3.13 Faculty Leave Policies

Refer to HR 180 Employee Benefits Policy in the CWI Policies and Procedures Manual for a detailed description of all faculty leave policies including the following:

A. Sick Leave: Sick leave is provided to benefit-eligible employees. Faculty accrue sick leave at 8 hours per month. Sick leave may be used in the event of the employee’s illness or the illness of an immediate family member if the immediate family member’s illness presents no practical alternative for necessary care.

Employees should notify their supervisor of the need for sick leave at least two hours prior to the start of the employee’s shift, unless circumstances outside the control of the employee prevent such notice. Employees may be asked to provide documentation showing the necessity of sick leave. Negative sick leave balances are not permitted unless authorized by an appropriate Vice President. Employees are not entitled to payment for unused sick leave upon separation of employment.

B. Vacation Leave: Full-time faculty with a contract of less than 12 months are not eligible for vacation leave. In lieu of vacation leave, faculty are provided personal days as defined in their contract. Personal days do not accrue from year to year and are lost if not used by the end of the fiscal year. Personal days for reasons of personal convenience may be granted to a faculty member upon approval of his/her Department Chair. The faculty member must notify his/her supervisor at least two weeks in advance of the proposed days away, and arrangements must be made for the coverage of the classes the faculty member will miss and other responsibilities.

Faculty with a 12 month contract accrue vacation leave at the rate of eight (8) hours per pay period.

C. Military Leave: Pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ("USERRA"), any employee absent from work because of service in the uniformed services of the United States will be granted a military leave of absence without pay during such absence. The uniformed services of the United States includes the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and the reserves of each) and the Army and Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty. See HR 180 Employee Benefits Policy.

D. Holidays: CWI officially observes ten holidays (80 hours), as follows:

  • New Year’s Day
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. /Idaho Human Rights Day
  • President’s Day
  • Memorial Day
  • Juneteenth
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Day after Thanksgiving
  • Christmas Eve
  • Christmas Day

Full-time faculty with a contract of less than 12 months are not eligible for holiday pay. Holidays that fall on a Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. Holidays that fall on a Sunday shall be observed on the succeeding Monday. The holiday schedule may be changed at any time by the President.

E. Bereavement Leave: Up to five days of paid bereavement leave shall be provided to benefits-eligible (staff and faculty) for a death in the family (spouse, domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents-in-law, grandparents-in-law, children-in-law, grandchildren-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law). Bereavement days will be paid for days that employee is normally scheduled to work. Time taken does not need to be taken consecutively. Additional accrued vacation leave or an unpaid leave of absence may also be approved.

F. Educational Release Time: Full time faculty are entitled to release time granted for the purpose of attending approved conferences, seminars, school-related activities, etc., as approved by the Vice President of Instruction, are counted as days of service to CWI

G. Professional and Extended Leave: Leave with pay may be granted to full time faculty and staff members for the purpose of attending conferences and professional meetings, provided arrangements are approved in advance. Travel expenses and per diem allowances may be allowed pursuant to CWI policy. Extended professional leave may be granted for periods of up to one year to full-time faculty who have completed at least three years of service at CWI. Extended professional leave is without pay and is intended to assist the faculty member in completing training at an institution of higher education or other approved school. Extended professional leave must be approved by the President and the Board of Trustees.

H. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA provides an entitlement of up to twelve (12) weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period to eligible, covered employees for the following reasons: 1) birth and care of the eligible employee's child, or placement for adoption or foster care of a child with the employee; 2) care of an immediate family member who has a serious health condition; 3) care of the employee's own serious health condition which renders the employee unable to perform the functions of his/her position; or 4) a qualifying exigency arising out of an employee’s immediate family member’s active duty or call to active duty. In addition, as addressed in more detail below, an employee who is the immediate family member or next of kin of a covered member of the Armed Forces and needs leave to provide care for the service member who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty may be entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a 12 month period. Refer to HR 180 Employee Benefits Policy in the CWI Policies and Procedures Manual for more information.

I. Jury Duty and Witness Compensation: Leave will be granted and full pay provided to employees asked to testify either in a deposition or in court on behalf of CWI or otherwise subpoenaed to testify in a deposition or in court, called to serve as a witness in court in matters specifically related to CWI operations. Further, leave will be granted and full pay provided to employees called to serve on jury duty when the jury time required interferes with their regularly scheduled work shift.

J. Sick Leave and Personal Leave Donation: CWI’s vacation leave donation program allows CWI employees to donate vacation or personal days to employees who have exhausted their own leave balances and will otherwise be without pay during an approved leave of absence for qualifying reasons as described below. Participation in the program is entirely voluntary. Employees should not solicit other employees to participate in this donation program. Faculty on less than a 12 month contract may donate unused personal days if they meet the following criteria:

  • Donate a minimum of eight (8) hours
  • Donate between May 15 and June 30 of the current academic year to ensure personal days are available for use during the year.

Employees who wish to donate leave to the Leave Bank must submit a Vacation Leave Donation Program Donation Form to Human Resources. Human Resources will determine if the employee meets the criteria to donate, and will transfer the approved donated hours to the leave bank. If the employee is incapacitated and unable to submit the form, his/her supervisor or Human Resources may submit the form on the employee’s behalf.