Other Absences
Learn more about paid absences. Jump to information about:
Bereavement absence
Losing a loved one is difficult. In the event of a death of a family member, a paid leave of absence is provided as follows to benefits-eligible staff members:
- Ten days are provided for death of a spouse or domestic partner/civil union partner, parent, child, stepchild, foster child, adopted child, or child of a civil union or domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling and those bearing the same relationship to the staff member’s spouse or domestic partner/civil union partner (including all step categories). The first five days are paid. For the second five days, the staff member can use vacation or personal floating holiday time or can
take the days unpaid. - One paid day is provided for the death of other close family members.
- The staff member’s supervisor must be notified of the need to take bereavement leave as soon as practical. In special circumstances, staff members may request additional unpaid time off from their supervisor. If such a request is granted, the additional time off will be unpaid, unless paid vacation or personal floating holiday time is used. Northwestern may require proof of the relationship to the family member.
Jury duty
The University encourages participation in jury duty.
- You are allowed to be absent with pay for jury duty but are expected to report for your regularly scheduled work on days when not required to perform jury duty.
- You may retain pay received for jury duty service, and you will also receive your regular pay.
- You must provide appropriate documentation with as much notice as possible to the supervisor or department/unit.
- You may be required to provide proof of jury duty service upon return to work.
Voting time
You are encouraged to exercise your right to vote, voting either before or after work hours. If you wish to vote and face difficulty in doing so during those pre- or post-work hours, you are encouraged to take advantage of early voting opportunities that provide extended and weekend hours on multiple days, usually about a week before the election.
Early voting opportunities are offered by many municipalities, including Evanston and Chicago, whose city clerk websites provide information on this topic.
If early voting is not an option, you need to make a request to your supervisor at least 48 hours before an election day. If you are unable to vote before or after regular working hours on an election day, you may take the time needed to vote, not to exceed two hours, during the working day, without loss of pay.
School visitation
Staff members may take school visitation time off from work to visit their child’s school for conferences or classroom activities for a total of eight hours in a school year, but no more than four hours on any given day. You must request this time off in advance and may be required to provide documentation regarding the need to take time off. Supervisors or departments/units may allow additional time depending on departmental/unit operations.
Vacation and/or personal floating holiday time may be used, if available, for school visitation. If no paid vacation or personal floating holiday time is available for a non-exempt staff member, an unpaid excused absence may be used for the school visits.