Leave & Disability

The CSU has several leave programs available to employees.  Please refer to your specific Collective Bargaining Agreement to learn more about leave policies applicable to your Collective Bargaining Unit.

Voluntary Self-Identification

If you have an update to your disability status, please complete the Voluntary Disability Self-Identification Form.  Please note that this is informational only.  If you require a Reasonable Accommodation to perform the essential functions of your position, please visit the Reasonable Accommodation webpage for more information.

Voluntary Self-Identification Form

Sick Leave

Accrual

• Full-time employees accrue eight hours of sick leave per each qualifying pay period.
• Part-time employees earn sick leave on a pro rata basis.
• Employees must receive 11 days of pay in a pay period to accrue sick leave credits for that month.
• Sick leave credits may not be used prior to their accrual, which occurs on the first day of the following pay period.
• There is no maximum accrual for sick leave.
• Unused sick leave may be converted into service credit at retirement in accordance with CalPERS guidelines.

Use

• Employee is responsible for reporting absences to the appropriate administrator as soon as possible in compliance with department policies.
• An employee may be required to provide a licensed health care provider's statement or other appropriate verification when absent due to illness/injury.
• Use of sick leave may be authorized by the supervisor for the following absences:
  • Employee's own illness, injury or disability related to pregnancy.
  • Employee's own dental, eye or other physical or medical examination/treatments by a licensed practitioner.
  • Illness or injury in the immediate family as defined in the appropriate collective bargaining agreements for represented employees and policy for non-represented employees.

Extension of Sick Leave

The supervisor may authorize unpaid sick leave, and/or the use of vacation, personal holiday or CTO for an employee who has exhausted accumulated sick leave.

Note: Where there is a conflict with the collective bargaining agreement and the above summary, the collective bargaining agreement prevails.

Catastrophic Leave

Employees are eligible to receive catastrophic leave donations due to their own catastrophic illness or injury or that of an immediate family member.
Immediate family member includes:

• The employee's spouse or domestic partner;
• The employee's, spouse's or domestic partner's parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild (including foster, adopted and step);
• The employee's son-in-law, daughter-in-law;
• A person living in the immediate household of the employee, except domestic employees, roomers, boarders, and/or roommates.

To Receive Catastrophic Leave Credits

​​​​You must be in an appointment that accrues vacation and sick leave AND have exhausted all accrued leave credits (sick leave, vacation, compensatory time off, etc.) due to a catastrophic illness or injury that has incapacitated you from work.  For catastrophic leave for the care of a family member, please refer to your collective bargaining unit.

• A doctor's note must accompany the request form and indicate any special circumstances that cause the illness or injury to be catastrophic. (Not all illnesses or injuries that disable an employee from working qualify as catastrophic.)
• The total donated leave credits you may receive cannot exceed three calendar months from the first day of catastrophic leave.
• In exceptional cases, an additional three calendar month period may be approved.

​​To Donate Catastrophic Leave Credits

• You may donate up to 40 hours (16 hours for Unit 1 employees) of your accrued vacation or sick leave credits per fiscal year.
• Donated leave credits may not necessarily be deducted in the same calendar or fiscal year that the form is signed.
• Leave credits are transferred in the order pledged on the Catastrophic Donation Form and are not deemed donated until transferred by Payroll to the recipient.
   
• Catastrophic Leave Donation Form - Family Care
• Catastrophic Leave Donation Form - Self

Family Medical Leave (FML)

Under federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and CSU FML policy, employees with at least 12 months of service are eligible to take unpaid job protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage.  Eligible employees are entitled to:

12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:

• The birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
• The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
• To care for the employee's spouse, registered domestic partner, child or parent who has a serious health condition.
• A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job; or
• Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin is a covered military member on "covered active duty;" or

26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember's spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
Next of kin is defined as the service member's nearest blood relative, other than the spouse (including same sex spouse through state law or domestic partner through CSU policy), parent, son or daughter, in the following order of priority:

1. Blood relative who have been granted legal custody of the service member by court decree or statutory provision; or
2. brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and first cousins, unless the servicemember has specifically designated, in writing, another blood relative for purposes of this leave.

Family medical leave is without pay; however, employees must exhaust their personal holiday and any accumulated vacation or compensatory time off prior to beginning unpaid leave.  Sick leave credits may be used if mutually agreed upon by the employee and supervisor.

