COVID-19 Leave Bank
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 2021 – May 15, 2023 (This policy is no longer active.)
POLICY
COVID-19 Leave Bank
Effective August 1, 2021, Vanderbilt University provided all full-time benefits-eligible staff members access to a bank of up to one week (up to 40 hours) of pay to:
- enable staff who have been authorized to work on-campus to quarantine off-campus, or if diagnosed with COVID-19 illness, to isolate and recover off-campus;
- enable staff working remotely who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 illness and are symptomatic to isolate and recover. Staff who are working remotely and who are quarantining or isolating but asymptomatic and able to perform their work should continue their normal remote work (and are not eligible for the COVID-19 Leave Bank).
Payment for the COVID-19 Paid Leave will be through Vanderbilt payroll on regular payroll dates. The amount of the benefit will be based upon current salary rate and determined by standard hours/full time equivalent of the position. The COVID-19 Leave Bank is not paid when employees leave the employment of Vanderbilt and is not reinstated if the employee is rehired.
Staff who have a balance of Legacy Sick time must exhaust their Legacy Sick leave before utilizing the COVID-19 Leave Bank, unless they are taking COVID-19 vaccination leave as described below.
DEFINITIONS:
- Quarantine keeps someone who might have been exposed to the virus away from others.
- Isolation separates people who are COVID-19 positive away from people who are not infected.
- Isolation period for COVID-19 positive individual with no symptoms is 10 days from test date.
- Quarantine and isolation periods are determined by Occupational Health and medical providers for each individual based on CDC guidance and the health circumstances of each individual.
ELIGIBILITY
The COVID-19 Leave Bank is available to all full-time benefits-eligible staff as outlined below. The staff member must contact Occupational Health immediately regarding COVID-19 symptoms, positive COVID-19 tests, or quarantine orders. Eligible staff members who meet the following criteria will qualify for the COVID-19 Leave Bank:
- A staff member who is diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus, and is unable to work remotely;
- A staff member who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, has been tested and is awaiting test results in quarantine at home; and is unable to work remotely;
- A staff member who has been advised by Occupational Health, the University PHCCC, a local health authority or their medical provider to quarantine due to concerns related to possible COVID-19 exposure, and is unable to work remotely;
- A staff member who is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 and is unable to work remotely;
- A staff member who is advised by a household member’s medical provider to quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 and is unable to work remotely;
PROCESS
Staff members eligible for COVID-19 Leave Bank (other than for vaccination leave )
- Notify your leader of your absence and intention to utilize the COVID-19 Leave Bank.
- Submit documentation: In order to be approved to use the COVID-19 Leave Bank for purposes other than vaccination, staff must provide documentation supporting their request. Documentation may take the form of a doctor’s note, other similar medical documentation, Occupational Health or PHCCC notification to HR or the employee’s attestation via webform, which automatically routes the attestation to HR. Documentation may be sent to the FMLA team by fax (615-343-4142) or email (fmlaprocessing@vanderbilt.edu).
- Record time: Employees who are eligible for the COVID-19 Leave Bank should record that time as such in Oracle: non-exempt staff will use the COVID-19 Leave absence type to record those hours on their time card, and exempt staff will use the COVID-19 Leave absence type to record their absence in their “time and absences.” Depending on the reason(s) for and duration of the leave, FMLA may run concurrently with COVID-19 Paid Leave.
RELATED RESOURCES
Family Medical Leave Act Note that all existing certification requirements under the FMLA remain in effect if a staff member takes leave for one of the existing qualifying reasons under the FMLA. For example, if a staff member takes leave beyond the one week of COVID-19 Paid Leave due to a medical condition for COVID-19-related reasons that rises to the level of a serious health condition, the staff member must continue to provide medical certifications under the FMLA.
Short-Term Disability Note that in the case of illness, short-term disability is available to staff after two weeks.