Manager Resources

• Contact the Leaves Coordinator with any questions regarding leaves of absence.
• Refer employees who express a need for a leave of absence to the Leaves Coordinator and/or the Leave of Absence website.
• Forward any medical certifications to the Leaves Coordinator. For medical and family care leaves, an original Healthcare Provider Certification Form must be submitted to the Leave Coordinator. Because of concerns over employees' right to privacy, this document is considered highly confidential and is not filed in the Personnel File. The original is retained in the employee's confidential leave file. Department managers/department chairs are advised to forward any medical certifications to the Leave Coordinator and to not keep copies of medical certifications in their departments.

Step #1: Email the Leaves Coordinator with the following information:

• Start Date of Leave of Absence
• Projected End Date of Leave of Absence (Estimate) 
• Reason for Leave of Absence (e.g., Illness/Family care/Maternity/Parental/Other) 
  • If requesting a Family Care Leave, please provide relationship. 
  • If requesting a Maternity/Paternity Leave, please provide the projected due date. 
• Questions regarding Leaves of Absence procedures, guidelines or other

Step #2: Leaves Coordinator will send a follow up email regarding the leave option(s) they are eligible for. Employees are provided with a standard medical certification form a physician can complete.

• The medical certification needs to be returned within 15 calendar days from the date requested, unless it is not feasible despite the employee’s diligent, good faith efforts.
• If a physician has already provided a medical certification, employees should use the following link to upload Leave Of Absence - Medical Notes Upload.

Step #3: Leaves Coordinator will review the medical certification upon receipt. Once reviewed, the Leaves Coordinator will provide additional details about the employee’s leave request. 

Step #4: Upon approval, the Leaves Coordinator will initiate a leave of absence application.

Leaves of absence can be taken in a variety of ways.

• Continuous leave is taken over uninterrupted period.
• Reduced schedule reduces an employee’s usual number of working hours per work week, or hours per work day.
• Intermittent leave is due to a medical condition that makes it necessary for the employee to be absent from work on an intermittent basis (periodically), including for any episodes of incapacity (e.g. episodic flare-ups). When a leave has been designated as intermittent and the employee meets Family Medical Leave (FML) eligibility criteria, the department and employee are responsible for tracking the FML hours towards the entitlement limit. FML entitlement is 12 weeks (480 hours) within a 12-month period.

For leaves of absence exceeding what's permitted by the employees collective bargaining agreement, up to a duration of 15 days, the Leaves Office needs to verify whether employee qualifies for CSU's Family Medical Leave under CSU. If so, the amount of leave taken will need to be tracked against the employees FML entitlement and the employee must apply for an authorized leave of absence. It is crucial to submit medical documentation to the Leaves Coordinator once the leave exceeds the limits specified in the CBA. Employees are also responsible for promptly notifying their HEERA manager, chair, and/or Dean of their absences and specifying the duration of their leave.

Employees who are on a leave of absence due to their own illness or injury must provide the Leaves Coordinator with a medical release before the employee is due to come back to work, returning early or before the leave ends.

The medical release must show that the employee is able to return to work without any restrictions or limitations or detail any restrictions or limitations that may exist.

Once the Leaves Coordinator has received a medical release that clears an employee, the department will be notified. Until such time, employees should not return to work without providing the medical release.