacation payout of your earned, unused vacation time up to a maximum of 42 days.

Annual leave should be used for personal needs; your supervisor or other appointing authority must approve your leave before you can take it.

Your supervisor may establish periods when annual leave will not be allowed or must be taken, based on business needs. These periods cannot place you in a situation where you must forfeit leave because you did not have a reasonable opportunity to use it. If your department cancels approved leave that results in forfeiture, it must pay you for the forfeited hours before the end of the fiscal year.

CU holidays and vacation days

If a CU recognized holiday lands within the span of your vacation, you will not be charged vacation time for that day.

Leave Without Pay

Employees must be at work or on paid leave to earn monthly leave. 

Accruing sick leave

If you're a full-time classified staff member, you will accrue 6.66 hours of sick time per month. You cannot accrue more than 360 hours (more for some employees with frozen sick leave balances; their allowed maximum accrual will be based upon the employee’s June 30, 1988, unused sick leave balance, plus an additional 360 hours).

The amount of leave that part-time employees earn is based on the prorated hours worked during the pay period month.

Sick leave payouts

You may only receive a payout of your unused sick leave upon retiring from the university. CU limits that payout amount to ¼ of your unused leave, up to the maximum accrual rate.

When to use sick leave

Sick leave is for health reasons only, including diagnostic and preventive examinations, treatment and recovery. You may use accrued sick leave for your health needs as well as the health of:

• your child(ren) younger than 18
• an adult child who is disabled
• your parent, spouse, injured military service member (as established under rule 5-20), legal dependent, or a person in the household for whom you are the primary caregiver

You may be required to present documentation of familial relationship.

Enforced sick leave

If an appointing authority determines that you're sick or injured while at work, or in a state that otherwise impacts your and your co-workers' ability to perform, he/she may send you home and charge you sick leave. If you have exhausted your sick leave, CU will charge you vacation leave, or unpaid leave if the latter also is unavailable.

Extended sick leave

If you take sick leave for more than three consecutive days, for any health reason, you must provide a State of Colorado Medical Leave Form (or other official document containing the same information), which must be completed by a health care provider. The completed form must be returned within 15 days of being requested. If you fail to provide this documentation, you may be denied future leave, or receive disciplinary action.

Appointing authorities may also require a Medical Leave Form for absences of fewer than three days when they have a reasonable basis for suspecting abuse.

If an employee dies while actively employed, CU will compensate the widow(er) or estate for ¼ of the employee's unused sick leave, up to their maximum accrual.

The following information is for twelve-month faculty appointments based on the university's eligibility matrix. For nine-month faculty, the policies are housed in the faculty handbook.

Eligible CU 12-month faculty members at 100 percent appointment receive 22 days of paid vacation each year, or 14.67 hours each month. 12-month faculty members who work part-time accrue leave at a prorated rate. 

 Your supervisor may approve requests to take vacation as it is earned. You may not accrue more than 44 days of vacation unless:

• You're unable to take requested vacation time before July 1, due to business needs, and your supervisor allows you to accrue more than 44 hours up until Sept. 1 of the same year.

Vacation payouts

You cannot receive pay in exchange for vacation time while employed at CU. When you leave or retire from CU, you will receive a vacation payout of your earned, unused vacation time up to a maximum of 44 days.

Switching from 12-month to 9-month pay

When you switch from a 12-month to 9-month faculty contract, you may be paid for any earned, unused vacation that you accrued during your 12-month contract.

CU holidays and vacation days

If a CU-recognized holiday lands within the span of your vacation, you will not be charged vacation time for that day.

Leave Without Pay

While on leave without pay, you may not accrue vacation unless your absence is classified as military leave without pay or a furlough.

The following information is for twelve-month faculty appointments based on the university's eligibility matrix. For nine-month faculty, the policies are housed in the faculty handbook.

Accruing sick leave

University staff members may earn 15 days of paid sick leave each year, or 10 hours per month. You also may accrue unlimited sick leave.

