LITTLE ROCK (Dec. 5, 2018) — The UA System administration will propose one new Board of Trustees Policy at the Jan. 31 meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas.

Currently, sick leave is addressed separately for Non-Classified and Classified employees in Board Policies 420.1 and 420.2, which address all leave categories for each group. New Board Policy 420.3 Sick Leave, will apply to both sets of employees and replace the language related to sick leave from BP 420.1 and BP 420.2.

Click here to view a draft of the policy.

The new policy makes no changes to the current leave accrual rates or carryover limits for all employees. The policy does flesh out other issues involving sick leave that are currently not addressed in BP 420.1 and BP 420.2. These changes include:

• Defines eligibility for sick leave as a benefit consistent with the eligibility guidelines for other benefits.
• Addresses a current policy wording conflict with state law for the payment of accrued sick leave to retiring Classified employees.
• Applies a uniform definition of retiree, consistent with the University’s eligibility for retiree continuation of benefits, for eligibility for payment of accrued sick leave for retiring Classified employees.
• Clarifies that, when applicable, FMLA leave is administered concurrently with sick leave.
• Clarifies that “maternity leave” is available for health-related conditions and provides that no medical certification is required for the first four weeks after birth.
• Closes payment of accrued sick leave to retiring Non-Classified employees (currently occurring at some two-year campuses) and provides a transition period for those campuses with current practices that are not consistent with Arkansas Code or this the new sick leave policy.

Feedback on draft Board Policy 420.3 may be submitted to feedback@uasys.edu. Please submit feedback by Wednesday, December 19, so that it can be considered before a final draft is presented to the Board.