Leaves

Holidays

Holidays are granted to you if you are eligible to accrue vacation and sick leave pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 1C, applicable collective bargaining agreement, and the DAS-HRE rules. The value of the holiday for full-time employees shall be eight hours or the number of hours you are scheduled to work during the holiday, whichever is greater. The value of the holiday for part-time employees shall be based on the number of hours in pay status during the pay period in which the holiday falls. If you work Monday- Friday, holidays which fall upon a Saturday will be observed the preceding Friday; holidays which fall upon a Sunday will be observed the following Monday.

Vacation

Your vacation accrual rates vary with years of service. If you are a full-time employee, you will accrue vacation in accordance with the following schedule:

Two unscheduled holidays are added to your vacation accrual rates each year. If you are a part-time employee, vacation accrues upon a prorated basis. If you are a temporary employee, you do not accrue vacation. 

You can accrue vacation up to twice your annual entitlement plus any unused sick leave conversion. You may not take vacation in excess of the number of hours accrued. Your vacation hours are not available for use until the pay period after it is accrued.

You may utilize unused vacation leave with your supervisor’s prior approval. Consult with your supervisor regarding any agency vacation leave policy which may be applicable to you. If you terminate your employment, you will be paid a lump sum for your accrued, unused vacation. Vacation shall not be granted after your last day at work.

Consult the DAS-HRE administrative rules, an applicable collective bargaining agreement, or contact your agency’s human resources associate for more information.

Sick Leave

Your sick leave accrual is determined by your sick leave balance as provided for in Iowa Code section 70A.1 or an applicable collective bargaining agreement. If your are a part-time employee, you accrue prorated amounts of sick leave based upon the number of hours for which you are paid. Temporary employees do not earn sick leave. 

If you are a full-time employee, you will accrue sick leave based upon your accumulated sick leave balance in accordance with the following schedule:

If you are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, you may accrue sick leave at a different rate. See your collective bargaining agreement for accrual rates.

You may use sick leave for personal illness, medical appointments or other reasons as provided for in Iowa Code section 70A.1, DAS-HRE rules or an applicable collective bargaining agreement. You must comply with your agency’s requirements for reporting your absence from work and receive appropriate supervisory approval. You may be required to provide a doctor’s certificate or other verification. You are expected to use this benefit only for its intended purposes.

If you are a permanent employee who has accumulated a minimum of 10 days (80 hours) of sick leave and you have not used sick leave during the previous calendar month, you may convert sick leave to vacation leave. After the fourth year of employment, if you are a permanent employee who has accumulated a minimum of 30 days (240 hours) of sick leave and you have not used sick leave during the previous calendar month, you may convert sick leave to vacation leave. Consult your agency’s human resources associate for more information regarding sick leave conversion.

If you are approved for a retirement benefit under the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) and retire from employment, your sick leave balance will be converted to a cash equivalent at your current hourly rate and will be paid to you up to a maximum of $2,000 upon retirement. The remaining converted balance may be used for the Sick Leave Insurance Program. Certain collective bargaining agreements may provide otherwise. Consult the applicable collective bargaining agreement, DAS-HRE rules, or see your agency’s human resources associate for more information.

Care and Necessary Attention to Family Members; Death in Immediate Family

You may utilize 40 hours of sick leave for the temporary care of or necessary attention to members of your immediate family, or when a death occurs in your immediate family. Special conditions and time limits may apply in accordance with DAS-HRE rules. Certain collective bargaining agreements may provide otherwise. Consult the applicable collective bargaining agreement, DAS-HRE rules, or see your agency’s human resources associate for more information.

Military Leave

If you are called for military duty as a member of the National Guard, organized reserve, or any component part of the military of the State of Iowa or the United States and are a non-temporary employee, you will be paid your regular salary for time spent on military leave for up to 30 days per calendar year. You must provide proper notice to your supervisor and your agency’s human resources associate. 

Consult your human resources associate for information regarding your other benefits while on military leave.

Leave without Pay

You may be granted leave without pay for any reason considered acceptable by your agency. You must submit a request for leave without pay in writing and receive prior written approval before going on leave. Other requirements or stipulations may also apply. Consult your supervisor for further information.

