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Leave of absence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leave of absence (LOA) is a term used to describe a period of time that one is to be away from his/her primary job, while maintaining the status of employee. This term is in contrast to normal periods away from the workplace, such as vacations, holidays, hiatuses, sabbaticals, and “working from home” programs, in that they are considered to be exceptional circumstances, rather than benefits. Generally such an arrangement has a predefined termination at a particular date or after a certain event has occurred.
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Generally, paid leave of absences are given at the request of the employer, or per some statutory or contractual requirement. Some examples of typical paid LOA are Employee Injury on the job, bereavement, Jury duty, or if the employer is performing repairs or other activities in the building where the employee normally works which prevents him/ her from performing their duties.
Unpaid LOA's are generally at the request of the employee or as a result of suspected misconduct on the part of the employee. A leave of absence may be obtained for a variety of employee-requested reasons, including activy duty call-up for reserve military personnel, or to attend to the health needs of the employee or of a family member of the employee.
In many jurisdictions, it is up to the employer's discretion as to whether an employee's request for a leave of absence is granted or not. In the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 defines certain circumstances under which approval of a leave of absence is compulsatory. As well, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) dictates certain circumstances under which a LOA must be granted.
During periods of time where the employer's market is sluggish, some employers offer certain classes of employees an opportunity to take an unpaid leave of absence as extra vacation time, in an effort to temporarily reduce operating expenses without the complications of performing a Layoff, and potentially losing critical employees permanently. Such a period is referred to as a leave of absence in lieu of layoff.[1]
Generally, continuation of certain benefits, such as medical insurance, is maintained. Other benefits such as Life Insurance normally require the employee to pay the premium in order to be continued during the LOA. [2]
For those benefits that are based on an empoyee's time in his/ her job, the period of the absence may be included in the tallies of consecutive service for certain benefits. If the time is not included, it is simply omitted from the tally, but not considered a break in service.