Expanded Paid Sick Leave Approved for UC Employees
The University of California (UC) system has
significantly expanded access to paid sick leave effective Jan. 1, 2025. Leave policies for non-represented staff employees, student employees and academic personnel will be revised to:
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New Eligibility: Expand eligibility for paid sick leave, including ensuring that part-time employees will now accrue based on hours reported. Per diem staff and others in non-sick leave accruing titles will receive a new annual paid sick leave bank.
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More reasons to use sick leave: Expand the reasons for which employees may use paid sick leave.
- Changes made to include time away from work for your own diagnosis, care or treatment of an existing health condition and preventive care.
- Changes made to include time away to care for ill family members for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of a family member’s existing health condition not designated as Family Medical Leave (FML); for a family member’s preventative care.
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Ability to designate sick leave as protected: Provide the employee the opportunity to designate their sick leave usage as “protected" for a qualifying reason. Reasons include:
- The diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing physical or mental health condition of the employee or the employee's family member;
- Preventive care for an employee or an employee's family member; or
- Those reasons specified in policy for an employee who is a victim or whose family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other qualifying acts of violence.
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Extended sick leave reinstatement: Sick leave balances will now be reinstated if an employee returns to UC employment within 12 months of separation, unless the balance was converted to UCRP retirement credit.
The University is implementing expanded sick leave options for represented staff employees and academic employees, subject to applicable collective bargaining requirements.
Please visit the
Expansion of paid sick leave page for details, along with answers to frequently asked questions. You can also refer to
Systemwide HR Policy and
Academic Personnel Manual Policy Issuance and Guidelines pages on the UCOP website.
Employees who report time using the CruzPay time and attendance system will be able to find information in the
CruzPay Toolboxes.
Staff employees who have specific questions relating to their circumstance or policy-related questions may contact their supervisor or their
Employee Relations Analyst.
Staff and student employees may contact their
timekeeper for time reporting questions.
Academic employees: More information will be provided to employees on how this policy impacts them specifically.