Part-time staff accrue sick leave on a prorated basis. You may not accrue leave while on leave without pay, unless you are on military leave without pay or on furlough.

Using sick leave

Unlike vacation, sick leave is intended for unplanned absences during which you cannot perform, due to illness or injury not covered by workers' compensation. Your supervisor may also approve sick leave for dental and medical appointments.

You may only use five days of accrued sick leave each year to care for immediate family members who are ill or need to be taken to medical or dental appointments. However, you may use all your accrued sick leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Sick Leave payouts

There is no limit on sick leave accrual. However, there is a limit on compensation for earned unused sick leave when employees resign, retire, or are laid off, and meet age and service requirements for retirement. These employees are compensated for one-fourth (¼) of their unused sick leave accrual up to a maximum of one-fourth (¼) of 120 days’ accrual, which is the equivalent of compensation for thirty days, upon termination except as noted in Section 2.c.(3), below.

1. If an employee dies while actively employed, the widow(er) or estate will be compensated for one-fourth (¼) of the employee's unused sick leave up to a maximum accrual of 120 days (the equivalent of payment for thirty days) except as noted in 2, below.
2. Employees who had earned unused sick leave in excess of 120 days on May 1, 2001, will be eligible to receive payment for one-fourth (¼) of that sick leave balance or any unused portion of the balance when they terminate if they meet the age and service requirements for retirement (or upon death).
3. University staff who transfers or returns to a nine-month faculty appointment is eligible to receive payment for earned unused sick leave in accordance with Regent Policy 11-E if retirement eligible.

Eligible CU university staff members receive 22 days of paid vacation each year, or 14.7 hours each month. Your supervisor may approve requests to take vacation as it is earned. You may not accrue more than 44 days of vacation unless:

• You're unable to take requested vacation time before July 1, due to business needs, and your supervisor allows you to accrue more than 44 hours up until September 1 of the same year.

Vacation payouts

You cannot receive pay in exchange for vacation time while employed at CU. When you leave or retire from CU, you will receive a vacation payout of your earned, unused vacation time up to a maximum of 44 days.

CU holidays and vacation days

If a CU-recognized holiday lands within the span of your vacation, you will not be charged vacation time for that day.

Leave Without Pay

Employees must be at work or on paid leave to earn monthly leave.
 

Accruing sick leave

University staff members may earn 15 days of paid sick leave each year, or 10 hours per month. You also may accrue unlimited sick leave.

Part-time staff accrue sick leave on a prorated basis. You may not accrue leave while on leave without pay, unless you are on military leave without pay or on furlough.

Using sick leave

Unlike vacation, sick leave is intended for unplanned absences during which you cannot perform, due to illness or injury not covered by workers' compensation. Your supervisor may also approve sick leave for dental and medical appointments.

You may only use five days of accrued sick leave each year to care for immediate family members who are ill or need to be taken to medical or dental appointments. However, you may use all your accrued sick leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Sick Leave payouts

There is no limit on sick leave accrual. However, there is a limit on compensation for earned unused sick leave when employees resign, retire, or are laid off, and meet age and service requirements for retirement. These employees are compensated for one-fourth (¼) of their unused sick leave accrual up to a maximum of one-fourth (¼) of 120 days’ accrual, which is the equivalent of compensation for thirty days, upon termination except as noted in Section 2.c.(3), below.

1. If an employee dies while actively employed, the widow(er) or estate will be compensated for one-fourth (¼) of the employee's unused sick leave up to a maximum accrual of 120 days (the equivalent of payment for thirty days) except as noted in 2, below.
2. Employees who had earned unused sick leave in excess of 120 days on May 1, 2001, will be eligible to receive payment for one-fourth (¼) of that sick leave balance or any unused portion of the balance when they terminate if they meet the age and service requirements for retirement (or upon death).
3. University staff who transfers or returns to a nine-month faculty appointment is eligible to receive payment for earned unused sick leave in accordance with Regent Policy 11-E if retirement eligible.