• Leave begins after the employee has requested and is granted FML or after HR Services notifies the employee that it is designating time off as FML.
• During unpaid FML, CSU continues to pay its normal portion of medical, dental and vision premiums.
• Employees on FML have the right to return to the same or an equivalent position.
• FML may be taken intermittently or on a reduced-work schedule when medically necessary, as determined by the health care provider.

Bereavement/Funeral Leave

Eligible employees can be granted leave with pay for each death of a significantly close relative/person or immediate family member.  (“Immediate” as defined in the respective bargaining unit agreement).

The following employee groups receive 5 days of paid leave.

• Physicians (Unit 1), CSUEU (Units 2,5,7,9, 13 [CSULA only])   
• Faculty (Unit 3), Academic Professionals (Unit 4)      
• Skilled Trades (Unit 6), Confidential (C99),       
• Management Personnel Plan (M80), Executives (M98),
• Public Safety (Unit 8)

The following employee groups receive 2-3 days of paid leave.

• UAW (Unit 11, TA, GA, ISA) 2 days (3 days if travel 50 miles from home)
• Excluded (E99, Police Officer Cadet only) 2 days 

Ineligible employee groups include:

• Excluded (E99, except Police Officer Cadet)
• Trade rate employees
• Student Assistants      
• Rehired Annuitants/FERPs
• Youth Summer Aid employees    
• Special Consultants

Coordination of Leave Programs

Bereavement/Funeral leave may be supplemented by using available leave credits in accordance with bereavement leave provisions of the collective bargaining agreements.

Substantiation

Employee may be requested to provide verification of need for bereavement leave.

Parental Leave - Maternity/Paternity/Adoption

Parental Leave is a paid leave of up to 30 work days in a calendar year for the birth of an employee's child or the placement of a child with the employee through adoption or foster care.  This type of absence is not charged against the employee's leave credits.
Parental leave is in addition to available sick and vacation.

• The scheduling of leave may be modified with mutual consent of the supervisor and employee to meet operational needs.
• Leave runs concurrently with any other related leave to which an employee is entitled.
• Leave must commence within 60 days of the child's arrival (excluding Faculty).
• Faculty must commence leave within a 135-day period beginning within 60 days prior to the anticipated arrival date of a new child and ending seventy-five days after the arrival.
• Days to be taken consecutively, unless mutually agreed to and pre-approved in writing by the employee and the appropriate administrator(s).

**Faculty should refer to their Collective Bargaining Agreement for addition Parental Leave flexibility guidelines and options.**

• Parental Leave Timeframes ​

Non-Industrial Disability (NDI)

The Nonindustrial Disability (NDI) Program is a wage continuation program administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD) for eligible employees that have suffered loss of wages due to a disability or injury that is non-work related. The NDI program defines "disability" as: "mental or physical illness and mental or physical injury, including any illness or injury resulting from pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition". An employee is deemed disabled on any day in which, because of a physical, mental or medical condition, he/she is unable to perform his/her regular or customary work. An attending physician must verify the disability.

Full time, permanent or probationary employees, who are members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and who are in compensated employment (must have at least the equivalent of six (6) monthly compensated pay periods of service in the 18 months of pay periods immediately preceding the pay period in which the disability begins), are eligible to apply for non-industrial disability (NDI) benefits when disabled from work due to illness or physical injury which is not work related. Part time employees who are members of CalPERS or STRS may be eligible if they are appointed half time or more for one year of service or one academic year or more.  Eligible employees may receive benefit payments up to 26 weeks (182 calendar days) for any one disability period, in an amount equal to one-half full pay, not to exceed the specified weekly amount based on the employee category. NDI benefits may not exceed six (6) months for any one incident.
NDI applications are processed through EDD. Generally, eligibility determinations are mailed to the employee and the campus within 7-10 days after the receipt of the application by the EDD office.

NDI Weekly Benefit Amounts Per Employee Category

Long Term Disability (LTD)

The Standard Life Insurance Company (The Standard) is the CSU's insurance carrier for employer-paid long-term disability (LTD) insurance. LTD is an income protection program that provides benefits after 180 days of continuous disability. LTD is provided to supplement industrial disability leave, Social Security disability, retirement system payments, or any other group disability plan payments.

The CSU offers this employer-paid insurance to eligible employees within specified employee categories – this includes benefits eligible Faculty (Unit 3), management and supervisory employees (MPP), Student Services Professionals (Unit 4) and Physicians (Unit 1).  Those not enrolled in the automatic LTD plan can purchase Voluntary LTD coverage.

