Update to Sick Time Off Policy

The following policy has been updated in accordance with state law amendments that will go into effect July 1, 2025. 

Sick Time Off

Effective: Moved to Policy Library from UPM 3.5(1), UPM 3.5(2)
Updated/Revised: July 1, 2025
Contact: University Human Resources (UHR)

Contents

Introduction
Policy Statement
Eligibility
Accrual
Payout at Retirement or Death
Transfers from Agencies of the State of Iowa and Board of Regents Institutions
Conversion of Sick Time Off to Vacation Credit
Usage
Pregnancy Leave
Exhaustion of Accumulated Sick Time Off
Other Uses of Sick Time Off Not Due to Employee’s Illness or Injury
-Medical, Dental, and Optical Appointments
-Vaccinations
-Bereavement, Pallbearer, Emergency 
-Adoption Time Off
Resources

Introduction

This policy specifies sick time off eligibility, accrual, and usage provisions.

Policy Statement

Eligibility

The following job family groups are eligible for sick time off: faculty, professional and scientific (P&S), merit, contract, and postdoc/trainee. top

Accrual

Eligible employees accrue sick time off at the rate of 12 hours per month for a full month of employment. Part-time employees accrue pro-rated sick time off based on their fractional appointments. There is no maximum accrual limit to sick time off hours.

Sick time off does not accrue during unpaid times off, unpaid leaves of absence, or when receiving donated catastrophic leave donations. Sick time off continues to accrue during paid medically-related disability leave.

Separation from state employment shall cancel all unused accrued sick time off. If an employee is laid off and is re-employed by any State of Iowa department, board, agency, or commission within one year of the date of layoff, the employee's sick time off balance will be restored.

As part of accruing sick time off, up to 40 hours per calendar year may be designated as emergency time off. Up to 40 hours of unused emergency time off can be carried over from the prior year for a maximum total in any one year of 80 hours (see Emergency below). top

Payout at Retirement or Death

Faculty and staff who retire at age 55 and older and have unused accrued sick time off are eligible to receive cash payment not to exceed $2,000 based upon their current rate of base pay and the amount of unused accrued sick time off. No individual will be eligible for payment greater than $2,000 regardless of reemployment. 

Unused accrued sick time off will be paid out to employees whose death occurs while in active employment and are 55 years of age or older at the time of death, up to the maximum of $2,000.  top

Transfers from Agencies of the State of Iowa and Board of Regents Institutions

An employee who is transferred, promoted, or demoted from one position to another position within an agency of the State of Iowa, or within Board of Regents institutions, will not lose any accumulated sick time off if there is a lapse of 30 days or less between such positions.

Conversion of Sick Time Off to Vacation Credit

Full-time or part-time employees who accrue vacation and have accumulated a minimum of 80 hours of sick time off in their first four years of employment or 240 hours of sick time off after their fourth year of employment may elect to convert sick time off to vacation credit for any month that no sick time off has been used. Employees cannot convert a current sick time off balance nor does conversion take place at the time of an employee’s separation from the university. Once the election is in place, it remains in place unless the employee requests to remove it or their organizations are changing. The monthly conversion ratio is 12 hours sick time off for 4 hours of vacation credit for full-time employees; the monthly conversion is pro-rated for part-time employees. Full-time employees may accrue a maximum of 12 days (96 hours) of vacation credit from sick conversion. For part-time employees, the accrual maximum is pro-rated. Nine-month faculty and Public Safety bargaining unit employees are not eligible to convert sick time off to vacation credit. top

Usage

Sick time off may be granted to the tenth of an hour on satisfactory evidence of illness or injury presented to the employee’s manager or delegate. 

Consistent with the ISU Faculty Handbook regarding 9-month faculty responsibilities (see FH 3.1 and 4.5.1), a medically-related absence involves sick time off usage for days when classes are in session (excluding university holidays, the week of Thanksgiving, and the week of spring break) and two days prior to the start of each semester.

Employees who separate during a medically-related disability leave will be allowed pay for sick time off up to the effective date of separation, or to the end of the accumulated sick time off entitlement, whichever occurs first. top

Pregnancy Leave

The time during which an employee is unable to work because of disability or illness caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, childbirth, and recovery therefrom will be covered under the provisions of the university's medically-related disability leave program. Under Chapter 216.6 (2) (e) of the Iowa Code, when paid leave is not available, a pregnant employee will be granted up to eight (8) weeks of unpaid leave with written verification by the treating medical provider that the pregnant employee is not able to reasonably perform the duties of employment. 

Exhaustion of Accumulated Sick Time Off

An employee who is incapacitated after exhausting all accumulated sick time off will be eligible to use accumulated vacation time off to extend their paid medically-related disability status. Employees who remain incapacitated after exhausting all accumulated sick and vacation times off (including vacation credits), may request to be placed on a medical leave without pay. top

Other Uses of Sick Time Off Not Due to Employee's Illness or Injury

Medical, Dental, and Optical Appointments
Routine medical, dental, and optical appointments should be scheduled outside working hours. When impractical, occasional absences for such reasons may be charged to sick time off.

Vaccinations
Time off for the employee to receive their vaccination as well as for the employee to recover post-vaccination.

Bereavement, Pallbearer, Emergency 
An employing department will, when satisfied by evidence presented, grant an employee time off with pay as follows:

Bereavement
Not to exceed three days for each occurrence in the case of death in employee’s immediate family¹.

Pallbearer
Not to exceed one day for each occurrence for service as pallbearer at the funeral of a person not a member of the employee’s immediate family¹.

Emergency
Not to exceed five days per calendar year (up to 40 hours for full time employees) plus prior year carryover hours, if available, for the care of and necessary attention to ill or injured members of the employee’s immediate family¹ (see Accrual above).

All such time off will decrement from the employee’s accrued sick time off and will not be granted in excess of the employee’s accrued time off balance.

¹ For the purpose of this policy, immediate family is defined as and limited to the employee's spouse, children, grandchildren, foster children, step children, legal wards, parents, grandparents, foster parents, step parents, brothers, foster brothers, step brothers, brothers-in-law, sons-in-law, sisters, foster sisters, step sisters, sisters-in-law, daughters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, corresponding relatives of the employee's spouse and other persons who are members of the employee's household.

Adoption Time Off
A newly adoptive parent is entitled to five days paid time off chargeable to accrued sick time off as approved by the Board of Regents, 5/20/92 Note that a parent is also eligible for up to four weeks (160 hours maximum) of additional paid parental leave for the placement of a child for adoption.