Parts IX (Family Care Leave) and Part X (Medical/Disability Leave) of the 2005-06
are deleted from departmental compensation plan, and are replaced with the
following policy as an amendment. The amendment is effective July 1, 2005.
Faculty Benefits for Medical/Disability Leaves
Purpose: To provide faculty members with a reasonable level of medical and disability
benefits that: 1) can be financially supported by the departments; 2) is equitable across
departments; and 3) allows faculty members to make appropriate choices regarding
purchase of additional disability insurance coverage.
Policy: It is the policy of the UCDHS that faculty in all departments have equal benefits
for medical and disability leaves, and that the departments have primary financial
responsibility for covering these benefits.
Background: As defined in the University of California Academic Personnel Manual
(APM 710), faculty do not accrue time for sick leave. The APM provides the following
options for medical leave: Family and Medical Leave and vacation. Family and Medical
Leave is based on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family
Rights Act and is defined in APM 715 as an unpaid or paid leave for a maximum of 12
workweeks in the leave year with continued participation health coverage as if on pay
status and reinstatement to the same or equivalent position. The Chancellor may approve
leave with pay in special circumstances (APM 710). The School of Medicine can grant
increased benefits to their faculty members through the Health Sciences Compensation
Plan. This policy is intended to provide uniform benefits to all faculty within the School
of Medicine which are also affordable by the departments.
Definition (according to UC/Liberty Mutual STD contract, as of 10/04): For the first 12
months of supplemental disability benefits, disability is defined “… due to a medically
determinable physical or mental impairment resulting from bodily injury of disease, you
are completely unable to perform any and every duty pertaining to your own
occupation…”, and “you are not working at any occupation for wage or profit”, and “you
are under the direct and continuous care of a physician.” After the 12 months, the
definition of disability changes to “…any occupation you are reasonably fitted by your
education, training, or experience…”, “you are not working at any occupation for wage
or profit”, and “you are under the direct and continuous care of a physician.”
Procedure:
1) Departments must notify their faculty of the School’s medical and disability
policy and encourage them to purchase disability policies with a 180 day
maximum waiting periods. If a faculty member is rejected by the insurance
company, the faculty member can apply to the Dean for an exception to policy for
an extended salary benefit period which would be individually negotiated.
2) During an absence for medical or disability reasons, a department has primary
financial responsibility for paying the faculty member’s salary replacement, that
3)
4)
5)
6)
is total base salary + negotiated additional compensation (X+Y) for 90 days,
followed by an additional 90 days of total base salary only (X ). Departments
must budget this potential expense in their annual operating budget and in their
departmental reserves.
Faculty members are eligible for a maximum of 6 months of salary replacement
as described above in a “rolling” one year period (one year immediately preceding
the date of disability). Departments will take credit for any X & Y and X-only
salary replacement made during the one year preceding the current date of
disability.
If a department does not have sufficient financial resources to fully cover medical
and disability leaves, the department can make a formal request in writing to the
Dean and the Director for financial assistance from UCDHS.
After seven days of consecutive calendar days of absence, a faculty member must
submit the UPAY 573 Sabbatical Leave/Special Leave of Absence (APM 700).
After 90 days of disability during a rolling one year period of time, employees
should be encouraged to schedule an appointment with UCDHS Benefits to
discuss benefit options that may be available to them.
The following sections refer to the current UC/Liberty Mutual contract as of 10/04. This
information is included for faculty informational purposes; however, both the insurance
carrier and the contract provisions are subject to change.
•
•
•
•
After a disability waiting period is begun, if the faculty member returns to work
for a consecutive number of days equal to 20% or less of the waiting period, the
faculty member will retain credit for the earlier period if s/he returns to total
disability for the same condition. After a disability waiting period is begun, if the
faculty member returns to work for a consecutive number of days more than 20%
or less of the waiting period, subsequent period of disability for the same
condition will require restarting the waiting period.
A successive period of disability will be treated as part of the prior claim if the
faculty member returns to active employment for less than the scheduled work
hours over 4 consecutive weeks (exclusive of scheduled UC holidays), and the
disability is for the same medical condition. The prior claim will thus be resumed
without the need for a new waiting period. (Active employment is defined as full
time and regular salary).
A successive period of disability will require a new waiting period if the disability
is different from the prior medical condition, or if the faculty member had
returned to work for more than 4 consecutive weeks.
If a faculty member is able to work part-time performing all or most of the job
functions, he/she may qualify for the “Stay at Work” program which the
University offer thru Liberty Mutual Insurance. “Part-time” is defined as less
than 40 hours per week. The waiting period begins the first day the treating MD
certifies the faculty member needs to reduce to a part-time schedule (assuming a
part-time schedule can be arranged by the department). For each day in the
program, one day of the waiting period is satisfied. The department or faculty
member can supplement the difference in salary while the faculty member is on
the waiting period through the use of partial salary continuance and/or vacation.
After the waiting period has been met, Liberty Mutual may provide a partial
benefit (70% of the difference between the full base less partial earnings and any
other allowable income offsets) if the faculty member continues to work a parttime schedule, and the faculty member is earning less than 80% of the base (X+
HBT) salary. Eligibility criteria need to continue to be met, including maximum
age of 65 years. In addition, the faculty member cannot remain on a total
compensation guarantee indefinitely if he/she is able to work a few hours per pay
period.