FCG Chapter 51 Faculty Leave and Vacations

Section 51-01 Faculty Leaves of Absence

Faculty members are entitled to take reasonable leave for a number of reasons, including a personal or family member’s health condition, becoming a parent, military obligations, outside professional work, and personal or family challenges and changes. This leave may be paid, unpaid, and/or intermittent. Faculty members accrue no obligations to the University during the time they are on approved leave, or in the case of partial leave without pay, for the fractional time they are on leave; they must not be required to offset forgone service or teaching obligations with additional work upon their return.

Requests for faculty leave described here are administered by UW Human Resources (UWHR). Dedicated leave specialists are assigned to each unit and are available to facilitate faculty leave understanding and planning. Comprehensive guidance and applicable request forms can be found on the UWHR Faculty Leave website.

S-B 122, June 1973; S-B 161, January 1996; S-B 209, March 10, 2023 [formerly EAP, Chapter 110]; S-B 224, June 12, 2026: all with Presidential approval.

Section 51-11 Paid Faculty Sick and Parental Leave

A. Limit

The combined total of Paid Sick and Paid Parental Leave under this policy may not exceed 90 calendar days per academic year during the period of July 1 to June 30. When a faculty member is FMLA eligible, Paid Sick and Parental Leave will run concurrently. If needed, additional leave without pay may be requested (see Section 51-41).

B. Eligibility

Faculty members are eligible for Paid Sick and Parental Leave whenever they are in active paid status, commencing with the date they begin being paid in their faculty appointment. Faculty members on a nine-month appointment are eligible for paid leave September 16 through June 15 and during any summer months in which they are scheduled to receive salary. Faculty on a 12-month service period are eligible year-round.

C. Requesting Leave

Faculty members may request paid sick and parental leave by submitting the appropriate leave form to UWHR at least 30 days prior to the start of the leave. If the need for leave was unforeseeable, notice should be provided as soon as practical. Requests for Paid Sick and Parental Leave require documentation from approved sources.

D. Extending Timeline for Mandatory Review

Waivers may be requested by faculty members holding a rank that requires mandatory review. This one-year extension (see Chapter 24, Section 24-41.A) postpones the mandatory review by one year.

At UW Seattle, waiver requests related to events that qualify for sick or parental leave are subject to approval by the dean; at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma, these requests are subject to approval by the chancellor or executive vice chancellor for academic affairs (EVCAA). Clock extensions for reasons unrelated to sick and parental leave are subject to approval by the Provost. Waiver request approval is guaranteed under specific conditions outlined in Sections G and H.

E. Funding for Paid Leave

Paid Sick and Parental Leave taken under this policy is a continuation of the faculty member’s regular salary at the time of leave and draws from the same funding sources.

Faculty who are partially or fully funded by grants (for example, research faculty or WOT faculty) are not guaranteed paid leave for that portion of salary. Funding sources that allow paid leave or defer to the institution will continue paying the faculty member’s salary. When Paid Parental Leave cannot be charged to the faculty member’s regular grant funding sources, the department, school, college, or campus may but is not required to make up all or part of the funding for up to the 90-day period.

The state of Washington Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) may be an additional source of pay during Sick or Parental Leave, if eligible (see Section 51.12 and Administrative Policy Statement 45.6).

F. Benefits

The University will continue to pay the employer portion of health insurance for faculty taking leave through this policy.

For faculty who are not eligible for the University’s Paid Leave due to funding sources, benefits may continue through PFML, FMLA, or self-pay. If sick or parental leave is taken for less than a month, benefits will continue to be paid by the existing funding source.

G. Sick Leave

Sick Leave may be taken for a faculty member’s serious health condition or to care for a family member’s serious health condition, including health conditions related to pregnancy, loss of pregnancy, birth, or recovery therefrom.

Extending Mandatory Review Clock
If a faculty member seeks a waiver to extend the mandatory promotion clock and works less than 50% over a six-month period due to a qualifying health-related condition, such waiver requests shall always be approved.

