Personal leave is any time off that is granted for reasons including (but not limited to) specialized experiences, family issues, extenuating personal needs, elective office, or formal studies that result in promoting the interests of Duke and/or the staff member. This type of leave also includes the time off given to any staff with an illness/injury or to those who are pregnant but do not meet the eligibility criteria for Family Medical Leave.

• Before approval, such leave must be shown to be of mutual benefit to both Duke and the staff member.

Eligibility

• Staff who have at least one year of Continuous Service Credit and who work a regular schedule of 20 hours or more per week may request a personal leave of absence.
• Personal leaves are also given to staff who request leaves for pregnancy or illness/injury but who do not meet the one year, 1,250 hours requirement.

Extension of Leave Request

Job Guarantee

There is no job guarantee with a Personal Leave of Absence.

• If the department replaces the staff member on leave with another regular staff member, the staff member returning from leave may apply for transfer to another position through the Recruitment Office.
  
  The Recruitment Office will refer the staff member to position openings for which he or she is qualified.

Reinstatement Following Leave

• The staff member must discuss his or her request for a leave of absence and any return-to-work arrangements with his or her supervisor and entity or department Human Resources representative prior to the start of the leave.
• Staff who are on leaves for illness/injury must provide a physician’s release to return to work.
• Staff whose positions are eliminated while they are on leaves of absence will be entitled to the same rights and benefits as staff whose positions are eliminated.
• Staff should contact their supervisor(s) or their entity/department Human Resources representative to explore the possibility of placement elsewhere in Duke.
• If a staff member fails to return to work as scheduled or to obtain an extension of the leave, employment will be terminated.

Benefits Continuation

• Duke does not pay a staff member's share of Duke-sponsored insurance programs while the staff member is on unpaid personal leave. The staff member and covered dependents are eligible for continued coverage under the COBRA coverage.

Vacation, Sick Leave, Holidays, and PTO Accrual

Vacation, sick leave, holidays, and PTO do not accrue during this period of unpaid leave.

Continuous Service Credit

Length-of-service accrual will be continuous during the leave.

Further Information and Available Forms

For further information, please contact the Staff & Labor Relations office at 684-2808 (P.O. Box 3904, 1527 Duke South Clinic Building, Durham, NC27710) or the Leaves of Absence web site at www.hr.duke.edu/absences/loa.html.