Massachusetts Society of Professors

Faculty and librarians have the right to five days of paid bereavement leave for the death of a family member or loved one.

Full-time bargaining unit members and part-time bargaining unit members with appointments of 50% time or more can take a leave of absence with pay for a maximum of five (5) days upon evidence of the death of a family member or loved one. This leave may be used within thirty (30) days or within one (1) year for the purpose of attending a funeral or memorial services.

MSP negotiated a fund to help defray the costs of childcare and/or eldercare for faculty and librarians.

There is a total of $150,000 available for childcare/eldercare assistance. In determining allocations of these funds, the Provost will consider such factors as financial need, cost and time period of care needed, equity, other resources available, distance from campus, and other relevant considerations.

The FY24 Call for Applications went out 2/5/24.  The deadline to apply is Friday, February 23, 2024 at 11:59 pm.  Late submissions will not be accepted.

MSP members can enroll in pre-tax dependent care accounts to pay for childcare or elder care expenses, reducing federal and state tax liabilities.

Faculty and librarians are eligible for a Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). Through this benefit, faculty pay for certain dependent care expenses on a pre-tax basis, reducing federal and state income tax liability. Eligible expenses may only be incurred for dependents under 13 years of age for care while you are working -- including day care, day camp, after-school programs, nursery school, and babysitting expenses during work hours. You may either use the DCAP program or claim the child care tax credit when you file your taxes, not both. Additionally, if you have an older IRS dependent who lives with you at least 8 hours per day and requires someone to come into the house to assist with day-to-day living, you can claim these expenses through your DCAP.

MSP members are eligible for paid leave for 15 days, or unpaid leave for up to six months, to attend to issues resulting from domestic violence.

Full-time bargaining unit members and part-time bargaining unit members with appointments of 50% time or more shall be granted fifteen days of paid leave (and up to six months of unpaid leave) to attend to issues resulting from domestic violence.

Guarantees 12 weeks leave for illness, or for illness of spouse, child, or parent.  FMLA guarantees unpaid leave but MSP has won the right to paid leave through the sick leave bank.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period. To be eligible, employees must have been employed by the University for at least 12 months and must have worked at least 1250 hours during the 12 month period immediately preceding the leave.

An employee must provide certification from a health care provider for a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s immediate family member, using the FMLA Medical Certification Form.  When the leave is foreseeable and the employee has provided at least 30 days notice, the employee should provide the medical certification before the leave begins.  When this is not possible, the University allows fifteen calendar days following the request for leave for the employee to obtain the medical certification.

To Apply for FMLA leave:

1. Notify your chair or dean in writing of your need to take leave and the dates your are requesting. Sending an email is fine and should include the information in the HR Medical Leave Request Checklist. (*see #3 for modification to checklist process)
2. Have your health care provider or the health care provider treating you or the individual you are caring for fill out a  Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee or a Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member form.
3. Submit the completed Certification of Health Care Provider form to your Human Resources representative in the Dean's office in person or via secure OneDrive link. Please do not send medical information via email. *Department chairs or deans do not have access to confidential medical information and you do not need to include the Certification of Health Care Provider form or disclose medical information in your request to your Chair or Dean.
4. If you do not have enough accrued sick time to cover your leave (your paycheck will show your hours of sick leave), include with your request for leave a statement that you wish to apply for time from the MSP Sick Leave Bank.

Paid leave is available through the MSP Sick Leave Bank (SLB) for up to one semester, for care of a household member who is seriously ill.

A bargaining unit member may use five days of his/her sick leave or the MSP Sick Leave Bank (concurrent with any FMLA entitlement) for the purpose of caring for the spouse, child, foster child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, brother, sibling, grandparent, grandchild of either the bargaining unit member or his/her spouse, a person for whom the bargaining unit member is legal guardian, or for a person living in the bargaining unit member’s immediate household who is seriously ill. A request to use 6-90 days from the SLB shall be granted unless a majority of the Sick Leave Committee votes to deny the request or to authorize a lesser amount than that requested. A request to use a total of more than 90 days shall be granted if a majority of the Sick Leave Committee votes to approve the request. If a bargaining unit member’s request for the use of sick leave or Sick Leave Bank for these purposes for more than five days is denied, the bargaining unit member must return to work for at least one full semester (six months in the case of a librarian) before applying again for the same illness for the same individual.

