Graduate student employees are responsible for reporting absences from campus and any missed work assignments to the faculty member in charge or to the Student Services Manager, La Shana Porlaris. If an absence is unexpected (i.e., due to a sudden illness or accident) or will be for an extended period the La Shana must be notified in a timely manner so that alternate arrangements can be made to limit impact.

ASEs may also be eligible for various paid and unpaid leaves, including military leave, short-term family-related leaves, long-term family-related leaves, bereavement, and jury duty. Please refer to the UC-UAW Agreement.

GSRs are eligible for Childbirth Accommodation Leave, which provides for six weeks of paid leave for pregnancy disability, childbirth, and related medical conditions; GSRs who give birth are eligible for an additional two weeks of unpaid leave for baby bonding provided such unpaid leave does not extend beyond the date of appointment.

GSRs are also eligible for three days of paid bereavement leave, and four weeks of paid leave due to the GSR’s serious health condition, to care for a family member who has a serious health condition, or to care for and bond with a newborn child or an adopted/foster child; the GSR may be approved for an additional two weeks of unpaid leave provided such unpaid leave does not extend beyond the date of the appointment. For any questions regarding this policy, please contact the Academic Personnel Office at appolicy@berkeley.edu.

The Childbirth paid leaves described above may be combined for a maximum of six (6) weeks of paid leave during the academic year. Occasionally a graduate student may request a medical leave or a childbirth leave during their ASE or GSR appointment, and a variety of resources are available to assist the student parent and the department during and after the leave.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the following reasons:

• The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care
• To bond with a child (leave must be taken within one year of the child’s birth or placement)
• To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition
• For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job
• For qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.

Pregnancy Disability Leave

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides up to four months (88 work days) leave during the time a woman is actually disabled and unable to perform her job due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Staff-Specific Leaves

Browse the list of all available staff leaves.

Administrative Leaves

The following administrative leaves are covered with pay (no use of accruals, PTO, or Compensatory Time Off (CTO) needed).

• University Meetings
  • A non-exempt employee may take leave with pay during regularly scheduled work hours to attend University meetings or functions designated by the Chancellor.
• Donating Blood
  • Non-exempt employees may also take up to 2 hours of administrative leave to donate blood.
• Voting
  • A non-exempt employee can take up to a maximum of 2 hours with pay to vote in a statewide primary or general election if the employee does not have time to vote outside of working hours.
• Jury Duty and Grand Jury Duty
  • Exempt employees on any work schedule may take administrative leave with pay for work days spent on jury duty, not to exceed the pay for the employee's normal work day, and the employee's normal work week
  • Nonexempt career employees on any shift or work schedule may take administrative leave with pay for actual time spent on jury duty and in related travel, not to exceed the pay for the employee's normal work day, and the employee's normal work week.
• Professional Development Activities
  • A regular status (career or contract) employee whose performance is satisfactory or better is eligible in general for 80 hours (nonexempt) or 10 workdays (exempt) paid release time per calendar year for professional development. The Department Manager then approves the leave subject to scheduling, staffing, and budget considerations.

Leaves With and Without Pay

All leaves with the exception of paid administrative leaves, require use of accrual balances to be a paid leave. Approved eligible leaves can be taken without pay if the employee does not have enough accruals to cover the leave period.

Catastrophic Leave Sharing Program

The University of California, Berkeley offers a Catastrophic Leave-Sharing Program to give staff and academic employees a chance to support their colleagues who are facing a major health crisis, whether their own or that of a family member. The program allows employees to provide assistance in the form of donated vacation leave. It was developed as part of campus efforts to create a caring environment, and because many members of the campus community have expressed a desire to assist their co-workers in this way. While the program establishes a mechanism for leave transfers, participation is entirely voluntary.