Overview

This knowledge base article outlines the leave policies for student assistants in the College of Letters & Science (L&S), including including vacation, sick leave, and leave without pay. It also provides guidance on leave for family care, sick leave coverage for Teaching Assistants (TAs), procedures for leave without pay, and a sample spreadsheet for tracking leave. 

For questions, contact the department’s Administrative Regional Team (ART) representative or the Student+ Team at studentplus@ls.wisc.edu

• See: L&S Admin Human Resources & Payroll Team

Review the GAPP- Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures for more information.

1. Paid Vacation Leave:

Eligibility

• Applies to Project Assistants (PA) and Research Assistants (RA) on a 12 Month compensation basis.

Accrual

• Earned at a full-time rate of 180 hours per fiscal year.
• Pro-rated based on:
• Appointment FTE
• Length of appointment

Usage

• PA: in 15-minute increments
• RA: in 1-hour increments
• Must be used during the appointment period.
• Supervisor approval is required.
• No carryover or payout of unused vacation.

Note: Count a day's absence based on assigned FTE of the appointment

Example: FTE Calculation for a 50% FTE appointment:

• 50% of 40 hours/week = 20 hours/week
• 20 hours ÷ 5 days = 4 hours/day
• A full day of leave = 4 hours

Concurrent Appointments: 

Student Assistant can earn Paid Vacation Leave in EACH of their eligible concurrent appointments at UW-Madison per fiscal year.

Examples:

#1. 50% A-basis PA 9/1/2023- 8/31/2024 will receive 90 hours of vacation

#2: Arvin will have two concurrent appointments
a) A-Basis PA at 33.4% in Physics 9/1/2023-8/31/2024 earns 60.12 hours paid vacation in this appointment (180 x .334 = 60.12)
b) A-Basis RA at 10% in Chemistry 9/1/2023-8/31/2024 earns 18 hours paid vacation in this appointment (180 x .10 = 18). Arvin will earn a total of 78.12 hours of paid vacation in these two appointments.

#3: Theo will have a Project Assistant appointment at 33.4% from 3/10/2024 to 5/10/2024. Theo will earn 10.02 hours of paid vacation in this appointment (180 x 2/12 x .334 = 10.02).      

2. Paid Sick Leave

Eligibility

• Applies to Teaching Assistants (TA), Research Assistants (RA), and Project Assistants (PA) (including PA – Grader/Reader).
• Not pro-rated by FTE.

Accrual 

Amount credited is based on length of the student assistant’s appointment period. 

Note: For summer and short-term appointments, the 30 days do not need to be consecutive in order to be eligible for leave.

Examples:  
#1: Summer: working over a period of 27 days = 8 hours of leave earned
#2: Summer: working the entire summer = 24 hours of leave earned the total maximum of sick leave which could be earned over summer is 24 hours, in all appointments
#3: Academic Year: working sporadically over a 90-day period = 24 hours of leave earned

Concurrent Appointments:

The maximum sick leave earned is based on the total of all eligible appointments, not per appointment.

Examples:

#1: John will have 2 appointments in Spring: a 33.4% TA appointment in Physics and a 15% PA appointment in English. John will NOT earn 48 hours in each of the appointments.  Instead, John will earn a total of 48 hours of paid sick leave for Spring, for all of their appointments. Departments need to coordinate this when the employee has multiple appointments. In this example, Physics and English would need to coordinate how much sick leave is provided in each appointment. 

#2: Sigrid will have just one student assistant appointment in Spring- a Project Assistant Grader/Reader appointment over a 2-month period. Since they will work during a 2-month period, they will earn 16 hours of paid sick leave.     

Usage

• PA: 15-minute increments
• RA/TA: 1-hour increments
• Carryover is allowed if:
  • Same department and title
  • Break between appointments is less than 2 weeks
• Combined total does not exceed 96 hours
• Unused sick leave is not paid out.

3. Sick Leave for Family Care

Student assistants may use sick leave for temporary emergency care of ill or injured members of the immediate family, or for other family emergencies, for a limited period of time to permit the employee to make other arrangements.