If disability criteria are met, eligible employees will receive a percentage of pay up to a designated maximum amount per month, until age 65.  The plan provides 66-2/3% income replacement, up to a maximum benefit of $10,000 per month (based on $15,000/month earnings). The LTD benefit is coordinated with all eligible income from other CSU, state and federal sources to provide the 66-2/3 benefit level. Examples of the most common deductible income from other sources include disability benefits such as Workers' Compensation or Social Security and income from work while disabled. 

Eligible Employees are automatically enrolled in The Standard's long-term disability insurance. The effective date for long-term disability insurance is the date the employee is appointed in an eligible position. However, if the employee is absent from work due to sickness or injury on the date insurance would otherwise become effective, coverage will begin the day after completing one full day of active work.

Premiums automatically cease when an employee goes on:

• Leave of absence without pay,
• Temporary disability compensation,
• Non-industrial disability leave,
• Industrial disability leave, or
• Other non-pay status.

Premiums will commence once the employee returns to active pay status. Eligible employees who are granted a leave of absence without pay may continue participation in the plan by making direct payments of the full premiums to The Standard

• The Standard - Long Term Disability Website

Industrial Disability Leave (IDL)

The Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) Program is a wage continuation program, in lieu of Workers' Compensation Temporary Disability (TD) benefits for CSU employees who have suffered a work related injury or illness. Employees deemed eligible for this benefit also must be members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) or the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS).

The IDL benefit will be equivalent to the full amount of the injured employee's salary for the first 22 days of the work related injury or illness (a three-day waiting period may apply). Thereafter, IDL benefits will be equivalent to two-thirds of the employee's salary, payable for the next eleven months of disability.

IDL payments are based on the actual number of workdays the disabled employee is absent. An eligible employee may receive IDL payments for a period not to exceed 52 weeks within two (2) years from the first day of disability. The 52-week eligibility period is equivalent to 365 calendar days.

Organ Donor Leave

The Organ Donor Leave (ODL) Program, in accordance with Assembly Bill (AB) 1825, allows CSU employees, who have exhausted all available sick leave, the following leaves of absence with pay:

• A paid leave of absence of up to 30 continuous calendar days in any one-year period to any employee who is donating his or her organ to another person.
• A paid leave of absence of up to five continuous calendar days in any one-year period to any employee who is donating his or her bone marrow to another person.

The one-year period is a "rolling" year commencing on the first day of ODL.

The Organ Donor Leave (ODL) Program is available to all eligible non-represented and represented employees, including student employees, upon date of hire. Part-time and intermittent employees are eligible for ODL on a pro-rata basis.

In order for such leave to be designated as ODL, the employee must provide written verification specifying that the employee is an organ or bone marrow donor, and that the donation is medically necessary. Such leave will apply only to those employees who are viable donors, and cannot be used to cover absences for preliminary tests conducted on a "potential" donor.

If an employee is unable to return to work beyond the time or period that ODL was granted, the employee can apply existing vacation credits and/or compensatory time off to the absence, as deemed appropriate. If the employee has exhausted all available leave credits and is unable to return to work following the ODL, the employee may be eligible for Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI).

ODL runs currently with the CSU Family Medical Leave Policy, and employees continue to receive benefits (if enrolled) while participating in ODL. Employees who subsequently exhaust all other available leave credits after ODL, may elect to continue benefits via direct payment.

Other Leaves

The CSU also offers a variety of other leave programs including:

• Jury Duty - The CSU will continue your salary while on jury duty, regardless of length of jury service.

  • Notify your supervisor of your jury summons.
  • For each day served you must submit a Certificate of Jury Service to your supervisor.
  • State Court: As a state employee you are prohibited from receiving the daily juror stipend.
  • Federal Court: Your daily juror stipend must be made payable to the CSU and turned into the Accounting department.

  
  You are entitled to keep any travel expenses (i.e., mileage) associated with jury duty service.

• Military Leave - Emergency military leave, temporary military leave, and indefinite military leave is granted to eligible employees in accordance with state and federal law.
• Time Off to Vote - Employees that do not have sufficient time outside of his/her working hours to vote at any general, direct, primary or presidential primary election may take up to two (2) hours to vote.
  • CSUEU employees are required to request in writing to the appropriate administrator at least two (2) working days prior to the election.
  • SETC employees may request time off for voting only at the beginning or end of their regular work shift, unless mutually agreed.
• Leaves Without Pay - Please refer to your collective bargaining agreements or for more information regarding unpaid leaves.
  • Leave Without Pay (LWOP) Application (staff/management)
  • Quickguide for Completing LWOP application (staff/management)