To apply to the for family sick leave:

1. Notify your chair or dean of your need to take leave. Sending an email is fine.
2. If you need to take family sick leave for more than five days then you will need to apply for FMLA to be used concurrently.
3. If you do not have enough accrued sick time to cover your leave, apply to the Sick Leave Bank.

MSP members can enroll in pre-tax health care spending accounts to pay for certain health expenses, reducing federal and state tax liabilities.

Faculty and librarians are eligible for a Health Care Spending Account (HCSA). Through this benefit, faculty pay for health care expenses not covered by insurance, on a pre-tax basis, reducing federal and state income tax liability. Eligible expenses include most medical co-pays, eyeglasses and contact lenses not covered by your health insurance or vision discount program, orthodontia and dental expenses not covered by your dental insurance, prescription costs, and more.

Leaves without pay (LWOP) may be granted for research or advanced study, for health reasons, or for family caregiving or other issues.

Leaves without pay may be granted by the University for reasons of health, for advanced study and research, in connection with temporary employment or service which will be of value to the faculty member and the University, or for reasons related to family issues, at the discretion of the administration. During a LWOP, an employee does not receive UMass benefits and is responsible for the full cost of their GIC health insurance premiums. They are not eligible for GIC health insurance until the next open enrollment period (April/May, for insurance beginning July 1).

To apply for a leave without pay:

• Complete the application.
• The application will be reviewed by your department Chair/Head, Dean/Director of Libraries, and the Provost, who shall indicate their recommendations/decision on the leave approval form.

Benefited faculty and librarians with GIC health insurance receive $5,000 of life insurance, with 75 or 80% of the premiums paid by the University. Additional optional term life insurance is available.

Basic life insurance is available through the Group Insurance Commission. Employees with GIC health insurance may enroll for life insurance coverage upon hire into a benefited position, effective the first day of the month following 60 days of employment. The University currently pays 80% of the premium for benefited employees who were hired before 2003, and 75% for those hired after 2003.  Additional optional term life insurance allows faculty to increase their coverage, with the individual bearing all costs.

Benefited faculty and librarians with GIC health insurance have access to long-term disability (LTD) insurance provided by the Group Insurance Commission.  In addition, the MTA offers additional Long-Term Disability.

Optional long-term disability insurance from the Group Insurance Commission, and administered by UNUM, provides benefited faculty 50% income replacement if deemed disabled after 90 days absence from work. The cost of this coverage is paid entirely by the faculty member or librarian, but employees can enroll upon employment with coverage effective the first day of the month following 90 days of benefitted employment (assuming the GIC determines the faculty member insurable). You may apply to enroll in LTD from GIC at any time during the year.

The MTA offers additional long-term disability coverage, also administered by UNUM, which begins after 180 days of continuous disability and provides 60% of your basic monthly earnings, up to $5,000 per month. The cost of UNUM coverage is paid by the faculty member or librarian.

Upon hire, the following MSP bargaining-unit members who become biological or adoptive parents of a child under the age of five are eligible to receive a one-semester paid leave (24 weeks for librarians).

• All full-time tenure and tenure-track faculty members;
• All non-tenure-track faculty members who are not funded by grants, contracts, or gifts; and who have appointments that make it possible to fulfill the one-year return obligation;
• All librarians.

Parental leave must be taken during the semester in which the child's birth or adoption occurs or an immediately adjacent semester.  A bargaining unit member wishing to take parental leave must apply at least one semester prior to the proposed start of the leave or when the faculty member/librarian has knowledge of the impending birth or adoption, whichever is later.  Reach out to MSP if you missed the deadline.

During the parental leave, the individual is required to use their own sick leave accruals.  If sick leave accruals are insufficient to cover the entire leave period, MSP sick leave bank time can be used.

The tenure decision year (TDY)/continuing appointment review can be delayed for one year upon written notification by the faculty member/librarian to the Department Chair no later than six months after the birth/adoption.  Postponed TDY/continuing appointment reviews can be restored to their original date as long as the faculty member/librarian provides written notification to their Department Chair no later than three months prior to the start of the original date of the review.

To apply for parental leave, submit an APPLICATION electronically to your Department Chair via email.  Be sure to attach a scan of your child's birth/adoption certificate, or a letter from your physicial indicating the expected/actual date of birth.

