• Paid Sick Leave for Support Staff
• Extended Sick Leave for Support Staff
• Paid Sick Leave for Administrative and Sponsored Research Staff
• Leave Associated with Pregnancy and Childbirth
• Workers' Compensation
• Leave Provided Under the American with Disabilities Act as an Accommodation (ADA)

Paid Sick Leave for Support Staff
Regular full-time MIT employees on the Support Staff payroll accrue 12 sick days per anniversary year. In general, accrued sick leave may be used only in cases of accident or illness of the employee, and medical or dental examination and care. For more details on paid sick leave for MIT Support Staff, please refer to the MIT Personnel Policy Manual.

Example of How FMLA is Coordinated with Paid Sick Leave for MIT Support Staff
Jane Smith, who has been employed in a Support Staff position at the Institute for two years, requested a 2-week leave of absence for surgery. The medical certification form, completed and signed by her treating physician, states she needs medical leave due to a serious health condition. Jane has 3 weeks accrued sick time.

Based on the information above, Jane meets the eligibility requirements for leave provided under FMLA and the Institute’s paid sick leave policy. Below is an illustration of how Jane will be compensated during her leave and how her FMLA usage will be tracked.

Extended Sick Leave Policies for Support Staff
Employees on the Support Staff payroll are eligible for extended sick leave benefits after their sick time balance has been exhausted. As with sick leave, extended sick leave may be used only in cases where the employee is unable to work due to an accident or serious illness.

The Extended Sick Leave Plan (ESL) provides income protection for up to a total of 26 weeks (in any 12 month period), paid at 75% of the employee's base salary for up to the 26 week total. To receive benefits, the employee must be under the care of a legally qualified physician and absent on the physician’s advice (medical certification must be signed by a physician. For more details on extended sick leave for MIT Support Staff, please refer the MIT Personnel Policy Manual.

Example of How FMLA is Coordinated with Extended Sick Leave for MIT Support Staff
Maggie Smith, who has been employed in a Support Staff position at the Institute for three years, requested a 12-week leave of absence for serious illness. The medical certification form, completed and signed by her treating physician, states she needs medical leave due to a serious health condition. Maggie has 2 weeks of sick time accrued.

Based on the information above, Maggie meets the eligibility requirements for leave provided under FMLA and the Institute’s paid extended sick leave policy. Below is an illustration of how Maggie will be compensated during her leave and how her FMLA usage will be tracked.

Paid Sick Leave for Administrative and Sponsored Research Staff
There is no formal method of sick leave accrual or accounting for members of the Administrative and Sponsored Research staffs. A reasonable number of justifiable absences are paid in full. Extreme cases of extended illness or accident will be treated on an individual basis, with due regard to length of service at the Institute and other relevant factors, and may be paid for the duration of the absence up to but not normally exceeding a period of six months.

Illustration of How FMLA is Coordinated with Sick Leave for Administrative and Sponsored-Research Staff
John Smith, who has been employed in an administrative staff position at the Institute less than one year, requested a (2) two-week leave of absence for serious illness. The medical certification form, completed and signed by his treating physician, states he needs medical leave due to a serious health condition.

Based on the information above, John Smith meets the eligibility requirements under MIT sick leave. Since he does not have 12 months of service, however, he is not eligible for leave provided under FMLA. Below is an illustration of how John will be compensated during his leave.

Leave Associated with Pregnancy and Childbirth
Female employees requesting a leave due to pregnancy or childbirth may be eligible for paid leave in accordance with MIT sick leave policies.

Note: MIT will grant 8 weeks of paid maternity leave under its sick and extended sick leave program for childbirth and recovery. For other pregnancy-related absences, such as for miscarriage or temporary disability associated with pregnancy, or for absences beyond the 8 weeks following childbirth, paid time off is available only if the employee provides medical documentation from a physician showing that she has a health condition/illness and is unable to work.

Employees may also be eligible for additional unpaid time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (MMLA). Please note: FMLA and MMLA leaves run concurrently with paid sick leave. MMLA provides 8 weeks of unpaid leave per birth (16 weeks for twins). Please refer to the Personnel Policy Manual for more information on MMLA.

Example of How FMLA is Coordinated with Extended Sick Leave and MMLA Leave
Laura Smith, who has been employed in a Support Staff position at the Institute for 10 years, delivered twins while on maternity leave. According to the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act, she is entitled to 8 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave per birth.

Below is an illustration of how Laura will be compensated during her 16-week leave. She has 4 weeks of accrued sick time and 4 weeks accrued vacation time. She will receive an additional 4 weeks of paid extended sick leave benefits. She will take the remaining 4 weeks of leave unpaid.

Workers' Compensation
MIT provides insurance to protect employees against financial loss due to job-related illnesses or injury. There is a five-day waiting period for benefits; however, if an employee is out more than 20 days, the benefits are paid back to the first full day of disability.

Benefits are payable up to 60% of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed the average weekly wage in the Commonwealth, which is established each October 1st.

Workers' Compensation leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave.

Learn more about Workers' Compensation leave.

Leave Provided Under the American with Disabilities Act as an Accommodation (ADA)
Employees returning to work from medical leave may be eligible for certain types of leave under the American With Disabilities Act as an accommodation. Please refer to the policy manual for guidelines on requesting accommodations under ADA.

Employees may also contact the ADA Officer at 617-258-0617.