Article 16 - Benefits

Section 1. Unit Core Faculty may participate in the health insurance and other benefits listed on the University’s Human Resources Intranet webpage, subject to the relevant eligibility criteria. The benefits will be administered for Unit Core Faculty in the same manner as other employees at the University. The University will negotiate with the Union regarding any substantial changes in offered plans or plan design.

Section 2. Vacation Days. Unit Core Faculty on twelve-month contract periods accrue 20 vacation days each calendar year, and may carry over up to ten vacation days from one calendar year to the subsequent calendar year.

Section 3. Retirement Plan Contribution. The University agrees that it will restore the 10% reduction in pension contributions rates on July 1, 2019. This restoration will go into effect regardless of the status of negotiations for a successor contract to this initial contract.

Section 4. Sick Leave. Faculty accrue one sick day per month of their contract period and may accrue up to 90 sick days. Faculty on nine-month contracts accrue nine sick days per year, faculty on ten-month contracts accrue ten sick days per year, and faculty on twelve-month contracts accrue twelve sick days per year. Effective upon the Effective Date, each Unit Core Faculty member who was employed by the University on or before July 1, 2016 will be deemed to have ten accrued sick days and each Unit Core Faculty member who was employed by the University on or before July 1, 2013 will be deemed to have twenty accrued sick days.

Qualifying events listed below for FMLA shall be considered to have occurred on the first day of the next contract period if the event occurred during an off-contract period. Paid sick days shall be for the purposes of extended absences of more than one (1) week and when the academic continuity for the course is disrupted. Paid sick days may be used in combination with short- or long-term disability to provide up to full pay during the leave of absence.

Faculty may use sick days for their own illnesses. Faculty on approved FMLA leave may also use their sick leave for the following purposes:

• for the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee;
• for placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care; or
• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition.

The University in its discretion may grant a leave of absence to a Unit Core Faculty member in cases where the faculty member wishes to care for a non-immediate family member with a serious health condition; the Unit Core Faculty member may use up to ten accrued sick days for such leave.

Section 5. Tuition Remission. The Tuition Remission Program benefit will include tuition remission for qualified dependent children of Unit Core Faculty members enrolled in the two-year core Threshold program in an amount equal to the tuition amount for undergraduate students.