Partners of faculty and librarians can be considered for tenure-track or non-tenure-track positions, in order to recruit or retain tenure-system faculty.

Partners of candidates for faculty and librarian positions may be hired as faculty, librarians or administrative staff as part of this program. Waivers of search may be granted when partner employment is part of a hiring offer resulting from a national search, or is part of an attempt to retain a current academic employee. All participants hired under the Partner Employment Program must be fully qualified for their hiring status and must be approved by the host units. Partner positions shall be funded for the initial contract period or for three years.

Faculty and librarians on 12-month calendar-year appointments are eligible for up to three personal days each year.

After a year of service, librarians and full-time faculty members on 12-month calendar-year appointments shall receive three paid personal leave days each January for use during that calendar year. This amount shall be pro-rated for faculty members whose appointments begin after January 1. Personal leave must be used by the end of the calendar year, or it will be forfeited. For part-time faculty members and librarians with appointments of 50% time or more, this leave shall be pro-rated based on percentage of appointment. Faculty members on academic-year contracts and librarians with appointments of less than 50% time are not eligible for personal leave.

Tenure-track faculty are eligible for a one-year delay of the Tenure Decision Year (TDY) related to the care of a family or household member who is seriously ill, a personal medical condition or for COVID-19 Reasons.

The tenure decision year of a non-tenured faculty member who is facing significant care responsibilities, a medical condition or has had setbacks due to COVID-19 may be delayed by submitting an expedited request through the Academic Personnel Workflow System (APWS). Faculty who apply through this expedited process will have their requests reviewed by the Sick Leave Committee. The committee will review all requests and inform the appropriate Dean of their recommendation.  Both the Dean's and the Sick Leave Committee's recommendations will be forwarded to the Provost who will notify the faculty member of the final decision.  Any personal and medical information will be kept strictly confidential.

Any MSP member who takes a paid Parental Leave is automatically granted a one-year delay of the Tenure Decision Year (TDY). If the faculty member wants to reinstate the original TDY, they may always do so.

The tenure decision year of an untenured faculty member who becomes the biological or adoptive parent of a child under five years of age will be delayed for one year. Delay of the TDY is automatic when you apply for Parental Leave, unless you opt out.  When applying for Parental Leave, include the requested documentation as proof of birth or adoption: a scan of the child’s birth certificate, adoption certificate, or letter from your doctor indicating the expected or actual date of birth. If you later decide to reinstate your original tenure decision year, simply notify your chair/head that you are exercising your right to return to your original TDY.

MSP members have access to short term disability insurance provided by the MTA and administered by UNUM.

Short-term disability insurance from UNUM begins after 30 days of continuous disability and provides 60% of your basic weekly earnings, up to $1,150 per month. The cost of UNUM coverage is paid by the faculty members. Short term disability coverage can transition smoothly to long term disability coverage, if needed, without a lapse in benefits.

Faculty and librarians accrue sick leave each year, and can use paid sick days when ill.

Full-time librarians accrue 4.53 hours of sick leave in each two-week payroll period, up to fifteen days per year. Full-time faculty members on calendar-year appointments accrue 4.61 hours of sick leave in each two-week payroll period, up to fifteen days per year. Full-time faculty members on academic-year appointments shall accrue 3.07 hours of sick leave in each two-week payroll period, up to ten days per year. For part-time bargaining unit members with appointments of 50% FTE or more, accrual is pro-rated based on percentage and length of appointment. Bargaining unit members with appointments of less than 50% FTE are not eligible for sick leave.

Notification of absence due to illness must be given as early as possible on the first day of absence. For any period of absence of more than five consecutive days due to illness, the University may require a physician’s certificate.

Faculty who exhaust personal sick leave can use the Sick Leave Bank in case of their own illness or the illness of an immediate family member.

Upon return to work following sick leave in excess of five consecutive working days, the University may require a physical examination to determine the bargaining unit member’s fitness to perform his/her duties.

To Apply for Sick Leave:

1. Notify your chair or dean of your need to take leave. Sending an email is fine.
2. If you need to take sick leave for more than 5 five days then you will need to apply for FMLA to be used concurrently.
3. If you do not have enough accrued sick time to cover your leave, apply to the Sick Leave Bank.

Faculty and librarians are automatically enrolled in the MSP Sick Leave Bank, and can draw on the bank for paid leave in case of their own illness or illness of an immediate family member.

