DEC Compensation and Benefits

Leaves and Absences


Sick Leave

Full-time personnel accrue sick leave at the rate of eight hours per month. Full-time employees assigned to work less than forty hours per week accrue sick leave proportional to the percent of time they work. Employees may carry up to 960 hours of accumulated sick leave over into a new fiscal year.

Sick leave may be used for personal illness and for illness in the immediate family. The immediate family includes spouse, child, mother, father, or a family member who is dependent upon the employee as a primary source of financial support.


Bereavement Leave

Leave with pay will be provided to full-time personnel if a member of the family dies. Up to five days may be used if a spouse or any person within the first degree of consanguinity dies. Up to three days may be used if any person within the second degree of consanguinity or within the first degree of affinity dies. For those relations that are in the third degree consanguinity and second degree affinity, one day of bereavement leave may be used plus up to two additional days as required for travel to the funeral site may be approved by the employee’s supervisor. Refer to DBE.


Jury Duty

An employee shall be granted leave with pay and without loss of accumulated leave for jury duty and when subpoenaed for a court appearance. The employee shall be required to present documentation of the service and shall retain any compensation for this service.


Other Court Appearances

Absences for court appearance when not subpoenaed shall be taken without pay unless vacation or other paid leave entitlements are available.


Workers' Compensation

When an employee is unable to work due to a job-related injury or illness, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier will normally pay a major portion of the employee's lost wages after a seven-day waiting period. At the employee’s option this payment may be supplemented to allow the employee to continue to draw full wages by using accrued sick leave and/or vacation leave. In the event an employee has an injury that requires long-term leave without pay, the College will pay the State contribution toward insurance premiums for the employee for a period not to exceed six months and the normal long-term leave without pay provisions will apply.


Personal Leave Without Pay

Certain approved absences without pay preserve the continuation of employment status and permit retention of College benefits.

Short Term

Up to five days leave without pay per year may be authorized for personal reasons provided that acceptable arrangements can be made to take care of the employee's work load. Such leaves require supervisory approval including the appropriate President's Cabinet member. For faculty, no more than three days at one time can be taken.

Long Term

Any leave without pay longer than five working days requires Board approval for personnel who have been Board appointed. Other employees require supervisory and presidential approval and the leave must be for the good of the College.

Medical

After exhausting paid sick leave entitlements, medical leave without pay for personal illness or injury may be approved up to six months, including any leave under Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Should the employee not be able to return to full duty after the six-month leave without pay, employment may be terminated. 

If the medical leave without pay is longer than the FMLA benefits, the employee will have no guarantee of returning to his/her former position. If an employee's former position is not available when he/she is able to return to full duty and employment has not been terminated, the employee shall be given first consideration for position vacancies open at the College for which he/she is qualified. 

Vacation and sick leave time does not accrue while an employee is on any long-term leave without pay. 

The College shall continue to pay the State portion of health insurance premiums for up to six months while the employee is on medical leave without pay. The employee shall be responsible for the balance of any premium.


Personal Leave

Full-time faculty members, on less than 12-month assignment, are eligible for up to 24 hours of personal leave per fiscal year (hours do not accrue).  Use of personal leave requires prior approval from the faculty member’s Department Head and Division Chair and must be used in minimum increments of 4 hours. The leave will be reported on the proper payroll form as “leave with pay.”


Faculty Development Leave Grants

Annual faculty development leave grants, including mini-leave grants, may be awarded by the Board upon recommendation of the President. Faculty development leave grants are limited to tenured faculty. Application for such grants must be submitted no later than the first week of the spring semester preceding the academic year in which the leave is requested. The procedures and related conditions are located in the Faculty Handbook.