Other Paid Time Off

Death of a Family Member

Eligible TAMU-CC employees who need to take time off due to the death of an immediate family member are eligible for bereavement leave. Immediate family members are defined as an employee's spouse, or the employee's or spouse's child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, brother, stepbrother, sister, stepsister, grandparent, step grandparent, great grandparent, step great grandparent, grandchild, step grandchild, great grandchild or step great grandchild.

General Provisions

• Employees are not required to attend the family member's funeral in order to be entitled to use bereavement leave.
• Bereavement leave hours must be taken within the time period prescribed in section 2.1 of A&M System Regulation 31.03.03.
• Bereavement leave hours are not required to be used consecutively; however, granted hours must be taken within 6 months from the date of the family member's death.
• Relationships that exist due to marriage will terminate upon death or divorce. For example, bereavement leave for an ex-spouse's death would not apply, nor would it apply for the death of an ex-spouse's family member.
• Bereavement leave for the death of a family member may not be used after an employee has terminated employment and is on the payroll to exhaust his or her vacation leave.

Approval

A department head or designee may approve up to 16 hours of bereavement leave with pay for the death of an employee's family member. The request should be processed through Workday.  See Request Process below.

The approval of the appropriate Vice President, or designee, is required for bereavement leave with pay when such leave exceeds 16 hours.  Bereavement leave more than 80 hours must be approved by the President, or designee.  The request is processed outside of Workday.  See Process below.

Request Process

For leave request up to 16 hours for death of a family member:

1. A Request for Time Off is submitted in Workday by the employee selecting the leave type 4-Death of a Family Member.  A comment indicating the reason for the request should also be entered.
2. Upon approval by the Manager, the Workday Action routes to Human Resources for review and approval. 

 For leave requests of more than 16 hours for death of a family member:

1. Complete the EMERGENCY LEAVE REQUEST FORM
2. Human Resources will obtain the approvals through the appropriate chain of command (see approval chart below).
3. The employee will receive a confirmation by Human Resources upon approval of the request.

An employee will be allowed sufficient time off to vote in national, state and local elections.

Eligible employees will be granted a paid leave of absence for jury service. An employee on jury service will not be required to account to the System for any fee or compensation received.

General Information

• Departments may establish internal procedures to require employees to account for time off to report for jury duty. This may include, among other items, providing the initial summons, obtaining a note from the court clerk, or presenting other items to show time served.
• Employees who receive a notice to report for jury duty should inform their supervisor as soon as possible to allow the department to make necessary adjustments for the anticipated absence.
• Employees who respond to the summons and are not chosen for jury service in the selection process will be expected to report to work later that day, if feasible and practical. Employees should contact their supervisor regarding their schedule as soon as possible if they are not selected for jury duty.

Serving as a Witness/Responding to a Subpoena

Eligible employees will receive paid time off to serve as a witness, provide testimony, and/or respond to a subpoena as provided through judicial, administrative, or legislative orders. Paid leave to serve as a witness or respond to a subpoena is, in part, governed by System Regulation 31.05.03: Witnesses in Judicial Actions or Legislative Proceedings.

General Information

• Eligible employees will be granted paid time off to appear in judicial, administrative, or legislative proceedings in his/her private capacity as a fact witness to testify on matters within his/her personal knowledge.
• Departments may establish internal procedures to require employees to account for time off to respond to a subpoena or testify in legal matters.
• Employees who are a party to a lawsuit (plaintiff or defendant) must use their own personal time to testify in legal proceedings.

Additional Information

• System Regulation 31.03.03: Leave of Absence With Pay
• System Regulation 31.05.03: Witnesses in Judicial Actions or Legislative Proceedings

A veteran who served in the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or marine corps of the United States as defined by Government Code § 434.023(a) or the Texas National Guard as defined by § 431.001, and eligible for health benefits under a program administered by the Veterans Health Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, may be granted leave without a deduction in salary or loss of vacation time, sick leave, earned overtime credit, or state compensatory time to obtain medical or mental health care administered by the Veterans Health Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, including physical rehabilitation. Leave granted may not exceed 15 working days each fiscal year.

An employee is entitled to a leave of absence up to five working days each fiscal year to serve as a bone marrow donor or up to 30 working days each fiscal year to serve as an organ donor. An employee is entitled to sufficient time off to donate blood up to four times each fiscal year. The employee must obtain approval from the employee’s supervisor before taking time off and, upon returning to work, must provide proof of the blood donation.

