Leave and Pay Provisions

The UNC System periodically updates emergency provisions in response to the COVID-19 event.

 

COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave

The UNC System Office provides for COVID-19 paid administrative leave in specific circumstances. The coverage and terms of the COVID-19 paid administrative leave have continued to evolve since March 2020, so we encourage employees to check back for updates and to read the provided details carefully. The following provisions are effective through June 30, 2021 or until revised or rescinded.

COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave is available for employees in permanent positions only in the following circumstances:

  1. Use of the COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave for the purposes listed below is cumulative from March 16, 2020, through June 30, 2021. If an employee used FFCRA Emergency Paid Sick Leave or NC COVID Paid Administrative Leave during this time period, then those hours must be deducted from any remaining COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave available through this section.
  2.  Employees may receive COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave under the following conditions: 
    • the employee is subject to a quarantine or an isolation order, or has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider or public health official;
    • the employee has had exposure with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is awaiting a diagnosis (the employee may or may not be demonstrating symptoms); or
    • the employee experiences a reaction to their COVID-19 vaccination that prevents them from returning to work, either on the day of the vaccination or on the following day.

Under these conditions, COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave is allocated as described below: 

  1. The employee may receive up to two weeks (80 hours for full-time staff, pro-rated for part-time staff) of COVID-19 paid administrative leave for the absences prior to using any accrued personal leave and paid time off.
  2. Once the two weeks have been exhausted, the employee must use their accrued personal leave and paid time off for the absences.
  3. Once the employee has exhausted their accrued personal leave and paid time off, then the employee may receive an additional two weeks (80 hours for full-time staff) of COVID-19 paid administrative leave for the absences.

Employees can apply for COVID Paid Administrative Leave beginning Jan 1, 2021, by completing the NC COVID Leave Request Form*.

*Note: See page 2 of the form to apply for Paid Admisitrative Leave request. See Page 3 of the form to apply for Advance/Make-up Leave Request.

 

Advanced / “Makeup” Leave

UNC Asheville employees may be advanced vacation/sick leave accruals and/or be allowed to use up to two weeks (80 hours for full-time staff, pro-rated for part-time staff) of paid communicable disease “make-up” leave for absences if the employee: 

  1. must provide child care because a school or child care facility remains closed, or the school has required or has allowed remote learning for the family, due to COVID-19; or
  2. must provide elder care because an elder care facility is closed due to COVID-19.  

Employees who are allowed make-up leave must make up this time within 12 months of accrual, similar to the make-up provisions in the Adverse Weather and Emergency Events policy, or otherwise apply accrued personal leave and paid time off to pay back the leave or take leave without pay. 

 

Expanded Community Service Leave (CSL)

  1. COVID-19 RELATED SERVICE ACTIVITY: In August 2020, institutions were allowed to provide permanent SHRA and EHRA employees up to 80 hours of Expanded Community Service Leave for service with non-profit organizations on COVID-19-related volunteer activities. Although the unused CSL hours allocated for this purpose in calendar year 2020 are forfeited as of December 31, 2020, a new allocation of 80 hours, effective January 1, 2021, has been provided. These hours are accounted for separately from an employee’s regular annual allotment of 24 (or 36) hours community service leave.
  2. TUTORING AND MENTORIING: Use of tutoring and mentoring options under CSL may occur in a formal standardized program or may include non-conventional tutoring/mentoring arrangements. For example, tutoring sessions may be carried out in a virtual and/or in-person environment, performed as part of a remote student cohort, or could include activities with an employee’s own child(ren). The tutoring and mentoring of “at-risk” students includes those that, by virtue of their circumstances, are more likely than others to fail academically, particularly in a virtual academic environment, and who require temporary or ongoing support to succeed academically.

 

Interchangeable Leave

Through June 30, 2021,  employees may use accrued sick leave, vacation leave, and bonus leave interchangeably, regardless of the reason for the employee’s absence; however, paid leave cannot be used to cover hours on which an employee is on emergency temporary furlough.  Normal departmental leave request procedures apply. 

  • Example: An employee may request a day off for personal reasons and use sick leave instead of vacation leave.

 

Other Leave Provisions

  • Employees who were on other pre-approved leave or are unavailable for reasons other than provided above must use available and applicable leave types, e.g. vacation leave, parental leave, bonus leave, compensatory time, or take leave without pay. 
  • For part-time employees with fluctuating schedules, COVID-19 paid administrative leave may be applied as allowed above, but consideration should be given to the employee’s average hours per week over the course of a month. In no case shall paid administrative leave exceed forty hours per week.
  • While management will give every possible consideration to individual personal circumstances, management has the discretion to deny or defer special leave provisions for mandatory employees whose presence is determined necessary to address urgent public health, public safety, or critical infrastructure needs. Special consideration should be given to COVID-19 Mandatory Employees who are determined to be high risk for contracting COVID‐19 or who are providing care to someone at high risk. Managers should contact the Human Resources at hr@unca.edu if a COVID-19 Mandatory Employee requests special consideration because of their own health condition and management believes they are not able to provide that consideration. 

 

Leave Reporting Instructions

 

Paid Administrative Leave Provisions from Previous Months