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Leave Explained - Sick Leave and Sick Leave Pool

Sick leave accrual occurs monthly beginning on the first day of employment and ending on the final day of employment. Full time employees accrue eight (8) hours per month or a fraction of a month of paid employment. Part-time employees with 50 percent or greater FTE accrue a portion of a sick leave hour according to the number of hours worked. Sick leave is separate from Vacation leave.

  • View your sick (and vacation) leave balances at MyUNT, MyHSC MyUNTDallas, MySystem or MyLaw. (EUID required)
  • Submit requests for staff sick leave at all locations to department supervisors.

Faculty and Staff Sick Leave Purposes

Faculty and regular staff may use sick leave for these purposes:

  • Illness, injury, pregnancy and confinement or exposure to contagious diseases which require quarantine or isolation.
  • For medical, dental and vision appointments, examinations and treatments
  • To care for certain family members who are ill. These include immediate family - those who live in the same household, and certain family such as a parent, who may not live in the same household, but require care or assistance. Review policies at your location for assistance.
  • Parent-teacher conferences for children from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade; up to 8 (eight) hours sick leave per calendar year.
  • Adoption of a child younger than 3 years of age.
  • For circumstances that are eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act coverage.

Using Sick Leave Pool, FMLA, Vacation and Compensatory Time

Sick Leave Donation Policy
Sick Leave Pool Policy
Sick Leave Pool Medical Certification

When sick leave is exhausted, faculty and staff may use vacation or compensatory time for the policy-defined purposes of sick leave. If circumstances warrant, employees may access the Sick Leave Pool, unused time donated by employees:

  • Employees are required to exhaust all eligible accrued vacation, sick and compensatory time before being granted time from the Sick Leave Pool.
  • Sick Leave Pool is awarded to qualified employees who suffer or have immediate family members who suffer a catastrophic injury or illness that causes the employee to use all accrued leave. Sick Leave Pool may be used for Family and Medical Leave Act purposes. Learn more, contact FMLASource for assistance.
  • Employees may receive a lifetime maximum of 90 working days from the sick leave pool.
  • Medical updates are required every 30 days and upon request while employees are using sick leave pool.
  • Employees must be meeting job requirements and observing work rules to be eligible for pool leave.
  • Employees who have filed a Workers' Compensation claim are not eligible to use the sick leave pool.
  • Any employee who is eligible to accrue and use sick leave in accordance policies may apply for the sick leave pool.

How to Donate Sick Leave to the Sick Leave Pool

  • Employees may make voluntary contributions of accrued sick leave hours to the sick leave pool at any time using the Sick Leave Pool Donation Form.
  • Employees who contribute to the sick leave pool may not stipulate who is to receive their contributions.
  • Employees who are terminating or retiring may designate the number of accrued sick leave hours to be donated to the sick leave pool prior to the last day of employment.
  • Employees who contribute leave to the sick leave pool upon termination or retirement cannot have their contributions restored.

Important Sick Leave and Sick Leave Pool Facts

Vacation time may be added to sick leave hours. When vacation accrual exceeds the maximum allowed fiscal year accrual (referred to as lapsed vacation hours), it will be credited to an employee’s sick leave in the following fiscal year. Find a chart of vacation accrual limits for full time, benefits eligible employees.

Employees who leave employment will not be paid for unused sick leave. They may donate unused sick leave to the Sick Leave Pool. (An exception: some sick leave may be paid to the estate of those who die while employed). If you are interested in donating sick leave to a specific co-worker, contact a Benefits Coordinator, 1-855-878=7650, Option 2, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays.

Employees who join a UNT System component from another state agency or higher education institution may transfer sick leave to their new position, if there is no break in service. Similarly, employees who leave a component to work at another State of Texas agency may transfer sick leave to the new position if there is no break in service. Contact the hiring manager at the new position to manage sick leave transfer.

If there is a break in service, employees may be eligible to have sick leave restored if they have worked for another State of Texas agency within the past 12 (twelve) months. To learn more, contact a Human Resources Benefits Coordinator.

Faculty Sick Leave Provisions

When a faculty member must miss classes because of illness, he or she should notify the appropriate academic administrator to designate a substitute or cancel class.

According to Texas Government Code (Chapter 661.203), faculty members at institutions of higher education must submit forms for all sick leave even though no classes were missed, if the absence occurred during the normal workday for regular employees.