Benefits Eligible Semimonthly Paid Academic, Research, and Administrative Employees

Who is supposed to use this sick time reporting tool?

This tool is to be used by Campus-based, semimonthly paid staff (that is, salaried as opposed to hourly staff) who are eligible for MIT’s paid sick leave benefits besides just the state-mandated benefits. This includes academic staff (including the “other academic” payroll category), research staff (including SRS), and administrative staff; it does not include tenured or tenure-track faculty.
To be eligible for MIT’s general sick leave benefits, you must be paid by MIT, work 50% or more of the normal full-time work schedule, and have an eligible appointment of at least 3 months. See http://hr.mit.edu/eligibility for more information on benefits eligibility.

What are the reasons I can take paid sick time?

You can use paid sick time for:
1. Your own illness, and your own medical and dental appointments
2. To care for a family member who is ill, and to take a family member to medical and dental appointments (limited to 40 hours per year)
3. For a leave relating to domestic violence (limited to 40 hours per year)

Note re domestic violence leave: Under state law, employees may take a leave of absence relating to domestic violence for up to 15 days in a 12 month period.  You may use paid sick time of up to 40 hours during a domestic violence leave; any remaining leave time is unpaid unless you choose to take any of your accrued vacation time. To protect your privacy, the tracking tool does not ask you to specify that the leave relates to domestic violence. Instead, if the domestic violence involves you, record it as your sick time; if the domestic violence involves a family member, record the use of sick time as family sick leave.  Detail on leaves of absence relating to domestic violence is found at Policies and Procedures Section 7.5.7.   

Who is a “family member” for purposes of the sick time policy?

Family members covered by the sick leave policy are the employee's child, spouse or domestic partner, parent, parent of the spouse or domestic partner, and any other member of the employee's household.

How do I report sick time?

• Go to http://absence.mit.edu . You can also access the tracking tool through the link from Atlas.
o Note: Access to the tracking tool is Touchstone enabled and requires two-factor authentication with Duo.
• Select a day on the calendar by single clicking the day when you want to report sick time usage. A New Leave Request box appears on the right hand side of the page with a default of 8 hours of sick time. You can confirm or change the hours to reflect the sick time you want to report.
o If you work a standard, 5-day a week schedule, the tool presumes that you work 8 hours every work day.
o If you work an irregular schedule, you can record the actual hours you normally work on a given day. For example, a full-time employee working four 10 hour days and who is out sick for a day would record 10 hours for that day.
o If you are sick for less than a full day, report the time in quarter hours (.25, .50, .75, and 1.0).
 - For example, if you usually arrive at work at 8:30 but get in at 10:20 due to a medical appointment, record 1.75 as sick time.
• Select the Reason Category (Employee Sick or Medical Appointment or Family Sick or Medical Appointment).
• Sick time recorded will show on the calendar as “draft” until you hit “submit.”
• Continue to select additional days and edit hours in the same manner, as needed.
• You can delete draft days by either single clicking the day on the calendar or selecting the the delete icon listed beside the day.
• After your report has been completed, submit it using the blue button.

What happens after I submit a report?

• In the calendar, the requested day(s) will be labeled as “Sick”.
• You will receive an email confirming that you reported sick time usage.
• Your manager or a designated sick time administrator will receive an email notifying them of the reported sick time.

What happens if I report sick time but do not take it?

At any point before the end of the reported day, you can withdraw sick time submitted, for example, if a scheduled doctor’s appointment is canceled. If you need to withdraw a day in the past, please contact your HR sick time administrator or AO.

How do I withdraw a sick day?

Withdraw a day by selecting it (single click) on the calendar. The associated Sick Report will then appear in a the Leave Request box. Within the Leave Request box, a delete icon is listed next to each day and a Withdraw Entire Report button is located at the top of the box. Use these buttons to withdraw future sick time that you already reported but that, in fact, you will not be using. Similarly, you can view all of your submitted reports by selecting the hamburger/list view on the right hand side above the calendar.

What if I am on FMLA?

If you are on an approved leave under the Family and Medical Leaves Act (FMLA), you must designate any sick time you use that is covered by the FMLA. To do so, simply check the box for FMLA for that date. This FMLA designation is available in your calendar only after your leave is approved as FMLA by the Disability Services and Medical Leaves Office.

What if the record of my sick time taken is incorrect?

Please contact your HR administrator who handles sick time, or your AO.

How can I send feedback/questions about the Application?

Please submit feedback to absence-help@mit.edu

What is the MIT Sick Policy?

MIT’s policy on the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time is found in the Personnel Policy Manual at Section 4.3.22. This policy covers the first 40 hours of paid sick time used in any 12-month period beginning on your anniversary date (the anniversary of your date of hire). It applies to all paid employees, whether or not they are benefits eligible.
MIT’s general policy for sick leave for benefits-eligible monthly paid staff is found at Policies & Procedures Section 7.5.4; more detail is found in the Personnel Policy Manual Section 4.3.16.
The policy on domestic violence leave is found in Policies & Procedures Section 7.5.7. 

See also FAQs