Vacation

The university provides paid vacation leave benefits for all full-time staff. Vacation is intended to provide an opportunity for emotional and physical renewal. Employees are encouraged to take five consecutive days of vacation at least once each year. Management must authorize vacation leave prior to the employee using the leave. Employees may not take vacation time before it is actually earned. However, new employees are granted some up-front vacation leave upon hire that is available to use after their first pay day.

Sick Leave

The university provides paid sick leave benefits for all full-time staff . Employees may not take sick leave before it is actually earned. However, new employees are granted some up-front sick leave upon hire that is available to use after their first pay day.

Medical Maternity Leave

The university provides full-time, benefited female staff six consecutive weeks of paid maternity leave immediately following childbirth. This benefit is available upon hire. The purpose of maternity leave is to allow the employee to recover from childbirth; consequently, it does not apply to adoption of a child. If the employee is eligible for unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), FMLA leave will run concurrently with medical maternity leave. All requests to extend medical maternity leave that are not protected by the FMLA or state law will be considered in light of current staffing needs. (See below for a description of FMLA.)

Parental Leave

The university provides six weeks of paid leave to full-time staff for the birth of the employee’s child or for placement of a child with the employee for adoption. The purpose of parental leave is to provide time for parental bonding with newborn children or newly adopted children. Parental leave must be completed at any time within the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of the child. In the event of an adoption, leave must be completed within the first year after the placement of a child in the home, regardless of the date of adoption finalization. If desired, parental leave may be divided into two increments of three weeks each. Parental leave is in addition to medical maternity leave, and an employee who qualifies for both may take a total of 12 weeks’ leave in the 12-month period immediately following childbirth. If the employee is eligible for unpaid leave under the FMLA, FMLA leave will run concurrently with parental leave. All requests to extend parental leave that are not protected by FMLA or state law will be considered in light of current staffing needs. (See below for a description of FMLA.)

Funeral Leave

The university provides up to three days of paid leave for eligible full-time employees, as needed and with approval, in conjunction with the funeral of the following relatives of the employee, including step-relatives:

Jury Duty Leave

The university provides paid leave to full-time employees who are called to jury duty or subpoenaed as a witness to perform this service. An employee appearing in court or providing deposition testimony as a voluntary witness, plaintiff, or defendant does not qualify for paid jury duty leave.

Disability Leave

An employee receiving short- or long-term disability benefits is retained as an employee of record on disability leave as long as the employee continues to qualify for the disability benefit. An employee’s position may be filled by another individual while the employee is on disability leave if the university deems it necessary to meet university business needs. The university will make every reasonable effort to return the employee to the position formerly held, or to an equivalent position, at the conclusion of a disability leave period, but an employee’s eligibility for disability benefits is not a guarantee of continued employment, except to the extent that the employee’s leave is also subject to and protected by applicable law, such as the FMLA described below.

Short-term Disability Benefits

The university provides a short-term disability benefit for up to 45 days at two-thirds pay to full-time employees who are unable to work due to an eligible illness, injury, surgery, or disability.

Long-term Disability Benefits

The university provides a long-term disability benefit at reduced pay to full-time employees who have been unable to work for more than 45 days due to an eligible illness, injury, surgery, or disability.

Details of the short- and long-term benefit plans are available from the university leaves manager.

Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

In accordance with the FMLA, the university provides up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees who have worked for the university for a total of at least 12 months and have worked for a minimum of 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately prior to starting the leave, to care for themselves or a family member suffering from a serious health condition as defined under the FMLA.

FMLA leaves commence the day after the last day worked. Any paid sick leave, maternity leave, parental leave, or disability leave taken for an FMLA-qualifying serious health condition will count toward the 12 weeks of job-protected leave provided under the FMLA, and such FMLA leave time will run concurrently with the employee’s other leave.

An employee who exhausts his or her FMLA leave while on disability leave is not entitled to re-employment but will retain employee-of-record status for as long as the disability leave continues. The employee’s BYU employment status will be terminated at the conclusion of the disability leave period unless (a) the employee’s former position or an equivalent position is available and the employee is able and willing to assume such duties, or (b) the employee requests and is granted additional unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation on a temporary basis for a defined period of continuing disability.

Military Leave

The university provides unpaid military leave for eligible full-time employees to serve on active duty with any of the U.S. Armed Forces. The university provides reemployment rights and other rights as stipulated by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

National Guard or Reserves Leave

The university provides unpaid leave for eligible full-time employees to complete an initial training period in the National Guard or Reserves. Under certain conditions, the university may provide paid leave to fulfill required short-term military leave with the National Guard or Reserves. The university provides reemployment rights and other rights as stipulated by USERRA.

Mission President / Temple Presidency / MTC President / Visitors’ Center Director Leave

The university grants unpaid leave to eligible full-time employees who are called, or whose spouses are called, to serve as mission presidents, members of a temple presidency, MTC presidents, or visitors’ center directors for the period of such service. The university reemploys full-time persons returning directly from such leaves, although there should be no expectation that the person will be reemployed in the same position that he or she held before the leave. Employees who have completed the Notification of Intent to Retire form and subsequently receive a call—or their spouse receives a call—as a mission president, temple president, MTC president, or visitors’ center director are not eligible for this leave.

Missionary Service Leave

Full-time staff who volunteer for missionary service may request unpaid leave. However, the university does not guarantee reemployment. If the employee’s former department does not immediately rehire the employee after the employee’s release date, the employee’s leave may be extended up to two months while the employee looks for another position at the university. Additionally, if the department that granted the leave does not offer a position, the person must compete with other applicants for reemployment.

Personal Leave

Full-time staff may request personal leave without pay if other types of leave are exhausted and only for the minimum period necessary. Personal leave must be approved by one’s manager and by the university leaves manager. Even when approved, personal leave will not usually extend beyond three months.

Professional Development Leave

Full-time staff with four or more years of continuous service may be eligible for unpaid professional development leave. Approval for professional development leave is at the sole discretion of the university.

Work Recess Leave

In areas where the workload fluctuates, the department may place full-time staff on unpaid work recess status. Work recess status may not exceed a total period of three months each academic year, whether or not the employee is working part-time during the leave. Employees must receive at least three-fourths of the pay normally received if they had worked the full year without interruption. The three-fourths amount may include vacation pay.

An employee on leave remains an employee of BYU and must act in accordance with the Church Educational System Honor Code, Church Educational System Dress and Grooming Principles and Expectations, and Personnel Conduct Policy.