Staff Leaves of Absence
Paid and Unpaid Leaves of Absence
Staff Paid Medical Leaves of Absence
- Medical Absences of Fewer Than Six Days
Eligibility: .75 FTE
Benefit: Eligible staff will continue to receive their normal salary for occasional absences because of nonwork-related illness or injury.
- Medical Absences of Greater than Six Days and Less than Six Months
Wesleyan University Supplemental Paid Benefits
The Connecticut Paid Leave (CT PL) Program provides eligible employees with income replacement benefits for qualifying events for up to twelve weeks. The State of Connecticut will be the primary payer for leave types that qualify for CT PL benefits.Wesleyan University provides short-term disability (STD) insurance through Unum to all benefits-eligible employees at no cost. STD insurance is designed to help you meet your financial needs if you become unable to work due to a nonwork-related illness. Wesleyan will be considered the secondary payor and will supplement the State-provided paid leave benefit for employee medical leave according to the schedule of STD benefits.
Eligibility; .75 FTE
Benefit: The length of short-term disability will be determined by Wesleyan's short-term disability insurance provider but can be no longer than six months. If approved, the claim will be paid according to the following short-term disability schedule:
Filing a Short-Term Disability Claim
Please contact the benefits office in Human Resources at ext. 2100 for directions on how to file a claim.
Length of Service
100% Pay For Up To:
Then, at 60% For Up To:
Less than two years
One month
Five additional months
Two to three years
Two months
Four additional months
Three to four years
Three months
Three additional months
Four to five years
Four months
Two additional months
Five to six years
Five months
One additional month
Six or more years
Six months
Not applicable
Employees who do not return to work upon the expiration of short-term disability will be treated as having voluntarily resigned. In such event, health insurance*, life insurance* and all other employee benefits will end, and the employee will have no rights to reemployment. The maximum length of leave the provider will approve is 26 weeks, except Wesleyan may grant an employee additional leave if required under the Americans with Disabilities Act or under state law as a reasonable accommodation or any other federal or state law. Prior to the end of the short-term disability period, the disability insurer will contact the employee to assist with filing a long-term disability claim.
*Unless the employee is eligible for long-term disability.
- Long-Term Disability
Wesleyan University provides long-term disability (LTD) insurance through Unum to all-benefits eligible employees at no cost. If your nonwork-related disability extends beyond the short-term disability period, long-term disability benefits are available. All employees on long-term disability will be eligible to participate in the group health and life insurance plans until age 65.
Eligibility: .75 FTE
Benefit: The length of the long-term disability benefit is determined by Wesleyan's long-term disability insurance provider based on the medical documentation provided to them by your provider.
Benefit Begins
Maximum Benefit Duration
Benefit Amount
Maximum Monthly Benefit
181st day of disability
Disabled prior to age 62 – up to Social Security normal retirement age
60% monthly earnings
$11,500
181st day of disability
Disabled after age 62 – based on your age at the time of disability
60% monthly earnings
$11,500
Returning to Work After a Short- or Long-Term Disability Period Ends
A note is required from your provider before you return to work for all medical claims except maternity.
Staff Other Paid Leaves of Absence
- Parental Leave
The Connecticut Paid Leave (CT PL) Program provides eligible employees with income replacement benefits for birth, adoption, and bonding with a child for up to twelve weeks. The State of Connecticut will be the primary payer for leave types that qualify for CT PL.
Wesleyan will be considered the secondary payor and will supplement the State-provided paid leave benefit not to exceed 100% of the employee's pay.
Eligibility: After completing one year of service, employees with non-temporary (more than one year) appointments who work 1,462 hours or more are eligible for a six-week paid parental leave.
Benefit: Parental leave applies to birth and adoption and runs concurrently with Family/Medical leave. In most cases, the leave should be taken when the child is born or adopted. In some instances, subject to approval, the leave could be delayed, but not usually beyond six months of the child coming into the home. In case of a birth, if both the employee and spouse or domestic partner are administrative staff members and eligible for a Wesleyan University parental leave, the birth mother will use the six-week parental leave because it runs concurrently with Family/Medical leave. The spouse or domestic partner is eligible for a four-week paid parental leave. In case of adoption, the primary caregiver is eligible for a six-week paid parental leave and the spouse or partner is eligible for a four-week paid parental leave. If one spouse or domestic partner is a faculty member and the other is an administrative staff member, the staff member is eligible for a four-week paid parental leave and the faculty member would be eligible for the faculty parental leave.
