
The Ohio State University – University Policies policies.osu.edu/  Page 1 of 9 
Paid Leave Programs, 6.27 
University Policy 
Applies to:  Faculty and staff 
Responsible Office  Office of Human Resources 
POLICY 
Issued:  06/22/1997 
Revised:  05/01/2013 
Edited:  03/13/2017 
The university strives to recruit and retain a world-class faculty and staff and to stand out as an employer of choice. The 
university recognizes that supporting faculty and staff as they balance career and family life ultimately benefits the faculty, staff 
and institution alike. The university provides paid vacation, sick, parental, jury duty/court appearance and organ donation leave 
to respond to employee needs. Vacation donation provides financial assistance during approved unpaid leaves for: life 
threatening illness or injury of self or immediate family members; childbirth, adoption and foster care placement; or death of an 
immediate family member. 
Purpose of the Policy 
To provide guidance on and consistent application of paid leave benefits designed to support faculty and staff as they 
balance career, personal and family life.   
Definitions 
Conditions under which an employee is eligible to receive pay and includes but is not limited to vacation leave, 
sick leave, overtime, compensatory time off and holidays. 
A child up to 18 years of age who is adopted through public, private, domestic, international or independent 
means and who is not the stepchild of the adoptive parent. 
The date used to determine the amount of service for the calculation of vacation leave accrual purposes. This 
date reflects an employee’s total service at Ohio State or with the State of Ohio and any of its political 
One who gives birth to a child. 
One who is not the birth mother and who is legally responsible for child-rearing.  
Includes any one of the following: father, mother, spouse, adoptive parent, domestic partner, or employee 
using a surrogate/gestational carrier.  
One who, via a legal process, has taken a child into one’s family.  
An opposite- or same-sex adult partner who has met the requirements of and has a completed Certificate of 
Domestic Partnership on file with the department and the Office of Human Resources. 
One who has undergone a placement proceeding to assume child-rearing responsibilities.  
member 
Spouse; domestic partner; mother; father; sister; brother; biological, adopted or foster child; stepchild; legal 
ward; grandparent; grandchild; mother-in-law; father-in-law; sister-in-law; brother-in-law; daughter-in-law; son-
in-law; grandparent-in-law; grandchild-in-law; or corresponding relatives of the employee's partner; other 
persons for whom the employee is legally responsible; individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee 
when the employee was a child; and a child of a person standing in loco parentis to the child who is under 18 
year of age or 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability. 
To use leave for the care of a domestic partner or for the corresponding relative of the partner, a completed 
Certificate of Domestic Partnership must be on file with Human Resources Benefits Services
. 
Life threatening illness or 
injury 
An illness, injury, impairment or physical condition that a licensed physician certifies as terminal or life 
threatening. 
State of Ohio and any of 
its political subdivisions 
Includes city, county and state employers within Ohio and Ohio National Guard service.