16.1 The term “temporary disability” for purposes of this Article shall be defined as any temporary physical or mental incapacity including pregnancy, complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
16.2 (a) Employees covered by this Agreement shall be granted temporary disability leave of twenty (20) calendar days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and authorized holidays and recesses during each year of service. The unused portions of such temporary disability leave shall be cumulative to a maximum of one hundred and sixty (160) calendar days during which the college is in regular session.
(b) Effective August 27, 2008, full-time members of the instructional staff will be permitted to use up to three days of accrued temporary disability leave annually for the care of an ill family member, consistent with applicable rules and procedures.
16.3 Any absences in excess of the cumulative temporary disability leave accrued to the absentee shall be taken without pay, except that the Board may, in cases of protracted disability or unusual hardship, hear recommendations from the President that this provision be waived in exceptional instances, without thereby establishing a precedent.
(a) For the purpose of computing the number of days of cumulative temporary disability leave this Article shall be deemed effective as of the date of the employee’s appointment.
(b) Temporary disability leave shall be computed commencing from the date of first absence from the assigned duties and shall include all additional calendar days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and authorized holidays and recesses until such person’s return.
(c) Persons employed on fractional schedules shall have their temporary disability leave and accumulated temporary disability leave prorated.
(d) Temporary disability leave shall be earned only after a full calendar month of service and no accruals or partial accruals shall be granted for service of less than a full calendar month. A full calendar month of service shall represent service from the first working day through the last working day of a given month.
(e) Any employee who is absent from duty because of a temporary disability shall promptly inform his or her department chairperson, who in turn shall inform the appropriate dean of the nature of the temporary disability and of the probable duration of the absence.
(f) When any absence because of a temporary disability exceeds thirty (30) consecutive working days, the absentee shall present a statement from his or her physician explaining the nature of his or her temporary disability and certifying that he or she is fully capable of returning to work. In the case of any such absence because of a temporary disability in excess of thirty (30) consecutive working days, the college may also require an examination by a physician in its employ or appointed by it, who shall certify his or her belief that the absentee is fully capable of returning to work. In cases in which there is a conflict of opinion, a third physician, acceptable to the absentee and to the President of the College, shall be called in and his or her judgment shall be accepted as conclusive. In the event that it is found that the condition of such person is such that he or she is incapable of resuming his or her normal duties, such person shall apply for such additional period of leave of absence as may be necessary. Failure to make such application for an additional period of leave of absence shall be deemed neglect of duty.
16.4 Persons who are members of a public retirement system and who meet the eligibility requirements for service retirement, and persons who are members of the optional retirement program and who meet similar eligibility requirements to those of the public retirement system, who announce their bona fide intention to retire and file the appropriate application to retire shall be granted a retirement leave of absence with full pay consisting of one‑half of their accumulated unused temporary disability leave up to a maximum of one semester, or the equivalent number of school days. The terms and conditions relating to the counting of such days, intervening vacation periods, cancellation of such leave, reinstatement to active service, etc., shall be governed by Section 3107 of the State Education Law.
16.5 In addition to the provisions of this Article, employees entitled to disability insurance benefits shall receive paid temporary disability leave from the date of the commencement of their temporary disability up to the commencement of disability insurance benefit payments, only upon presentation to the Personnel Director of satisfactory evidence, provided by a duly‑licensed physician, of illness and a prognosis that such illness is reasonably certain to result in a long‑term disability that will last more than six consecutive months.
Upon the return of the employee to duty such advanced temporary disability leave that had been provided must be repaid through assignment of future accruals. In the event the employee resigns or voluntarily leaves the University, the remaining value of the advanced temporary disability leave shall be deducted from remaining paychecks or otherwise reimbursed to the University.
16.6 Leaves of absence without pay for temporary disability for periods of less than one (1) year may be recommended by the Board to the appropriate retirement system for credit as service for retirement. Increments may be recommended by the Board for the period during which an employee is on leave of absence without pay for temporary disability for periods less than one (1) year.
16.7 Employees who on September 1, 1969 were entitled to cumulative unused temporary disability leave in excess of one hundred sixty (160) calendar days shall retain the excess accumulation. However, thereafter, no temporary disability leave can be accumulated in excess of one hundred sixty (160) calendar days.
16.8 Special Leaves for Child Care
Special leaves for the purpose of caring for a newborn infant shall be granted to a member of the Instructional Staff upon notification to the President and application for such leave, provided the applicant has legal responsibility for the care and/or support of said child. Such leave shall, insofar as it is practicable, begin on February 1 or September 1 unless the date of the birth of the child is such as to render these times inappropriate. The duration of the leave shall ordinarily be for one full semester. In exceptional cases, the President may terminate such leave during the college term, provided there is an appropriate opening in which the applicant’s service may be utilized. An extension of such leave shall be permitted on request for a period not in excess of one year from the end of the original leave. No further extension shall be permitted. Leaves for the purpose of caring for a newborn infant shall be granted without pay during the period of the leave, including the vacation period concomitant to the leave. If the leave is for one semester only, the loss of paid vacation shall be for one month only. If the leave is for two semesters, both months of vacation shall be without pay. If the duration of the leave is less than one calendar year, it shall be credited toward salary increments; if it is one calendar year or more, it shall not be credited toward salary increments.
16.9 When the service of a member of the Instructional Staff is interrupted by reason of absence on a leave for the purpose of caring for a newborn infant, the period of creditable service immediately preceding such absence shall be counted in computing the years of service required for the granting of tenure, a certificate of continuous employment, or for a certificate of continual administrative service in a Higher Education Officer series title.
16.10 Paid Parental Leave
Effective March 2009, a paid parental leave benefit is established for full-time members of the bargaining unit who have a minimum of one year of service with CUNY.8
1. The paid parental leave benefit provides a continuous leave of absence for a period not to exceed eight (8) weeks to care for a newborn child or a newly adopted child, adopted at up to five years of age, and must be taken immediately upon the birth or adoption of the child.9
2. Eligible employees will remain on payroll during paid parental leave and continue to be eligible for all applicable benefits.
3. The employee is required to give written notice of her/his intent to take paid parental leave by filing an application form at least 90 days prior to the expected due date of the baby or 90 days prior to the expected placement of the child with his/her adoptive parents. After obtaining the signature of her/his department chair or unit head, the employee must file the application form with the Director of Human Resources.
16.11 The University has established a Dedicated Sick Leave Program and a Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank Program for full-time instructional staff. The terms of these programs are set forth in Appendices F and G.10
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8 Persons employed as substitutes who do not have an underlying regular annual appointment are not eligible. Teaching faculty who have completed two continuous semesters of teaching and become parents during the period of annual leave, as defined in Article 14.1 above, are eligible for the paid parental leave benefit.
9 Scheduling the leave and other applicable implementation issues, such as service credit, are addressed in greater detail in the March 19, 2009 letter of agreement between the parties and further modified by the December 8, 2011 letter agreement; both are available on the University’s and PSC’s websites. Paragraph 4 of the March 19, 2009 letter agreement was further modified by the Memorandum of Agreement between the parties for the 2017-2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, also available on the parties’ websites.
10 These programs have been included as Appendices solely for ease of reference. The parties acknowledge and agree that these are University programs, the terms of which were not bargained. The parties accordingly agree that they are not subject to the terms of Article 20 of this Agreement, including the grievance process.
