Leave Program Modernization_DRAFTifapproved

A PTO bank plan combines vacation, sick, personal and in some instances holidays, into a single bank of days for employees to use when they take paid time off from work. PTO is a more modern approach to providing employees with time off that gives employees more flexibility for scheduled and unscheduled absences. A PTO bank’s primary focus is on when time is taken off, and not the reason for the time off.

In the current leave program structure, paid time off is separated in different categories such as vacation, sick, personal and holidays. Employees earn a specific number of hours for each category and time off can only be taken for that purpose.

A PTO bank does not separate leave into categories. It uses a single pool of time off to give employees more control over how they spend their time away from work, whether for vacation, an illness, a field trip with a child or any other personal reason.

A PTO bank ensures university leave practices are comparable with other organizations in our market and attractive to job candidates who value discretionary time away from work, while also promoting a culture of wellness that encourages employees to use their time off to focus on themselves and their families.

Employees no longer need to identify why they are choosing to take time away from work, since the PTO allocation can be used for any eligible time away from work. The use of PTO hours should be scheduled in advance whenever possible, according to UM policy and procedures.

Employees continue to earn their paid time off in hours each week based on their annual allowance. Hours will be prorated for employees working less than 100% FTE.

Vacation: We are reviewing options to convert vacation balances to the new PTO plan, payout vacation at a specific point in time, or a combination of the two above options.

Sick Leave: No new accruals will be earned after transition to the new PTO plan, any sick leave earned prior to 01/01/24 will be saved or banked for the employee. These banked hours can be used to supplement university-paid Short-Term Disability or for other sick leave events when the PTO bank and other eligible leave options have been exhausted. In addition, employees in the DB Plan or Hybrid Plan will continue to be eligible for service credit for any remaining banked sick leave at retirement. 

Personal Days: The last accruals will be earned on the employee’s anniversary date in 2023. Employees will have until their anniversary date in 2024 to use their remaining personal days. Personal days not used prior to the employee’s anniversary date in 2024 will expire. 

Employees will be able to accumulate a maximum of 2 times their annual PTO accrual at any time. For example, if an employee earns 18 PTO days per year, they can carry a maximum of 36 days (18 times 2). Once an employee reaches their maximum, no new accruals are earned until the balance is used down below the maximum.

There is not a set time limit in which PTO hours the employee has earned must be used. However, there is a maximum number of hours an employee can accumulate. See FAQ: How much PTO time will employees be able to carry?

No. Employees will be able to use the PTO hours they have earned in any increment just as they can use their current paid time accruals. See also: How will employees earn PTO under the proposed plan? Accruals must be earned before they can be used.

MU Health Care employees and UM campus employees will receive the same PTO structure plus nine paid holidays each year. MU Health Care hourly employees will also have a PTO cash-in option. Additional details for the cash-in option will be provided as they are available. 

Yes, nurses at MU Health Care will continue to earn PTO based on the exempt schedule.

No, faculty are not in scope for the approved leave program design, except for the limited number of faculty who are currently in the staff plan.

All benefit-eligible administrative, service and support staff and certain non-regular academic employees are eligible to receive paid time off.

Changes are scheduled to go into effect in January 2024.

No; all eligible employees move to the new leave program design, effective January 1, 2024.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides employees the right to take a leave of absence for family, medical reasons and leave for military families while maintaining job protection.

FMLA provides job protection, but is not a paid leave program, unless an employer provides a benefit that provides pay concurrent with FMLA. Visit the About the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) webpage for more information.

University employees may use paid time off or other approved leave while on FMLA in order to be paid while on FMLA.

Short-term disability covers a portion of the employee’s salary when they are unable to work for a short period of time due to a temporary medical disability.

Short-term disability does not provide job protection. Job protection is determined by university policies and state/federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Rather, it is an insurance-type policy, provided by the university to provide income replacement while on medical leave. Short-term disability typically has a short elimination period, such as seven calendar days.

Parental leave provides paid time off, in addition to an employee’s annual PTO allocation, for employees who are welcoming a new child into their home.

Parental leave includes:

• Bonding time for birth mother (after end of short-term disability coverage period)
• Bonding time for the non-birthing parent
• Adoption
• Foster care placement

Caregiver leave provides additional paid time off to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

We plan to collect feedback from campus and health care staff advisory groups about the proposed changes in July and August 2022.

Individuals may also share feedback, questions or concerns via AskHR by completing the form "Proposed Leave Plan Feedback" (also linked in the top menu).