Donated Leave for a Catastrophic Illness

You may be eligible to donate or receive donated leave (vacation) hours for a catastrophic illness. A “catastrophic illness” means a physical or mental illness or injury of the employee or the employee’s immediate family member as certified by a licensed physician which will result in the inability of the employee to report to work for more than 30 workdays based upon a consecutive or intermittent basis. In order to be eligible to receive donated leave, you must have exhausted all other types of paid leave. Contributions shall be designated as “donated leave” and shall be subject to DAS-HRE rules, policies, and procedures.

Jury Duty and Court Leave

If you are called for jury duty or subpoenaed as a witness in a court proceeding, you may be paid for the time you must be in court. This provision does not apply to actions in which you are a party in a court proceeding which is unrelated to your state employment. In order to receive full pay, you must pay to your agency’s accounting office any compensation you receive from the court (except for travel, parking, food, and lodging expense reimbursements). If you elect to use vacation leave, you are entitled to keep any compensation received from the court. If you are directed to appear as a witness by your agency, all time spent shall be considered to be worktime. Consult your supervisor or your agency’s human resources associate for further information.

Blood Donation, Bone Marrow Donation, and Organ Donation Leave

You may be granted a paid leave of absence up to two (2) consecutive hours in a workday, four (4) times per fiscal year for the purpose of blood donation. Such leave is without loss of pay, vacation time, personal days, sick leave, insurance and health coverage benefits, or earned overtime accumulation. You must provide written verification from a physician or facility involved with the blood donation.

You may be granted a paid leave of absence for the purpose of bone marrow or organ donation. Such leave is without loss of length of service credit, pay, vacation time, personal days, sick leave, insurance and health coverage benefits or earned overtime accumulation. If you serve as a bone marrow donor, you can be granted up to five workdays of leave. You must provide written verification from a physician or hospital involved with the bone marrow donation that you will serve as a bone marrow donor. If you serve as a vascular organ donor, you can be granted up to 30 workdays of leave. You must provide written verification from a physician or hospital involved with the vascular organ donation that you will serve as a vascular organ donor.

Educational Leave and Assistance Program

Educational opportunities, such as workshops, seminars, or conferences, may be available to you. Attendance-related fees may be paid by your agency, with the approval of the supervisor and in accordance with DAS-HRE rules or applicable collective bargaining agreement. Fees for academic work undertaken by you at an educational institution may be approved by DAS-HRE for reimbursement by your agency, provided:

• Course work is job related;
• Expenses (tuition and books) are approved by the agency director and DAS-HRE prior to course enrollment;
• Course work is successfully completed (“C-“ grade for undergraduate courses and “B-“ grade for graduate courses); and
• Funds are available.

Educational leave, with or without pay, may also be granted to you at the discretion of your agency. You may be granted educational leave to develop skills which will improve your ability to perform state job responsibilities or to provide training and developmental opportunities which will enable your agency to better meet staffing needs. Educational leave:

• May be a full or partial absence from the job;
• May include financial assistance; and
• Must be requested in writing on an Application for Education Leave and/or Education Financial Assistance form, or from your training liaison.

For more information, contact your supervisor or your agency’s human resources associate.

Severe Weather and Emergency Closings

Procedures exist which provide guidance when inclement weather conditions or other emergencies cause an agency (or one of its offices or facilities) to be closed, or when travel is not recommended. The Severe Weather/Emergency Evacuation Policy is available online at Severe Weather and Emergency Evacuation Policy.

Unauthorized Leave

If you are absent from duty for three consecutive workdays without proper notification and authorization, you may be considered to have voluntarily terminated your employment. All absences from work must be authorized by your supervisor.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide unpaid job- protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons, and for certain reasons due to the military service of a covered family member. FMLA is not an additional type of leave; it is job protection for you to use paid or unpaid FMLA leave. You may be required to exhaust all paid leave before unpaid leave is granted. For more information on FMLA, visit the DAS website at FMLA (Family & Medical Leave). By providing this information concerning FMLA, in no manner or respect does the State waive its sovereign immunity.

FMLA Absence Reporting

All absences related to an approved FMLA certification for your own medical condition, your family member’s medical condition, and/or military duty must be reported to the DAS-HRE Leave Administration group. In addition, you must also report your absences to your agency in accordance with your agency’s absence reporting requirements.

Paid Parental Leave

You may be granted paid parental leave for the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption with the employee, if the leave is taken within twelve months following any such birth or adoption. To use paid parental leave, you must be entitled to leave under the FMLA and have an approved FMLA leave on file with the DAS-HRE Leave Administration group.