Sick Leave

Postdoctoral Researchers are eligible for paid sick leave of up to twelve days per twelve-month appointment period. Except as noted below, sick leave does not carry over between appointment periods, and any balance remaining at the time the Postdoctoral Researcher’s appointment ends is forfeited.

Postdoctoral Researchers with appointments of less than twelve months are eligible for sick leave in proportion to the appointment period; for example, a Postdoctoral Scholar with a six- month appointment is eligible for up to six days of sick leave.

For Postdoctoral Scholars, unused sick leave shall be carried forward to subsequent Postdoctoral Scholar appointments.

Sick leave may be used for absences for the Postdoctoral Researcher’s own medical care, treatment, diagnosis, or preventive medical care. It may also be used for absences due to a Family Member’s (as defined below) illness or injury or to care for a Family Member receiving medical care, treatment, diagnosis, or preventive medical care. Postdoctoral Researchers may also use Sick Leave if they or a Family Member are a victim of domestic violence or a sex offense or if they need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency. Absences of less than one full day are not deducted from a Postdoctoral Researcher’s Sick Leave allotment. 

For the purposes of this policy, “Family Member” means a Postdoctoral Researcher’s child, legal guardian, ward, spouse under the laws of any state, domestic partner, parent, spouse or domestic partner’s parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. A child includes not only a biological relationship, but also a relationship resulting from adoption, step-relationship, and/or foster care relationship, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. A parent includes a biological, foster, stepparent, adoptive parent, legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child. Please note that this definition of “Family Member” does not apply to any other University policy, except where stated. 

Unless the extramural funding agency has different sick-leave requirements, Postdoctoral Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows – Paid Direct are also eligible for paid sick leave of up to twelve days per twelve-month appointment period, subject to the guidelines above.