Leave Benefits

Earned  Time

Earned time is a form
of paid time off and combines sick and vacation time. This form of paid time off
gives the most flexibility to staff to use their valued time away. The College
encourages the use of earned time as a necessary time for staff to recharge. The
use of earned time should be planned and scheduled when at all possible.
Individual departments may develop departmental procedures for scheduling and
approving time off.

Policy

Eligibility:
Regular full-time administrative staff and regular part-time administrative
staff (24 hour per week or more).
Effective: First day of employment

Twelve Month Hourly Employees
Administrative employees hired on or after October 1,
2000, are eligible for the following earned time benefit. Accrual rates are per
pay period.

Once an employee has reached the maximum Earned Time balance, the accrual
will be suspended until the balance falls below the maximum. A maximum of 168
earned time hours for full-time employees and 113 earned time hours for
part-time employees may be carried over into the new fiscal year. For full-time
employees, unused earned time above these amounts will be converted into LTI
(See Long Term Illness).

Full-Time Nine (9) and Ten (10) Month Hourly
Employees
Administrative employees hired on or after
October 1, 2000, are eligible for the following earned time benefit.
Accrual rates are per pay period.

Once an employee has reached the maximum Earned Time balance, the
accrual will be suspended until the balance falls below the maximum. A maximum
of 126 hours for full-time nine (9) month employees and a maximum of 139 hours
for ten (10) month employees may be carried over into the new fiscal year.
Unused earned time above these amounts will be converted into LTI (See Long Term
Illness).

Employees should plan time off only when they have enough earned
time to cover their absence.

Full-time Salaried Employees:
Accrual rates are per pay
period.

Once an employee has reached the maximum Earned Time balance, the
accrual will be suspended until the balance falls below the maximum. A maximum
of 24 days for full-time twelve (12) month, 19 days for ten (10) month and 18
days for nine (9) month employees may be carried over into the new fiscal year.
(The fiscal year ends on June 30.) Unused earned time above these amounts will
be converted into LTI (See Long Term Illness).

Employees should plan time off only when they have enough earned
time to cover their absence.

Long Term Illness (LTI)

Regular full-time
administrative staff are eligible to participate in the Long Term Illness plan.
Long Term Illness is a sick pay benefit that is meant to accrue over time to
fill in the gap between the use of Earned Time and the qualification for Long
Term Disability benefits. For each leave period there is a five-workday waiting
period.

Bereavement Leave

Any regular full-time or
regular part staff may take up to five (5) working days of bereavement leave
upon request. This leave is to be used to make arrangements for and to attend
services for an immediate family member. Bereavement days are meant to be taken
consecutively.

Family Medical Leave

Both the Federal
government and the State of Maine have passed laws defining family medical leave
benefits. The eligibility and benefits for each plan differ slightly. When an
employee is considering a leave, the Human Resource Office will review both
family leave benefits with him/her to determine and explain which will apply and
why. Leaves will generally run concurrently.

Faculty Short Term Medical Leave with Pay

Eligibility:
Regular full-time ordinary and full-time nonordinary faculty, prorate and
part-time faculty.
Effective: Date of Contract

The College provides a salary continuance benefit for faculty members who are
on an approved short-term medical disability leave. The benefit schedule is as
follows:

Requests for short-term medical leaves with pay are submitted in writing to
the Director of Human Resources. This leave is available once every three years.
For this purpose, years are counted from the beginning of the last approved
short-term medical leave with pay.

Jury Duty and Appearance Witness
Leave

Full-time and regular part-time employees who, during their
regular working hours, actively serve on jury duty or are under subpoena as a
witness, when not a principal, continue to receive their regular pay. When
requesting jury duty pay, employees should attach a copy of their subpoena to
their time sheet. Employees shall return to work within a reasonable time on
days released from such duty.

Military Leave

Reservists and members of
the National Guard. Full-time and regular part-time employees serving in
the reserve or National Guard will be granted military leave to enable them to
attend training as reservists or guard members. Regular employees will be
eligible for unpaid leave for up to ten days of training leave each year.

Active Duty. Employees entering active duty either voluntarily or
through the draft will be granted unpaid leave. Upon completion of service,
those employees who satisfy the reporting, notification, reapplication, and
honorable service provision of USERRA will be accorded the reemployment and
benefits rights as provided by USERRA. In general, you must return to your
regular work schedule without delay.

Employees who will require leave are expected to show their orders to the
Human Resource Director as soon as they are received.

Violence Leave

A full-time or regular
part-time employee who is a victim of violence, or any act that would support an
order for protection may have necessary leave without pay to:

• Prepare for
  and attend court proceedings;
• Receive medical treatment; or attend to
  medical treatment for a victim who is the employee’s daughter, son, parent or
  spouse; or
• Obtain necessary services to remedy a crisis caused by domestic
  violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Such leave are subject to reasonable notification to the College and be
granted only if the College would not sustain undue hardship from the employee’s
absence.