Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual - Policy 3415: Leave with Pay

Date Originally Issued: 01-01-1986
Revised: 11-01-1991, 03-21-1997, 08-01-2006, 01-01-2008, 08-20-2015, 08-14-2018, 03-18-2019, 06-28-2019, 06-01-2022, 06-22-2023

Authorized by RPM 6.3 ("Privileges and Benefits")

Process Owner: Assistant Vice President for Human Resources

1. General

Annual leave, sick leave, military leave, and holidays are paid leaves that are described in UAP 3400, 3410, 3425, and 3405, respectively. This policy addresses all other types of paid leave for employees. Employees must notify their supervisor as early as possible regarding their request for leave with pay. They should obtain approval prior to leaving the work area during their shift. Unusual circumstances which preclude requesting permission will be taken into consideration by supervisors. The employee's supervisor may request supporting documentation, and proof of relationship or residency in the household may be required for leave with pay for marriage, bereavement, and paid parental leave.

For those employees who have arranged to work remotely outside the state of New Mexico, the specific employee leave laws of the state where the employee works may affect application of this policy.

2. Eligible Employees

Only regular employees, classified as working twenty (20) or more hours per week are eligible to receive leave with pay.

3. Authorized Use of Leave with Pay

Leave with pay is authorized only for the specific purposes defined below.

3.1. University or Branch Closure

Eligible employees use leave with pay on those occasions when the University is declared closed by the University President. The University is only closed in extenuating circumstances when there is a justified need (for example, in cases of inclement weather or in cases of a national emergency.) In instances where the President declares the University closed, employees should follow the procedures discussed in UAP 3435 ("Inclement Weather").

3.2. Time Off for Interviews

Employees are granted a reasonable amount of time off with pay to attend University job interviews during the employees' regular work hours. In order to get time off with pay, the employees must notify their supervisors in advance of the interviews and the department will approve the time off depending on business needs.

3.3. Marriage

Leave with pay may be used when an employee is getting married on the employee's regularly scheduled workday or when an employee's child or parent is getting married on the employee's regularly scheduled workday.

3.4. Death in Family and Bereavement

Eligible employees receive paid leave for an absence due to a death in the employee's immediate family, up to three (3) working days. Bereavement leave may be extended to five (5) days by the use of two (2) days of sick or annual leave. Additional annual leave may be used to extend the family bereavement period if approved by supervisors. Family members may be natural, step, adopted, or foster. For the purposes of this policy, immediate family is defined as the employee's spouse or domestic partner, children, sons- and daughters-in-law, parents, parents-in-law, grandchildren, great grandchildren, grandparents, great grandparents, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, or is living in the household of an eligible employee. In the case of the death of a family member that falls outside this definition or the death of a close friend, supervisors are encouraged to allow the employee to take annual leave in the same manner as bereavement leave would normally be allowed.

3.5. Voting

Employees who are eligible to vote are granted leave with pay, at their request, and time off from University duties to vote in a governmental election, up to a maximum of two (2) hours. This policy does not apply to employees whose daily work schedule either begins more than two (2) hours after the polls open or ends at least three (3) hours before the polls close.

3.6. Jury and Court Duty

Employees are granted time off with pay for the time spent on duty when they are summoned for:

jury duty;
appearance before the County Commissioner for jury duty qualification; or
duty as a witness (other than as plaintiff or defendant).

To qualify, employees must present documentary evidence of the summons to their supervisors. If the employee receives payment from the court, the employee must remit these monies to the University Payroll Department, but the employee will be permitted to retain payment for mileage. Employees summoned as specified above are required to return to their work locations while temporarily excused from attendance at court, unless returning to work is not practical due to a short time period remaining in the workday. In these instances, employees must verify with their supervisors that the employees do not need to return to work.

3.7. Administrative Leave

Employees may be placed on administrative leave with pay for reasons perceived to be of an urgent or serious nature. Requests for administrative leave must be sent to the applicable Human Resources (HR) Consultant, who will forward the request to the Assistant Vice President for HR. The Assistant Vice President for HR will coordinate with the appropriate executive vice president or designee, who will approve or not approve the leave. When employees are placed on administrative leave with pay, they should be informed in writing, and a copy of the notice should be submitted to HR for inclusion in the employees' personnel files.

3.8. Paid Parental Leave

UNM recognizes that supporting employees as they balance career, childbirth, and family life ultimately benefits the University and promotes overall health. UNM offers eligible employees up to a total of 160 hours of paid parental leave within a 12-month period following the birth, adoption of a child(ren) who have recently joined the household, or placement of foster child(ren) who will be under your care for a minimum of 6 months. This paid parental leave is available to eligible employees who have been employed by the University in a regular benefit eligible position for twelve (12) continuous months prior to the qualifying event.

Unless extenuating circumstances exist, requests for paid parental leave must be submitted to the Division of Human Resources at least thirty (30) days before the leave is expected to begin. The leave need not be continuous but must be taken within twelve (12) months of the date of the birth, adoption, or foster placement of the child(ren). When both parents are UNM employees who meet eligibility guidelines, each employee is entitled to up to a total of 160 hours of paid parental leave within a 12-month period. Documentation verifying the birth, adoption, or foster placement shall be required.

Benefit eligible employees are regular full-time and part-time staff employees who work twenty (20) hours or more per week. For employees working less than full-time, paid parental leave will be prorated at current salary and appointment percentage (FTE). Any unused leave at the end of the 12-month period will be forfeited. Paid Parental Leave will have no cash value and will not result in a payout benefit. The pay for the hours used from Paid Parental Leave will be based on the employee's regular base rate of pay.

Any requests for exception must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the event (denial, birth, adoption, foster placement) and must be approved by the Assistant Vice President for Human Resources.

All Paid Parental Leave received by an employee under this policy will count toward the employee's Family Medical Leave (FML) entitlement, if the employee is eligible for FML. In the event that Paid Parental Leave is denied, an employee may still be eligible for unpaid time under FML; refer to UAP 3440 ("Family and Medical Leave"). Employees may also take annual leave, sick leave, or unpaid FML for additional time off - refer to UAP 3400 ("Annual Leave") and UAP 3410 ("Sick Leave").

4. Reinstatement

When employees are absent from work on leave with pay, their jobs are held for them. Following a leave with pay, employees return to their former positions. If necessary, a temporary employee may be used to perform an employee's duties while on leave.

5. Reporting and Record Keeping

Supervisors must enter leave with pay electronically into the HR Banner System in accordance with UAP 2610 ("Time and Leave Reporting"). Departments must maintain documentation for each employee of hours worked, leave hours taken, and other information submitted on-line into the HR Banner System for four (4) years.