Jefferson Lab > COO > HR
Privacy and Security Notice

Administrative Manual - 207 Leaves of Absence

207.09 Leave Without Pay

  1. POLICY

    JSA may grant or require a leave without pay (LWOP) for various compelling reasons and provided that the needs of the Laboratory appear to allow for the employee's position or a comparable position to remain open during his/her absence. Any leave without pay in excess of 12 months must be approved by the Director of the Laboratory.

  2. ELIGIBILITY
    1. All JSA employees are eligible for requested leave without pay of less than ten (10) days in a twelve (12) month period.
    2. Regular employees and term employees who have completed successfully their probationary periods are eligible for requested leave without pay of more than ten (10) days in a twelve (12) month period.
    3. Eligibility for leaves of absence associated with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are covered in the Section of this manual entitled Family and Medical Leave Act.
    4. Disciplinary or investigatory leaves without pay (suspensions) may be imposed on any JSA employee.
  3. APPROVALS
    1. An employee-requested leave without pay which would result in a total of ten (10) or less LWOP days in a 12 month period requires the approval of the supervisor.
    2. An employee-requested leave without pay which would result in a total of more than ten (10) LWOP days in a 12 month period requires the approvals of the supervisor, the respective Associate Director, and the HR&S Director, except in the event of disability.
    3. A disciplinary or investigatory leave without pay (suspension) of any length is requested by the supervisor and requires the approvals of the respective Associate Director and the HR&S Director.
    4. Except in cases where the employee is on leave due to disability, any leave without pay which would result in a total of more than 90 days in a 12-month period and during which continuation of benefits and/or service credit has been requested requires the prior written approval of DOE
  4. PROCEDURES AND PROVISIONS
    1. Requests for leave without pay (LWOP) which would result in a total of ten (10) or less LWOP days in a 12 month period are to be made in writing to the supervisor, who is responsible for tracking LWOP taken by employees under his/her supervision.
    2. Requests for leave without pay in excess of ten (10) days in a 12 month period are to made in writing and submitted to the employee's supervisor, who shall coordinate the request with the respective Associate Director and HR&S Director.
    3. All LWOP must indicate the reason for the leave and the expected dates the leave will begin and end.
    4. The employee must include in the request assurances that he/she, prior to the leave, shall make every reasonable effort to take care of any unsettled matters for which he/she is responsible and shall furnish, during the leave, any information needed to meet the requirements of the division. The employee also must convey his/her understanding that return to work is subject to any limitations caused by changes in the division employment levels that would have affected the employee had he/she not been on leave.
    5. The supervisor, if he/she recommends approval of the leave, shall attach to the employee's request an assurance that the employee's or a comparable position in the department shall be held open during the employee's requested leave of absence.
    6. Requested leave without pay shall not be granted until the employee exhausts his or her vacation leave accrual, unless the employee is receiving JSA short-term disability or long-term disability payments.
    7. Requested leave without pay for extended medical leave (greater than 13 weeks) necessitated by personal illness, whether or not covered by FMLA, shall not be granted until the employee exhausts both his/her sick leave credit and vacation leave accrual, unless the employee is receiving JSA long-term disability payments.
    8. Even though an employee has accrued vacation leave, such leave may not be used during a disciplinary suspension or investigatory leave without pay.
    9. Leaves without pay in excess of ten (10) working days at one time shall affect employee benefits as discussed in paragraph E, below.
    10. Leaves without pay in excess of 90 days in a 12-month period shall cause discontinuation of JSA employment service credit unless prior written approval of DOE is obtained.
    11. JSA reserves the right to recover a negative leave balance prior to granting a request for leave without pay.
    12. Illness or disability compensable under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Insurance section of the Benefits policy in this manual.
    13. An employee on LWOP shall not be given a performance evaluation nor shall he/she be eligible for salary review or salary increase actions. The employee will receive his/her performance evaluation upon return from leave and his/her raise upon return or on October 1st, whichever is later.
    14. If an employee fails to return to work within three (3) days after the scheduled conclusion date of an approved leave without pay and does not contact his/her supervisor to explain the reason for the unexcused absence, the employee shall be considered to have abandoned his/her job and shall be separated from JSA employment. The effective date of separation shall be the last approved day of leave.
  5. BENEFITS DURING LEAVE WITHOUT PAY
    1. Vacation leave and sick leave credit shall not accrue during any period of leave without pay.
    2. A leave without pay of more than ten (10) consecutive workdays shall cause loss of pay for any holiday occurring during the LWOP. An employee on a LWOP of less than ten (10) consecutive days, for other than disciplinary reasons, shall be paid for any holiday occurring during the period. An employee on disciplinary LWOP, regardless of length, shall not be paid for any holidays occurring during the LWOP.
    3. JSA group benefits insurance coverages will remain in effect during a leave without pay of less than ten (10) consecutive workdays. For LWOP in excess of ten (10) consecutive workdays, except leaves covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the employee, if he/she desires, may continue medical and/or dental insurance coverages and shall pay the total monthly insurance premiums (both his/her portion and JSA's portion) as follows:
      1. If a LWOP is confined to one calendar month, the employee pays the total premiums for that month.
      2. If a LWOP is spread over two months but does not exceed more than ten workdays in either month, the employee pays the total premiums for the month in which the majority of the LWOP occurred.
      3. If a LWOP exceeds more than ten (10) workdays in a month, the employee pays the total premiums for the month.
      4. If any portion of a leave without pay occurs in a month following a whole month of leave without pay, the employee pays the total premiums for the partial month regardless of the number of LWOP days occurring in that month.
    4. Employees on leave without pay shall remain in the JSA retirement plan, but no JSA contributions to the plan will be made for the period of LWOP.


Return to Administrative Manual