Faculty and librarians with UMass benefits are eligible for the Sick Leave Bank (SLB), effective one month after date of hire. After the exhaustion of personal sick leave, the Sick Leave Bank can be used for any bona fide illness or disability.  

A member is entitled to ninety days of sick leave from the bank unless a majority of the Sick Leave Bank Committee votes to deny the request or to authorize a lesser amount. The number of days authorized by the Committee may be extended if a majority of the Sick Leave Bank Committee, acting on a request from the member, votes to extend.

A department chairperson/head or the Sick Leave Bank Committee may request at any time that any member who is drawing sick leave from a Sick Leave Bank submit a physician's statement certifying the medical ground for sick leave.

To apply to the SLB

1. Submit a written request to your department head/chair that you wish to draw from the SLB. Your request should include the dates for which you are requesting leave and the date you intend to return to work. If requesting an intermittent leave, include the work schedule you propose. (Your supervisor may require a different schedule.  For example, rather than release from teaching responsibilities, the supervisor may release you from non-teaching duties.)

2. Submit an MSP Sick Leave Bank request to your Human Resources representative in the Dean's Office in person or via secure OneDrive link. Please do not send medical information via email. Your request should include: the dates you are requesting, the reason for leave and supporting documentation. If requesting an intermittent leave, also include the work schedule you have agreed upon with your supervisor and physician. If the request is due to the MSP member's own health condition, the required supporting document is the Certification of Health Care Provider Form for an Employee's Serious Health Condition. If the request is due to the MSP member's need to care for a family member, the required supporting document is the Certification of Health Care Provider Form for a Family Member's Serious Health Condition.

A bargaining unit member may use up to a maximum of ten days of accrued sick leave in a calendar year for adoption and foster care preparations.

A bargaining unit member may use up to a maximum of ten days of accrued sick leave in a calendar year for the purpose of attending to necessary preparations and/or legal proceedings related to the employee's adoption of a child or related to the foster care of DSS children, such as foster care reviews, court hearings, and MAPS training for pre-adoptive parents.

Faculty and librarians may take up to a total of 24 hours of leave within a 12-month period to attend a child’s school activity, or to accompany a child or elderly relative to a doctor’s appointment.

The Small Necessities Leave Act is a federal law permitting employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours for that employer in the last 12 months to take up to 24 hours of unpaid leave every 12 months for a child's school activities, a child's doctor or dentist appointment, or an elder relative's doctor or dentist appointment or other appointment related to the elder's care.

Partial tuition amounting to approximately 60% of total cost is waived for MSP members, our partners and children at UMass and other Massachusetts public higher education institutions.

Tuition Benefit at UMass Campuses: Full-time benefited employees receive a tuition credit per semester for regularly scheduled courses. Spouses, domestic partners and dependent children of benefited employees with 2+ full-time years of University service are eligible for a 60% tuition credit for regularly scheduled courses. Spouses, domestic partners and dependent children of benefited employees with less than 2 full-time years of University service are eligible for a partial tuition credit.

Regularly scheduled courses exclude Continuing and Professional Education courses.

Tuition waivers do not apply to physician training at UMass Worcester Medical School. Tuition waivers for graduate level courses are subject to applicable taxes.

Tuition Remission at non-UMass campuses: Benefited UMass Amherst employees are eligible for tuition remission for courses offered at other Massachusetts public institutions of higher education.

Librarians and faculty on 12-month calendar-year appointments are eligible for up to 22 vacation days each year.

Faculty members on academic-year appointments and faculty members and librarians with appointments of less than 50% time are not eligible for vacation leave. Full-time faculty members on calendar year appointments will accrue 6.76 hours of vacation time each two-week pay period. Librarians will accrue 6.34 hours of vacation time each two-week period. In both cases accrual is not to exceed twenty-two days per year. For part-time faculty members and librarians with appointments of 50% time or more, this accrual shall be pro-rated based on percentage and length of appointment. One additional day a year shall be added to the vacation leave accrual upon the completion of five, ten, and twenty years of service, respectively.

Unused vacation leave can be carried over for use during the following year, but accrued vacation leave exceeding sixty-four days will be forfeited. Faculty should request the use of vacation leave in advance; unused vacation leave will be forfeited if a faculty leaves the University or is converted to an academic-year appointment, with some exceptions.