An employee who is a certified disaster service volunteer of the American Red Cross or who is in training to become a volunteer may be granted up to 10 working days of leave each fiscal year to participate in specialized disaster relief services. The leave must be requested by the Red Cross, approved by the governor and authorized by the employee's supervisor. The Texas Division of Emergency Management will coordinate the list of eligible employees.

An employee who is a volunteer firefighter or an emergency medical services volunteer is entitled to a leave of absence up to five working days each fiscal year to attend fire service or emergency medical services training conducted by state agencies or institutions of higher education. The CEO or designee may grant leave to allow volunteer firefighters or emergency medical services volunteers to respond to emergency fire or medical situations. Prior to granting such leave, a member will establish guidelines for the request and approval of leave in these circumstances.

An employee is entitled to a leave of absence up to five hours each month to participate in mandatory training or perform volunteer services for Court Appointed Special Advocates.

An employee who is a foster parent to a child under the conservatorship of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services is entitled to a leave of absence to attend Department of Protective and Regulatory Services meetings or school district admission, review and dismissal meetings regarding the foster child.

An employee who is a person with a disability is entitled to a leave of absence for up to 10 working days each fiscal year to be trained in the use of an assistance dog.

Unplanned Closure

• Employees who are eligible for paid time off will receive “emergency leave” and will receive pay for the time the University is closed. 
• The payroll department will auto-populate emergency leave on timesheets in Workday.
• Employees who are not eligible for paid time off will not get paid.  This includes student workers and temp/casual employees.
• Anytime work is performed by an employee during an unplanned closure, the employee must record hours worked to receive state compensatory time to use on another date.   
  • Exempt employees can submit their time through this Comp Time Smartsheet.  Requests route to the employee's supervisor for approval and then to HR to process in Workday. 
  • Non-Exempt employees submit their time via their time sheets in Workday. 

 Department Closure Only

• Employees who are eligible for paid time off will receive “emergency leave” and will receive pay for the time the University is closed. 
• Employee must submit emergency leave in Time-Off Worklet via Workday.

Early Release

• Employees who are eligible for paid time off will receive “emergency leave” and will receive pay for the time the University is closed. 
• The payroll department will auto-populate emergency leave on timesheets in Workday.
• The University may determine that some departments remain open to serve our student population.  If department is required to remain open, employees that work will be given compensatory time for use on a future date.
• The employees must record hours worked to receive state compensatory time to use on another date.   
  • Exempt employees can submit their time through this Comp Time Smartsheet.  Requests route to the employee's supervisor for approval and then to HR to process in Workday. 
  • Non-Exempt employees submit their time via their time sheets in Workday. 

When an office or work site closes because of hazardous conditions or unsafe travel conditions, employees who are eligible for paid time off will be granted emergency leave for the time the work site is closed. Employees who are required to work during the time an office or work site is closed because of hazardous conditions or unsafe travel conditions will accrue compensatory time.  The payroll department will auto-populate emergency leave on timesheets in Workday.

The CEO or designee may also grant emergency leave when the member does not officially close, but hazardous or unsafe travel conditions delay or prevent an employee from being at work during the employee’s scheduled work hours.  Additional approval is required.

Emergency Evacuation Order

If an emergency evacuation order is issued by state or local government, each employee who is eligible for paid time off will be granted emergency leave for the duration of the order. Emergency service personnel or others needed to provide for the safety and well-being of the general public or for the restoration of vital services will not be granted leave, but will accrue compensatory time.

Eligible TAMU-CC employees may receive paid Justified Emergency Leave of Absence for Other Circumstances for situations not covered in TAMU-CC rules and procedures.  Examples might include leave due to a power outage, facility closure, weather closure or another extraordinary event that is not already covered by a campus announcement.

Note:  Emergency leave in excess of 32 hours in a fiscal year is reported to the State of Texas annually.  Additionally, a report of emergency leave usage is produced each March and September for review by the President.

Approval

Upon requesting emergency leave not covered in TAMU-CC rules and procedures, an employee must show good cause for the leave. The routing approval authority of this leave type is as follows:

Request Process 

Complete the Emergency Leave Request form. Routing for Approval is referenced above.