- Incidental Family Medical
Eligibility: Non-temporary employees are eligible for this benefit. If a dependent child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent is ill or injured, an employee may take time off with pay to care for that family member, with supervisor approval.
Benefit: A maximum of 10 paid days is allowed for this purpose in any calendar year.
- Bereavement
Eligibility: All staff employees are eligible for bereavement leave as outlined below.
Benefit: So that the employee may attend the funeral and/or fulfill his or her responsibilities to make funeral arrangements or responsibilities as executor of the deceased’s estate, an employee will receive the following time off without loss of pay.
a) In the event of a death in the immediate family*, or in the event of a death of a close relative** residing with the employee or residing with the employee immediately preceding being admitted to a hospice or nursing home:
- Up to three days at the time of the funeral; or
- Up to a total of five days if the employee presents evidence satisfactory to Wesleyan that he or she has primary responsibility to make funeral arrangements and/or is the executor of the deceased’s estate.
b) In the event of a death of a close relative** who was not residing with the employee:
- One day to attend the funeral; or
- Up to a total of three days if the employee presents evidence satisfactory to Wesleyan that he or she has primary responsibility to make funeral arrangements and/or is the executor of the deceased’s estate.
*Immediate family is exclusively defined as spouse, domestic partner, parent, brother, sister, child, parent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, and grandchild.
**Close relative is exclusively defined as aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, and niece of the employee.
- Marriage and Civil Union
Eligibility: Administrative staff working at least part time (.5 FTE) are eligible.
Benefit: Beginning with the date of hire, administrative staff who work at least .5 FTE are eligible for one week (5 days) of paid time off for their marriage or civil union ceremony. This leave is only available if the employee continues to work for Wesleyan following the ceremony. Union members should refer to their contracts for information on this benefit.
Rev. 4/21/2023
- Jury Duty
Eligibility: All staff are eligible for jury duty as outlined below.
Benefit: Wesleyan University will pay the difference between jury pay and regular compensation, based on the number of hours an employee would have been scheduled to work.
- National Guard or Military Reserve Summer Training
Eligibility: All staff are eligible for National Guard Duty as outlined below.
Benefit: Members of the National Guard or military reserves who are called for summer camp will be paid for the difference between military pay and regular compensation based on the number of hours the employee is normally scheduled to work for up to 10 days.
Staff Unpaid Leaves of Absence
- Personal Leaves of Absence
Leave of Absences - What You Need To Know
Read more on personal leaves in Unpaid Leaves.
Staff members are eligible for all state- and federally-mandated leaves of absence including:
Federal and CT Family and Medical Leave and CT Paid Leave
Education and Support Materials
- Wesleyan's Federal and Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Acts and CT Paid Leave Policy
- Connecticut Paid Leave Program Information Card
- How to File a Claim: Short-Term Disability
- Supervisor Leave of Absence Checklist
- Employee Leave of Absence Checklist
- Leave of Absences - What You Need to Know as an Employee (Presentation)
- Leave of Absences - What You Need to Know as a Supervisor (Presentation)
- Long-Term Disability Class 1 Summary (Administrative Staff, Faculty Members, Librarians)
- Unum Presentation
- Short Term Disability Summary Plan Description
Questions
Please contact benefits@wesleyan.edu with leave and disability questions. Once you’ve opened a disability claim, please contact Unum’s customer services department regarding your claim at 1-866-679-3054, Mondays through Fridays 8:00 a.m.–8 p.m. EST, or by accessing their website at www.unum.com. Click on "participants" under the login menu at the top of the screen. If you are a new user, follow the prompts to create your username and password.
Benefit Disclaimer
Benefit summaries are provided for the convenience of Wesleyan employees. Employees are directed to read the relevant benefit plan documents. In the event of a conflict between the terms of any summary and the terms of actual plan documents, the terms of plan documents will control. Except where prohibited by collective bargaining or other agreement, Wesleyan reserves the right to alter, modify, or suspend any benefit at any time. While Wesleyan selects its benefit providers after thoughtful review, it disclaims responsibility for the ultimate performance of such providers.