H. Parental Leave

Paid Parental Leave may be used by faculty members who are birth or non-birth parents with a newborn or baby born by surrogacy, a newly adopted child under the age of 18 years, or a child under the age of 18 years for whom legal guardianship has been newly appointed. Paid Parental Leave may not exceed 90 days and must be taken as a continuous block of time within 12 months of the child’s birth, adoption, or guardianship appointment (“qualifying event”). Multiple births or simultaneous placements of multiple children are considered one event.

Continuation Across University Fiscal Years
If a faculty member’s paid parental leave begins with fewer than 90 days left in the University fiscal year or the faculty member’s service period, the leave of absence for that qualifying event may continue at the start of the next period (subject to the above time constraints). Unused paid leave days do not carry over from year to year. For parental leaves of absence which bridge two University fiscal years, paid leave days used will be deducted from the 90-day allotment of the University fiscal year in which they are taken.
Extending Mandatory Review Clock
Waiver requests for parental leave qualifying events shall always be approved, subject to the Provost’s policy on total clock extensions. Such requests do not require a faculty member to take paid or unpaid parental leave to qualify for the waiver.

S-B 161, January 1996; S-B 209, March 10, 2023: both with Presidential approval; [formerly EAP, Chapter 110]; S-B 224, June 12, 2026: with Presidential approval.

Section 51-12 State of Washington Paid Family Medical Leave

Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) is a mandatory statewide insurance program that provides partial wage replacement benefits and job and benefit protection. Application and eligibility are administered by the State Employment Security Department (ESD). UW Paid Sick and Parental Leave are considered supplemental benefits under PFML, meaning faculty members can receive UW Paid Sick and Parental Leave and PFML. Eligibility for PFML is determined by ESD, independent of eligibility for UW Paid Sick or Parental leave and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

S-B 224, June 12, 2026: with Presidential approval.

Section 51-13 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

University policy on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is found in Administrative Policy Statement 45.5. FMLA provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid job and benefit protected leave in a 12-month period for qualifying family and medical reasons. UWHR reviews all sick or parental leaves of absence requests for FMLA eligibility.

S-B 224, June 12, 2026: with Presidential approval.

University policy for leave related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or hate crimes is found in Administrative Policy Statement 46.8. Faculty may take reasonable time off as a single block of time, on an intermittent basis, or on a reduced schedule to seek help if the faculty member or the faculty member’s family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or hate crime.

S-B 122, June 1973 with Presidential approval; BR, December 1980; S-B 161, January 1996 with Presidential approval; [formerly EAP Chapter 110]; S-B 224, June 12, 2026: with Presidential approval.

Section 51-31 Military Duty Time Off and Leave

Eligibility for leave related to military duty time off and leave can be found in Administrative Policy Statement 45.4.

A. Military Duty Time Off

Faculty who are members of or who are in the process of enlisting for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps reserves of the United States or any organized reserve or armed forces of the United States are entitled to 21 days of paid military duty time off each federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) to report for required military duty, training, or drills, including those in the national guard.

B. Military Leave

Faculty who perform voluntary or involuntary duty in the uniformed services, which include the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service commissioned corps, as well as the reserve components of each of these services, are covered by USERRA and are entitled to unpaid military leave during a period of service in the uniformed services for up to five years. Certain disaster response work (and authorized training for such work) is considered “service in the uniformed services.”

BR, October 1949; S-B 121, April 1972 [see also RCW 38.40.060]; [formerly EAP Chapter 110]; S-B 224, June 12, 2026: with Presidential approval.

Section 51-41 Leave Without Pay

Faculty members may take a partial or full leave of absence without pay for up to two consecutive years upon approval by the dean (at UW Seattle) or the chancellor or the EVCAA (at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma). Unless granted an exception by the Provost, the faculty member must then return to work at the faculty member’s full appointment level for a minimum of one full academic year prior to taking additional leave. A leave taken during any portion of an academic quarter counts as the entire quarter when determining consecutive leave; summer work by faculty members with a nine-month service period does not impact this policy.