School of Medicine & Public Health – Leaves of Absence for Faculty Appointments at the Veterans Administration

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Policy Number:
SMPH-4001
Old Policy Number:
40.01
Responsible Office:
SMPH Office of Human Resources

School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

Faculty members of the School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) may also be asked to assume duties at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital (VA). The VA may pay faculty performing these duties through a fee-for-service agreement, other negotiated service contract, or an appointment payrolled by the VA. This policy establishes the leave-of-absence requirements for SMPH faculty who are asked to assume duties at the VA through an appointment payrolled by the VA.

Definitions:
Faculty
Professors, associate professors, and assistant professors on the tenure track, clinical health sciences track, or clinician-teacher track. This includes clinical health sciences instructors and clinical instructors in permanent, temporary (non-training), or fellowship positions for the purpose of VA appointments.
Leave of absence
An absence from employment with the approval of the employer with or without loss of pay in accordance with the appropriate statutory provision or rule. A leave of absence may be paid or unpaid and may be for medical or other reasons.
Policy:
  1. SMPH faculty who are asked to assume duties at the VA through an appointment payrolled by the VA must take an unpaid leave of absence from their SMPH faculty appointment to accept these responsibilities at the VA.
    1. In the interest of equity and good human resources management practice, the calculation of leave percentages will be consistent across SMPH.
    2. As with several other UW–Madison policies (e.g., sick time reporting, vacation usage), the leave calculation will be based on an agreed-upon convention for total hours worked, recognizing that actual hours worked may vary among individuals over the course of their employment.
    3. These principles and the calculation below were in effect beginning December 1, 2006, for all leaves initiated or modified after that date. Retroactive recalculation of leave percentage is not required. The policy was revised in May 2009.
    4. Any variation from the procedural model for calculating a VA leave of absence needs approval from the dean’s office. Any UW leaves for VA appointment purposes that were calculated prior to 5/8/2009 are allowed to remain unchanged.
  2. While UW-Madison Faculty Policies and Procedures state that tenure track faculty must maintain an appointment of at least 50%, this rule does not apply while faculty are on VA leave.
    1. Tenure track faculty may go below 50% while working at the VA as long they return to 50% or higher when the VA appointment ends.

    2. SMPH also applies this rule to clinical health sciences faculty appointments.

      Note: The 50% appointment rule does not apply to faculty on the clinician-teacher track.

  3. New faculty who assume VA duties on their first day of employment at UW–Madison must begin with a UW–Madison appointment that is expected to last at least one year and has a full-time equivalency (FTE) great enough to establish Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) eligibility. If an employee does not have any prior WRS service (WRS before 7/1/2011),  the requirement is 42%.

    Note: If the employee does not have prior service and terminates this role/position before working 30 days, they are removed from the WRS and do not receive WRS service credit.

  4. UW–Madison personal leave (vacation, sick leave, personal holiday) will be calculated at the adjusted UW–Madison FTE rate after the VA leave of absence.
Procedure:
  1. If an employee is engaged in VA work that affects normal teaching, research, or clinical time, it is expected either that they will take a UW leave of absence or UW and/or UWMF will receive funding reimbursement from the VA.
  2. The standard workweek at the VA is 40 hours.   
  3. Based on the VA calculation for their standard work week, each VA 1/8 will normally correspond to five (5) hours of work (40 divided by 8) which is equal to 10 % FTE at the UW. 
  4. For each VA 1/8 appointment, the department should determine the proportionate leave percentage from the faculty member’s SMPH appointment (e.g., 1/8 appointment = 10% UW LOA, 2/8 = 20% UW leave, etc.).
  5. This calculation applies to fulltime faculty with VA appointment ranging from 1/8th to 8/8ths.
    VA Appointment 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8 8/8
    UW Leave Percentage 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
  6. Faculty that work at the VA who wish to participate on a K-award may require additional review and approval by the office of the Senior Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational Research and the HR office. 
  7. The calculation for faculty with part-time UW appointments is based on the hours worked at the UW and VA. The amount of work time at both UW and the VA needs to be examined on an individual basis to determine if leave is required.
    1. Under current practice, faculty on leave of absence from UW to work at the VA receive the UW employer’s full share for health insurance. If their VA appointment takes them below 50%, they do not have to pay the less than half time health insurance rates while on VA leave. Faculty with VA appointments should consult with the VA regarding their benefits.
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Dean, School of Medicine and Public Health
Policy Manager:
SMPH HR Associate Director
Contact:
SMPH HR Associate Director -- Courtney Gonzalez, athnos@wisc.edu, (608) 265-2387
SMPH Pay & Benefits Associate Director -- Carrie Hill, chill4@wisc.edu, (608) 263-2814
Effective Date:
01-01-2006
Revised Dates:

2020, 2017, 2009, 2006

Retrieved:
04-27-2024 02:59:06