Definition of Immediate Family:  the spouse,the spouse equivalent residing in the household of the employee, parents, stepparents, grandparents, foster parents, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, foster children, brothers (and their spouses), and sisters (and their spouses) of the employee or spouse, and other relatives of the employee or spouse residing in the household of the employee. 

• Limited up to 5 workdays per illness/injury
• May be extended with supervisor approval 

4. TA Sick Leave Coverage

Per Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures (GAPP):

• TAs on paid sick leave are not required to find replacements or make up work or “swap” with another TA.
• Departments must arrange coverage.

Coverage Options

• Increase another TA’s FTE
• Hire a short-term TA
• Hire a qualified Undergraduate Assistant – TA
• Hire academic staff

Approval from the Teaching and Learning Team is required for changes to TA appointments or hiring alternatives. See: L&S Instructional Staffing Options

Appointment Limits

• Ensure coverage does not exceed appointment limits.
• Example: International students with a 50% appointment cannot take on additional work during academic sessions.

5. Leave Without Pay

For any leave without pay or leave from an academic program:

• Contact the HR Associate Director for Students
• These leaves may affect:
  • Health insurance
  • Tuition remission eligibility

6. Leave Tracking

Leave is currently tracked manually by departments.

• Departments may use any method.
• Recommended: Graduate Student Leave Tracker Template  

Note: A non-exempt student assistant who tracks hours on a timesheet (for example a non-exempt Project Assistant) submits their regular hours on their timesheet during the week approved for leave.

7. Other Leaves

Funeral Leave | Where death occurs in the Employee’s immediate family (as defined above), sick leave may be used to attend the funeral and/or make necessary arrangements. Use of sick leave for death in the immediate family for the purposes of this Section is limited to a total of three (3) workdays, plus required travel time not to exceed four (4) workdays.

Leave of Absence Without Pay | Upon written request to their immediate supervisor, Employees may be granted leave without pay at the sole discretion of the appointing Department/ Program and Dean/Director for any reason for a period of time not to exceed the employee’s unexpired term of appointment.

In any situation involved a leave without pay or taking a leave from an academic program, please contact the HR Associate Director for Students Assistants. Leave Without Pay, personal leaves or a leave from the academic program could affect health insurance coverage as well as eligibility for tuition remission.

Family Medical Leave | The University recognizes the provisions of the Family Leave Act, s. 103.10, Wis. Stats., and the Federal (U.S.) Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, where applicable.

Jury Duty | An Employee who is absent from assigned duties because of selection for jury duty and who has not been excused by the court in order to meet their obligations, shall be paid their regular salary for the period of time they are required to serve and shall continue to receive full benefits. When not impaneled for actual service and only on call, the employee shall report to work unless authorized by the employee’s supervisor to be absent from their work assignment. During such absence there will be no loss of pay.

Employees shall notify their supervisor as soon as possible before an absence for jury duty. If a substitute is necessary, the Teaching or Project Assistant shall attempt to arrange for a University-paid substitute acceptable to the supervisor and the Director/Department chair. If the Teaching or Project Assistant is unable to find a substitute, the Department shall be responsible for finding and paying a substitute for the employee, while they serve as a juror.

Appearance as Witness in Legal Action | Where an employee is subpoenaed to testify in a legal action and the University determines that such subpoena resulted directly from the performance of the employee’s required duties, the University shall permit the employee to take time off without loss of pay to comply with the subpoena if required to appear during their regularly scheduled hours of employment; provided, however, that the employee shall turn over to the University any witness fee received.

State Legal Holidays | The University recognizes the importance of giving employees time off from work for state legal holidays, and therefore, Employees generally are not expected to work on those holidays.

Religious Observances | The University recognizes the importance of giving Employees time off for religious observances and recognizes that religious holidays do not always coincide with state legal holidays. Employees who face a conflict between a work requirement and any anticipated religious observance should be given an alternative means of meeting the work requirement, provided that the Employee notifies their supervisor in the first two weeks of the appointment period of the specific day or dates that will be needed for these