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Leave of Absence

Annual Leave

Annual leave is paid leave earned and available for use by eligible employees that may be used for any purpose. Requests for annual leave must be pre-approved by the employee’s supervisor.

Length of Continuous Service Annual Accrual Rate (100% FTE) Workday Decimal Rate
Beginning with the Date of Employment through completion of the 1st year 11* 4.31
Beginning with the 2nd year 12 4.62
Beginning with the 3rd year 13 4:92
Beginning with the 4th year 14 5.23
Beginning with the 5th year through completion of the 10th year 15 5.54
Beginning with the 11th year through completion of the 20th year 20 6.15
Beginning with the 21st year and thereafter 25 7.7

*For bargaining unit employees represented by AFSCME, please refer to the MOU for updated accrual rates.

Length of Continuous Service Annual Accrual Rate (100% FTE) Hours: Minutes Accrued Per Pay Period
Regular Exempt & Faculty: (Note: only 12-month regular faculty earn annual leave) Starting with the 1st month through completion of the 20th year of service 22 6:46
Starting with the 21st year and thereafter 25 7:42

Holiday Leave

Holiday leave is a paid leave available to regular employees for the observance of specific holidays, per the University’s official holiday calendar. Employees are eligible to earn 15 holidays per year, or 16 holidays during a year of general or congressional elections. Beginning in calendar year 2026, employees are eligible to earn 16 holidays per year or 17 holidays during a year of general or congressional elections. Please refer to the Policy on Holiday Leave for additional details.

Personal Leave

Eligible employees are granted 3 Personal Leave days every calendar year, to be used for any purpose. One additional personal leave day will be provided to exempt and non-exempt employees in leap years. Nonexempt employees require prior approval of the supervisor; exempt employees require the supervisor to be provided prior notification. Please note that only 12-month regular faculty earns personal leave.  Please refer to the Policy on Personal Leave for additional details.

Sick Leave

Sick leave is paid leave granted to regular employees in an effort to provide some protection against the loss of earnings due to absences for specific health and related reasons. A full-time regular employees earn sick leave at the rate of 15 days per year (4 hours and 37 minutes each pay period). Please note that sick leave earning for 9-month faculty is prorated based on an academic year.

Sick & Safe Leave (SSL)

The University recognizes the importance of achieving a healthy balance between work and family obligations and is committed to supporting our employees through certain measures to promote a “family-friendly” environment.  Therefore, in accordance with the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, a paid Sick and Safe Leave (SSL) is available to eligible employees to be used under certain conditions.

Parental Leave

The UMD Policies on Faculty and Staff Parental Leave and Other Family Supports are intended to support eligible faculty and staff in balancing professional and family demands during and after the addition of children to their families through measures to promote a family-friendly environment.

Advanced Leave Options

When Regular Staff (exempt and non-exempt) exhaust their accrued paid leave due to a temporary, recoverable illness, injury, or serious disability, several options are available.

Family Medical Leave (FML)

The University recognizes the importance of achieving a healthy balance between work and family obligations and is committed to supporting our employees through certain measures to promote a “family-friendly” environment. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law designed to help employees balance the demands of the workplace and the needs of their families by allowing for unpaid job and benefit protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons.

Bereavement Leave

Bereavement leave is available to regular Exempt and Nonexempt employees to be used in the event of the death of an employee’s immediate family member or close relative.

Military Leave

This policy applies to Nonexempt and Exempt Regular employees. The employee must be a member of the organized Militia, or of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine or Coast Guard Reserve.

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