Leave of Absence

This policy outlines the process for the granting and the use of a Leave of Absence at Georgia Tech.

Personal Leaves
Due to unforeseen events or special circumstances employees may request unpaid personal leave that 
can be approved by the department for medical or non-medical related reasons.

Personal leave requests for medical reasons must be reviewed by GTHR to ensure compliance under 
FMLA and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and accrued sick and/or vacation time can be used. 
Departments should not approve personal leave requests for medical reasons without consulting GTHR.

For personal leave requests for non-medical reasons, only accrued vacation can be used. Employees 
requesting personal leave of more than 30 consecutive workdays must first exhaust accrued vacation 
before going into an unpaid status.

Note: Personal leave can be requested to bond with a newborn (after the 6/8 week medical period), 
newly adopted or foster placed child. Employees may use accrued vacation only or choose to be
unpaid if absence is less than 30 days.

Failure to return to work at the conclusion of the leave period constitutes grounds for
termination of employment. Every effort will be made to place an employee in the same
position or another position of equal status upon return from an approved leave of
absence. Temporary personnel may be employed to fill the vacancy during the approved
leave period. Benefits for which the employee is eligible would not accrue during the
unpaid leave. Employees approved for personal leave that elect to continue their group
health insurance are responsible for the total (employee and employer cost) for their
insurance. A personal leave of absence without pay may not exceed one (1) year.

Educational Leave with and without Pay
Leaves of absence of one year or less with or without pay may be granted by the President and 
reported to the Chancellor. Extensions of such leaves, or the initial granting of leaves of more 
than one year, require the approval of the Chancellor or his/her designee. For more information, 
refer to: BOR Policy: 8.2.7.4 on Educational and Professional Leave, USG HRAP Policy regarding 
Educational Leave without Pay

Education Support Leave
All full-time, regular employees of the USG are eligible for up to eight (8) paid hours of 
Education Support Leave per calendar year. Such leave is in addition to, and not charged against, 
an employee’s other leave, and may be considered for activities supporting public, private, and 
home school achievement for parents of students and non-parents. Only activities directly related 
to student achievement and academic support will qualify for education support leave.
USG HRAP Policy regarding Education Support Leave

Military Leave
Employees are entitled to absences from work duties and shall be deemed to have a leave of absence 
with pay while going and returning from ordered military duty and for the duration of the duty. 
Military leave with pay must not exceed a total of 18 workdays in any one federal fiscal year 
(October 1 - September 30). At the expiration of the maximum paid leave time, continued absence by 
the employee shall be considered as military leave without pay, or an employee may elect to use 
their accrued vacation leave.

Military State of Emergency: Notwithstanding the foregoing leave limitation of eighteen
(18) workdays, in the event the Governor declares an emergency and orders an employee to State 
active duty as a member of the National Guard, or GSDF such employee while performing such duty 
shall be paid his or her salary or other compensation as an employee for a period not exceeding 
thirty (30) days in any one (1) federal fiscal year.

Military Differential Pay
Georgia Tech has established a program to pay eligible employees a military differential for an absence while engaged in the performance of ordered military duty and while going to and returning from such duty, after exhaustion of paid military leave.
•  Funding for Military Pay Differential programs is based on existing institution 
budgets.
•  Military pay differentials must be applied consistently to all eligible employees within the 
institution, not to exceed a total of twelve months in any one federal fiscal year (October 1 - 
September 30).
•  The beginning of the Military Differential Pay is different from the beginning of the active 
military duty; An eligible employee must exhaust his/her paid military leave before the start of 
Military Differential Pay.
•  All personnel on active military leave (unpaid) as of September 30; should be returned effective 
October 1 to ensure employees exhaust their 18 paid military leave days. (Note: September 1 should 
be a trigger to review).
•  Georgia Tech will not pay military differential retroactively across prior fiscal year 
periods.

For more information, refer to the USG HRAP Policy regarding Military Leave.

Selective Service and Military Physical Examinations
Any employee required by Federal law to take a physical examination for Selective Service must 
notify his/her immediate supervisor as soon as orders are received and provide a copy of such 
orders. The employee shall be paid for any regularly scheduled work time required to take such an 
examination.

Bereavement Leave
Employees may utilize up to five accrued sick time due to the death of an employee’s immediate 
family member (employee’s spouse, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, children, brothers, 
sisters, and members of the employee’s household). Employees must notify their supervisor 
immediately if they need to take time off due to the death of an immediate family member. If an 
employee does not have adequate sick days to cover the absence, then they must use vacation time.

Court Duty
Any employee summoned for court duty as a juror or witness must notify his/her immediate supervisor 
as soon as official orders are received and provide a copy of the orders. Employees called for jury 
duty or witness duty will be paid at the normal rate of pay for any regularly scheduled time lost 
from the job. If the court duty is completed prior to the end of the employee’s normal work 
schedule, the employee must report to work for the remainder of their shift.

Voting employees are encouraged to exercise their constitutional right to vote in all federal, 
state, and location elections. Georgia Tech follows the procedures outlined in the 
USG HRAP on Other Leave (Voting and Court Duty). 

Blood Donations Leave
An employee is allowed a leave of absence, without loss of pay, of not more than 8 hours in each 
calendar year for the purpose of donating blood with their supervisor’s approval. This absence 
shall be computed as two (2) hours per donation, up to four (4) times per year. Any employee who 
donates blood platelets or granulocytes through the plasmapheresis process shall be allowed a leave 
of absence, without loss of pay, of not more than 16 hours in each calendar year. This leave shall 
be computed as four (4) hours per donation, up to four (4) times per year.

Organ and Marrow Donation Leave
Each employee who serves as an organ donor for the purpose of transplantation shall receive a leave 
of absence, with pay, of 30 workdays. Each employee who serves as a bone marrow donor for the 
purpose of transplantation shall receive a leave of absence, with pay, of seven (7) workdays. Leave 
taken under this provision shall not be charged against or deducted from an employee’s accrued 
vacation or sick leave balance, such leave shall be included as service in computing any retirement 
or pension benefits. This provision shall apply only to an employee who has actually donated an 
organ or marrow and who presents their supervisor with a statement from a licensed medical 
practitioner or hospital administrator that the employee is making an organ or marrow donation.
Leave for the purpose of organ or marrow donation may qualify under the Family and Medical Leave 
Act (see Family and Medical Leave Policy for more details).

Requesting Leave
All leave of absence requests must be approved by the appropriate unit approver(s) prior to the 
employee taking leave.

For more instructions on how to request a leave of absence please refer to the GT Knowledgebase and 
consult with the local unit HR representative for additional guidance.

Parental Leave
For more information regarding Parental leave refer to the FMLA and Paid Parental Policy on the 
GTHR Benefits website.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
For more information on Family Medical Leave, refer to the FMLA Leave Policy on the
GTHR Benefits website.