Leave Options

Leave policies at Murray State are intended to help employees achieve a better work-life balance. Eligibility varies depending on leave and employment type. This site is intended as a quick reference tool for leave options available to regular university employees. For conditions and requirements of specific types of leaves of absences, you may refer to the Murray State Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual. For questions regarding leave options, please contact msu.hr@murraystate.edu.

Leave Options:

Paid Parental Leave

Effective April 1, 2022, the new paid parental leave policy will provide up to six (6) weeks of paid leave for regular faculty and staff within the first twelve (12) weeks following an eligible childbirth or adoption.  The paid leave may be used in lieu of accrued sick leave, vacation leave or family and medical leave.  Regular faculty and staff may submit a written request for paid parental leave to the Office of Human Resources using the Paid Parental Leave Request Form. 

Vacation Leave

Vacation leave is provided to employees for paid time off on days which they would otherwise work and receive pay. All regular employees, except faculty members on academic year contracts, are eligible for vacation benefits. All requests for vacation leave must have supervisory approval prior to the utilization of accrued vacation time.

Accrual rates:

• First 4 years of service – 10 days per year

• 5-10 years of service – 15 days per year

• 11-14 years of service – 17 days per year

• 15 years through employment duration – 20 days per year

Sick Leave

Sick leave is provided for income protection during the event of an illness, accident or injury, pregnancy, childbirth and other medical conditions. Other qualifying events include the temporary care of family members and adoption. Regular full-time and part-time employee are eligible to accrue sick leave. Employees who are unable to report to work due to personal or family illness must notify his/her supervisor as soon as possible. It is the employee's responsibility to ensure proper notification. 

Sick Leave Bank

Sick Leave Bank is provided for additional sick leave days to avoid loss of compensation due to a catastrophic illness or injury of the employee sick leave bank member that requires intermittent or continuous absence from work.

All regular full-time and regular part-time Murray State University employees who have a sick leave balance of six or more days at the time of the initial contribution shall be eligible to participate in the Sick Leave Bank. 

Human Resources reviews all requests for Sick Leave Bank utilization. Approved Sick Leave Bank requests are granted on a maximum of 30 consecutively scheduled working days.  

Funeral Leave

Funeral leave is provided as excused time off work as the result of the death of an immediate family member, close relative of the employee or spouse, and other relatives.  

Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

Family and medical leave is required by the Family and Medical Leave act and grants employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year to employees who need to care for family members and for other qualifying reasons. The University's policy (already in place prior to the passage of FMLA) is in general more generous than the FMLA and grants up to six months (26 workweeks) of unpaid leave per year.

Personal Leave

Personal leave is provided as excused unpaid time off work to cover absences in the event an employee either does not have enough sick/vacation hours accrued, or is ineligible for other leave types to cover an absence. Personal Leave Requests are initiated by the employee and require approval from the administrative Department Head, Vice President, Human Resources and President. 

Marriage

Marriage leave provides employees one day with pay to attend their own wedding or the wedding of individuals in the immediate family when the wedding falls on a workday. Individuals considered as members of the immediate family are the employee's children, siblings, parents, in-laws or any member of the employee's household.

Educational Leave

Educational leave may be granted for a period of one year or less to attend a college or university or for the purpose of training in areas related to the work of an employee which will benefit the University.

Military Leave

Military leave is provided for all regular employees who volunteers or is inducted through the Selective Service of the United States. An employee will be entitled to take terminal vacation leave accrued or receive payment for such leave prior to the effective date of military leave. The effective date of military leave will be the date immediately following the termination of vacation leave. During military leave, vacation leave and/or sick leave will not accrue; however, any sick leave balance will be restored upon the employees return to employment at the University.

Annual Military and Emergency Duty Leave

Annual military and emergency duty leave is provided for any employee who is a member of the National Guard or of any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States or of the reserve corps of the United Stated Public Health Service shall be entitled to leave of absence from his or her duties, without loss of compensation or vacation time, while in the performance of duty or training in the service of any state or of the United States under competent orders as specified in this policy.